Education Minister A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon has requested Dhaka University (DU) to extend its admission application deadline by a few days to allow students whose Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) results change following answer script re-scrutiny to apply for admission.
He made the request while speaking as the chief guest at the 42nd annual conference of the Bangladesh Chemical Society (BCS) at the Dhaka University Senate Building on Saturday.
The education minister said: “The vice-chancellor of Dhaka University has set November 25 as the deadline for admission applications. I will request him to extend the deadline by a few more days so that students whose results improve following re-scrutiny also get the opportunity to apply for admission.”
Referring to this year's HSC examination results as unsatisfactory, Milon said the pass rate was 52%. The result re-scrutiny process began on November 7 and will continue until November 23, with the revised results expected to be published within that period.
He expressed the belief that the results of many more students would change following the re-scrutiny process.
The education minister said the grades of around 30,000 students had changed following the re-scrutiny of this year's Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination results. Among them, around 5,000 students who had previously failed passed, while the Grade Point Averages (GPAs) of 3,079 students increased.
He said the issue of such a large number of changes in examination results would be investigated more thoroughly. The relevant education boards would be asked to take disciplinary action against those involved in irregularities and arrange rewards for those who performed well.
Initiatives have also been taken to train examiners, he added.
Milon said the previously prevailing 1980 law did not contain any provision for re-evaluating examination answer scripts.
Referring to his experiences with irregularities and manipulation in answer script evaluation during his tenure from 2001 to 2006, he said that incidents such as changing marks inside answer scripts or replacing scripts were difficult to identify.
Based on these experiences, a system for re-evaluating answer scripts has now been introduced through amendments to the 1980 law, he added.
The education minister also announced arrangements for re-examinations for students who failed in 1 or 2 subjects.
He said the second phase of the examinations would be held on December 2, with results scheduled to be published on December 23. Students who pass will have the opportunity to secure university admission, subject to the availability of vacant seats.
However, he said the admission processes at Dhaka University, medical colleges and engineering universities could not be delayed to accommodate the results of the re-examinations.
Emphasis on eliminating session backlogs
Sharing his experience as a former Dhaka University student, Milon said it had taken him more than 8 years to complete a 4-year course.
He urged the university administration to eliminate session backlogs so that no other student would have to face a similar situation in the future.
He said a 4-year course must be completed within 4 years and a 5-year course within 5 years. Under no circumstances should students need more time, he said, adding that requiring additional time would indicate an administrative failure.
Referring to the loss of students' academic time, the education minister said students were supposed to complete SSC at the age of 16 and higher secondary education at 18.
However, due to various administrative complications, many students are reaching the age of 17 before passing SSC and nearly 20 before completing higher secondary education. As a result, nearly 2 years are being lost from a student's life.
He said if 2 million students each lost 2 years, the country would lose 4 million student-years from its demographic dividend.
“Who is responsible for this loss?” he asked, emphasizing the need to complete academic years and education-related activities within the stipulated schedule.
Announcing the decision to begin the 2027 SSC examinations on March 15, Milon said the examinations would be completed within 1 month and the results published within 60 days.
Similarly, plans are underway to change the schedule of higher secondary examinations, he added.
He requested the vice-chancellors of all universities in the country to complete admission processes within the stipulated time.
Urging students and guardians to understand the value of time, he said students' time must not be wasted unnecessarily.
