The candidates began the exam at 10am with Bangla first part.
A total of 1,425,900 candidates sat for the SSC exam, 256,501 for Dakhil, and 104,212 for the SSC vocational exam.
This year 93 new centres were set up as 135,090 more candidates are taking the exams, an Education Ministry source said.
Of all the examinees, 8,520 were absent and 16 were expelled on the first day, according to the exam control room report.
Of the 16, 10 are from the Vocational Board, five from the Madrasa Board and one from the Dhaka Board.
Last year, 6,828 candidates were absent from the first day’s exam.
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid visited different exam centres in Dhaka yesterday and expressed satisfaction with the exam setting. The minister told journalists at Government Laboratory High School in Dhanmondi that there was no way question papers would be leaked before the exam. “No one, not even the teachers, is allowed to bring an android mobile phone to the exam hall,” he said.
Students and guardians were pleased with security measures taken by authorities, as unauthorised people were barred from entering the centres. Many guardians waited near the centres from 9am until the exam ended.
Jagannath Biswas, whose son sat for the SSC exam at Dhanmondi Government Boy’s High School, said: “The environment is calm and no unexpected incident has taken place.”
Examinee Salma Akhter said: “The questions were quite good and I answered them all. However, I was nervous about the time as I had to answer seven creative questions.”
Ajmal Ahmed Mugdha from BCSIR High School said: “It was a standard question paper for those who prepared well for the exam, but the MCQ part was a little hard.”
Many guardians were concerned about the pressure placed on students taking multiple exams on the same day.
The education minister said earlier that students would appear for two exams in one day as they could handle the pressure.
He advised parents and guardians to not be anxious about their children’s exams.
The SSC, Dakhil, and SSC vocational examinations will run until March 11, with results to be published 60 days after the exam ends, the education minister said.