Bangladesh's Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examination pass rate has dropped to its lowest level in 22 years, with only 52.12% of candidates passing this year.
The results of all 11 education boards were published simultaneously at 11am on Saturday (October 31).
A total of 646,685 students passed the examinations, while 40,084 secured the highest Grade Point Average (GPA) of 5.
The last time the pass rate was lower was in 2004, when 47.74% of students passed the examinations and 3,036 achieved GPA-5. At that time, examinations were held under seven general education boards.
The pass rate gradually improved after 2004, reaching 76.5% in 2012, the highest during the period from 2008 to 2018. It later declined to 64.55% in 2018 before rising to 73.93% in 2019.
No HSC examinations were held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The pass rate surged to 95.3% in 2021 before falling to 85.9% in 2022, 75.9% in 2023 and 77.78% in 2024.
In 2025, the pass rate stood at 58.83%. This year's figure represents a further decline of 6.71 percentage points.
The number of GPA-5 achievers also dropped significantly. While 69,097 students secured the highest grade last year, the figure fell by 29,013 to 40,084 this year.
A total of 1,240,798 students registered for this year's examinations under 11 education boards, including 607,649 males and 633,149 females. The examinations were held at 2,691 centres across the country.
The examinations began on July 2, with the written tests ending on August 8. However, examinations under the Chattogram Education Board were postponed due to flooding and were later completed on September 9.
Students dissatisfied with their results can apply for re-scrutiny from November 1 to November 7 through the respective education boards' websites.
Re-examinations planned for failed students
A total of 594,113 students failed this year's HSC and equivalent examinations. Of them, around 422,000 failed in one or two subjects.
Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon said the government would provide students who failed in one or two subjects with another opportunity to sit for the examinations.
Speaking after the publication of the results, he said the Education Ministry was planning to arrange the re-examinations within the next month.
Girls lead in pass rate, boys in GPA-5
Girls outperformed boys in the overall pass rate, while boys secured more GPA-5 results.
Of the 607,649 male candidates, 290,157 passed, recording a pass rate of 47.75%.
Among 633,149 female candidates, 356,528 passed, resulting in a pass rate of 56.31%.
Girls thus led boys by 8.56 percentage points in the pass rate.
However, boys secured 20,363 GPA-5 results, compared with 19,721 among girls, giving them a lead of 642 in the highest grade.
English, ICT record highest failures
English and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) accounted for the highest number of failures this year.
A total of 243,528 students failed English, while 138,493 failed ICT, taking the combined number of failures in the two subjects to 382,021, according to an analysis of the results.
293 institutions record zero pass rate
A total of 293 educational institutions recorded a zero pass rate this year, meaning none of their candidates passed.
The number increased by 91 from 202 institutions last year.
Meanwhile, 139 institutions achieved a 100% pass rate in this year's examinations.
