Saturday, April 27, 2024
The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations used to start across the country from February 1 and April 1 respectively every year, but the Covid-19 pandemic severely disrupted scheduling for these tests.
Back in 2020, the education ministry had published the HSC and its equivalent results without even holding the exams. The disruption in the HSC exam schedule continues to this day, and the syllabus remains partial.
The ministry is currently planning to hold the SSC and HSC exams on schedule similar to the pre-Covid period. However, the HSC exam next year will again be held under short syllabus, education ministry sources say.
Speaking to The Business Post, Chairman of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka, Prof Tapan Kumar Sarkar said, “The SSC and its equivalent exams started on February 15 this year. We are planning to hold the exams next year from February 1.
“From next year, we are working to hold HSC exams from April 1. These exams will however begin from June this year. We are trying to return to the pre-Covid schedules, so the students can get their results within two months, and get admission to higher educational institutions within the same year.”
The students will be able to save at least six months, he added.
Ministry sources say top officials of some education boards wanted to hold HSC exams next year with a full syllabus, but the ministry wants to go back to the pre-Covid-schedule. So, it will be tough to hold the HSC exams with a full syllabus with pre-Covid schedule.
Under the circumstances, the ministry finally made the decision to hold the next year’s HSC exams under short syllabus.
Saving the students’ time
The HSC and its equivalent examinations 2023 ended on September 25 last year. The exam results were published last November.
But the admission seekers have been waiting to appear for public university admission tests scheduled to be held at the end of May this year. The students have to wait for another two months to complete their admission process.
As a result, there are 10,67,852 students who passed the HSC exam last year, and most of them are losing almost a year from their lives due to this unfair delay.
On the issue, Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Chairman Prof Tapan said, “They know the reality and worked to hold the exams in time. I think the students’ time will be saved from next year.”
The year of ‘auto pass’
The education ministry held the SSC exams in 2020. But it could not hold the HSC exams as the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the country. So, the education ministry published the HSC results of 2020 without taking any exams.
One hundred per cent of HSC and its equivalent students passed that year. The “auto pass” method also created massive criticism across the country. A total of 1,145,329 students passed through the “auto pass” method, and among them, 161,807 students achieved GPA-5.
The ministry however justified the move citing that the schools had remained closed from March 17, 2020, to September 11, 2021, and from January 20 to February 21, 2022 because of the Covid-19 crisis.
The students’ academic classes and preparation were hampered significantly.
