HSC exam cancellation leaves students, parents concerned over university admission

Following the announcement that there will be no HSC and equivalent examinations, examinees and their parents are now concerned over admission to universities this year.

According to the announcement of the Ministry of Education, it is clear that all the candidates will pass this year based on the results of their last two public exams, SSC and JSC. Examinees and parents have expressed mixed reactions in this regard.

Many of the students said they were preparing to participate in the exam to achieve a better result than what they got in SSC and JSC. So if they get average results, they will fall behind in the university admission tests.

Many parents also fear that their children will not be evaluated fairly in the job market because of this result. 

On the other hand, academics have welcomed the government's announcement. The university will be under pressure to admit students due to its limited seats. 

Farifta Jahan, a science student of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, said: “Although it makes us happy to know that the exam will not be held, there is already tension over how the university admission  test will be conducted.” 

“I got GPA-5 in JSC and SSC. I have worked hard for two long years after SSC to get a good result. However, if I could prove myself in the test, my hard work would get valued.”According to the education system of the country, students have to take part in a tough competition for getting admission for an undergraduate degree after higher secondary examinations.

Also Read- No HSC, equivalent exams this year, students to advance based on JSC, SSC results

Compared to the large number of students taking the exam, a small number of seats are available in the universities. To get a seat, one has to prepare themselves within the time available after the HSC examination.

Anika Binte Hasan Bushra of VNC echoed the same: “I want to be an engineer. That's why I took the preparation of the examination from the beginning. Although it is good to hear that there will be no HSC exam, a kind of uncertainty has been created. How am I going to prove myself in the admission test of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and medical colleges.”

Though the mother, Farzana Hasan is relieved to hear that her daughter will not have an exam, she is worried about how this result will be evaluated in the future.

Prof Shaikh Ekramul Kabir, a member of the Education Policy-2010 Formulation Committee, said If the test was taken, 80% would have passed and the rest would have dropped. But now that everyone has passed, there will be a lot of pressure as the number of seats for higher education is limited.

However, he said in the case of the job market, if the authorities view negatively that the students of this session are auto-pass, they will fall behind in the competition.

Rasheda K Chowdhury, executive director of Campaign for Popular Education, a non-government organization, welcomed the government's decision to avoid health risks during the pandemic. 

She said there was uncertainty over HSC and equivalent examinations. The government's decision on the test has put an end to that concern. The announcement needed to come earlier.

However, she advised the examinees that although the HSC exam is not going to be held, students have to take admission tests for higher education. So they now need to prepare for the admission examinations.