SSC, equivalent exams kick off for 1.9m students

The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations have begun on Thursday, with nearly 1.93 million students registered to take part.

The SSC, Dakhil, and vocational exams started simultaneously at 10am on Thursday.

The SSC and vocational written examinations began with the Bangla First Paper. For the Dakhil exams, the first test was on Quran Majid and Tajvid. The exams will end at 1pm.

For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the exams are being held based on the complete syllabus, with full marks and standard duration for each subject.

The examinees were seen entering the centres from 9am onwards, although they were asked to arrive 30 minutes before the exam began.

Education Advisor Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar is likely to visit the Motijheel Government Boys High School and Motijheel Government Girls High School exam centres at 10:30am.

Mahamudur Rahman, the parent of an SSC examinee at the Badda High School centre told bdnews24.com: "My daughter is a student of Merul Badda Siraj Mia Memorial High School. We reached the exam centre before 9:30am. It’s the Bangla First Paper test today, so we aren’t worried."

"Although the exams are being held based on the complete syllabus, there was no trouble in preparation as students had enough time.”

As many as 1.4 million students have registered to take part in the exams under the nine general education boards, 294,726 will sit for Dakhil exams under the Madrasa Boardh and 143, 313 students to participate in the SSC and Dakhil Vocational exams under the Technical Education Board.

The SSC written exams will end on May 13. Following the written tests, practical examinations for SSC candidates will be held from May 15 to 22.

The written Dakhil exams will conclude on May 13 and practical examinations will be held between May 14 and 18.

Vocational SSC and Dakhil students will sit for the Bangla Second Paper on the opening day, wrapping up their written assessments with the English Second Paper on May 13.

Their practical tests will be held from May 13 to 22, followed by on-the-job training from May 23 to Jul 1.

Anyone adopting unfair means in the SSC and equivalent exams, or getting involved in question paper leaks and spreading rumours will face punitive actions, the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee warned.

They will be punished under the “Public Examinations (Crime) Act 1980”, “Information Communication and technology Act 2006”, and “SSC and Equivalent Exams Policy 2025”, the committee said.

It solicited the support of all citizens to hold the exams in a proper and cheating-free environment.

As many as 701,538 male students and 788,604 female students from 18,084 schools are sitting for the SSC exams this year under nine general education boards at 2,291 exam centres.

Under the Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board, 150,893 male students and 143,833 female students from 9,063 madrasas are taking part in the Dakhil exam at 725 exam centres.

A total of 108,385 male students and 34,928 female students are participating in the SSC and Dakhil Vocational Exams under the Bangladesh Technical Education Board.

No one aside from the students and those involved in the exam process will be allowed in the exam centres before, during, or after the exams.

Restrictions under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure will be imposed around examination centres for three hours, the education ministry said. Accordingly, people unrelated to the tests will not be allowed within 200 yards of the centres throughout the duration of the exams.

The Ministry of Education has also ordered all coaching centres to remain closed from Apr 10 to May 13 during the exams – a 34-day period.

The Ministry of Education also said in a circular that no one other than the centre secretary will be allowed to use mobile phones or, watches, pens or unauthorised electronic devices with mobile phone capabilities in the examination centre.

The ministry says that the centre secretary will be able to use a feature phone, which does not have a camera or the option of connecting to the internet. Action will be taken against users of unauthorised phones or electronic devices.

In addition, candidates will not be able to use “programmable” calculators in SSC and equivalent exams. However, they will be allowed to use “non-programmable” scientific calculators.

All photocopying machines around examination centres were ordered to be turned off for examinations.

The Ministry of Education instructed the education board to ask the exam centres to send the answer sheets to the nearest post office as soon as possible after the examinations for each subject is completed.