A total of 1,399,690 college students are expected to sit for the exams. Of them, 729,738 are boys and 669,952 are girls. Some 2,621 exam centres are ready across the country
BSS: After a seven-month delay caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations under 11 educational boards will kick off on Thursday amid strict health safety protocols.
A total of 1,399,690 college students are expected to sit for the exams. Of them, 729,738 are boys and 669,952 are girls. Some 2,621 exam centres are ready across the country.
The total number was 1,365,789 last year. The number of candidates has increased with a growth rate of 2.48%.
This time around, about 1,138,017 candidates will sit for the HSC exams under nine general education boards; 113,114 for Alim exams under Madrasah Education Board; and 148,503 for vocational exams under Technical Education Board.
Besides them, 406 students will take part in the exams from abroad.
Education Minister Dipu Moni on Wednesday urged all to maintain health protocols so that the HSC exams could be held without any disruption.
“Concerns are growing as the new variant of coronavirus, Omicron, has been identified. It’s more infectious. We need to remain very careful,” she told a press conference at Chandpur Press Club on Wednesday evening.
The minister, however, expressed dissatisfaction as many people are not wearing masks. “We should follow the hygiene rules and avoid public gatherings to contain the spread of the virus so that we do not have to postpone the HSC exams.”
This year the SSC and the HSC exams could not be held as per the schedules due to the pandemic and then the government decided to hold the examinations with shortened syllabuses.
The SSC and equivalent exams that began on November 14 concluded on November 23. The HSC exams are set to end on December 30.
All coaching centres across the country were ordered to remain shut from November 25 till January 3 ahead of the exams.
Educational institutions across the country had remained closed since March last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the closure was extended several times.
The government finally reopened schools and colleges on September 13 this year after the pandemic situation improved.
Last year’s HSC examinees were evaluated on the basis of their results of JSC and SSC exams, a decision which received a mixed reaction.
