The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations for 2016 have begun across the country.
The first day's examinations began around 10am Monday.
A total of 1,651,523 students from 28,119 educational institutions will take the tests this year. Of them 842,933 are males and 808,590 females.
Compared to the previous year, the number of examinees increased by 172,257.
For the first time, seven autistic students will be taking the examinations and they will be allowed an additional 30 minutes in each test.
Written exams will continue until March 8, while practical tests will be held between March 9 and 14.
