HSC EXAMS BEGIN: Candidates arrive at an examination centre in Dhaka. Before entering the centre, a student is seen seeking his mother's blessings by touching her feet. The photo was taken at Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College on Thursday. — FE Photo by Shafiqul Alam The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations began across the country on Thursday, with around 36 per cent of regular students skipping the same.
Notable rise in absentee students from last year has aroused fresh concerns.
A total of 1.27 million regular and irregular candidates are appearing in this year's HSC and equivalent examinations at 2,697 centres nationwide.
Candidates entered examination centres from 8:30 am. Police officers deployed at the centres wore body-worn cameras.
The written examinations will conclude within 21 days.
Regular classes will continue at examination centres on days when no examinations are scheduled.
According to the Ministry of Education and the education boards, around 1.5 million students who passed the SSC and equivalent examinations in the 2024-25 academic year registered for Class XI.
Of them, around 950,000 completed examination forms for this year's HSC and equivalent examinations, meaning approximately 550,000 regular students are not sitting the tests.
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