A whopping 42 madrasas were among the 51 educational institutions of the country with a zero pass rate in this year’s Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations.
Other than the 42 institutions under the Madrasa Education Board, four are under the Dinajpur Education Board, three are under the Dhaka Education Board, and two are under the Rajshahi Education Board.
The Ministry of Education, Madrasa Education Board, teachers, students, and parents could not identify a specific reason for the poor performance of the 42 madrasas.
An analysis of the results reveals that students from these institutions struggled particularly with mathematics.
Results show weakness in mathematics
An analysis of the subject-wise results showed that 1,891,059 students participated in the examination under the general and madrasa education boards (excluding technical boards). Out of these, 1,572,432 passed, meaning 318,627 candidates failed across the 10 boards.
Among them, 166,602 candidates (more than half of the failing students) failed in mathematics alone.
The average pass rate in Bengali, English, Physics, Chemistry, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Accountancy, and Economics across the nine general and madrasa boards is above 96%. In contrast, the pass rate in mathematics is 91.19%.
Educationists have observed a lack of skilled and trained teachers in mathematics, with madrasas being the worst affected. They believe that a weakness in mathematics from the primary stage is the main reason behind the poor results of students.
According to the board-wise results, 12.64% of students failed in mathematics in the Madrasa Education Board, the highest fail rate among the boards this year.
What teachers, students and guardians say
The teachers, students, and parents of these institutions pointed to various factors for the 100% failure rate of students in the exam. These factors include non-payment of teachers’ salaries, irregular classes, a shortage of teachers, lack of monitoring, poor infrastructure, inadequate classrooms, and mistakes in board evaluations.
At Baraikudi Adarsh Balika High School in Atrai upazila, Naogaon, five candidates appeared for the SSC examination this year, and all failed. The principal, Nabir Uddin, noted that last year, six students appeared, and five passed. This time, all five students failed in mathematics, and they plan to challenge the result.
In addition, two candidates from Bajranathpur Dakhil Madrasa in Gomstapur, Chapainawabganj, participated in the exam, but neither passed. Although eight candidates filled out the form to participate, only two actually took the exam.
Guardians have expressed concerns that the quality of education at the madrasa has declined over the years. They attribute this decline to teachers not taking classes regularly, as they are not affiliated with the Monthly Pay Order (MPO) scheme.
Azazul Haque, the acting superintendent of the madrasa, explained that although there are eight teachers, none are paid. They are teaching without compensation, which prevents them from being pressured to conduct classes regularly.
He believes that if the institution were included in the MPO scheme, the quality of education and the performance of the students would improve over time.
Meanwhile, no student passed from Dinajpur's Khairbari Dakhil Madrasa, where 24 students participated in the exam.
Assistant teacher Lutfar Rahman noted that 24 out of 27 students passed last year, but this year, no one passed. He blamed errors in board evaluation and said the school would soon apply for a review of the results.
Guardian Nuruzzaman Nur Islam also expressed doubts about the results, pointing out that the madrasa has consistently achieved good results in previous years.
A similar situation was found at four Dakhil Madrasas in Ullapara upazila, Sirajganj, where not a single student passed. These madrasas are Bogura Dakhil Madrasa, Elongjani Dakhil Madrasa, Haji Ahmed Ali Dakhil Madrasa, and Bara Qualibed Dakhil Madrasa. A total of 15 students from Bogura Dakhil Madrasa, 12 from Elongjani Dakhil Madrasa, 14 from Haji Ahmed Ali Dakhil Madrasa, and 12 from Bara Qualibed Dakhil Madrasa appeared for the exam.
Elongjani Dakhil Madrasa Superintendent Shahadat Hossain blamed the failure on students' absence from the classroom. Despite repeatedly informing parents, they failed to ensure student attendance.
Bogra Dakhil Madrasa Superintendent Atiqur Rahman noted that students come from remote areas and are unwilling to attend madrasa regularly. Despite many efforts, the students could not be made to pay attention in class. Bara Qualibed Dakhil Madrasa Superintendent Shafiq Uddin echoed his sentiments.
None of the 10 candidates from Suryamukhi Howladar Bari Balika Dakhil Madrasa in Morelganj Upazila, Bagerhat, passed the examination this year. Despite being part of the MPO scheme, students criticized their teachers, saying that 7 of the 9 teachers were irregular in attending classes.
They also blamed the authorities for inadequate monitoring of the institution, likely due to its remote location.
Education board seeks explanation
The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education and the Madrasa Education Board have sought explanations from certain institutions regarding why the government should not stop paying the salaries and allowances of their teachers and employees.
The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education and the Directorate of Madrasa Education have been instructed by their respective education boards to take action against these institutions. Authorities have already started collecting information on this matter.
Regarding this issue, SM Ziaul Haider Henry, Assistant Director of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, said that the MPO scheme for educational institutions has specific guidelines. If any institution fails to adhere to these guidelines, its MPO status will be canceled, resulting in the stoppage of salaries and allowances for its teachers and staff.
Professor Ziaul Haque, former chairman of the Dhaka Education Board, has expressed his support for closing down these institutions.
“If an institution consistently produces poor results, it should be considered for closure,” he said.
Education Minister Barrister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel noted that very few students from many institutions participated in the examination, leading to an increased number of institutions with zero pass rates.He suggested reconsidering whether these institutions should have examination centres.
However, the Minister believes that it is not appropriate to take disciplinary action against educational institutions, as this would negatively affect teachers and students.
He said if an educational institution is lagging behind, the government should take more initiatives to help it advance.
Our correspondents Dulal Abdullah from Rajshahi, and Hedait Hossain from Khulna contributed to this report