The Ministry of Education has introduced a new admission policy for government secondary schools across Bangladesh for the 2027 academic year, with students seeking admission to class one to be selected through a digital lottery and applicants for classes two to nine to sit written examinations for vacant seats.
The Secondary and Higher Education Division published the Bangladesh Government School Admission Policy 2027 on Tuesday night.
Under the policy, applications, fee collection, result processing and publication will all be conducted online.
Each class section will accommodate 55 students, according to the policy.
Children aged between five and seven years on 1 Januar, 2027, will be eligible to apply for class one admission.
Applicants must submit an attested copy of their online birth registration certificate as proof of age. Students with special needs may receive an age-limit relaxation of up to five years.
The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) will conduct the class one digital lottery centrally.
Applicants may select up to five schools in order of preference. Selecting both shifts of a double-shift school will count as two preferences. The authorities have been instructed to ensure transparency in the lottery process.
For classes two through five, the written admission test will carry 50 marks, with 15 marks each for Bangla and English and 20 for mathematics. The examination will last one hour.
For classes six through nine, the test will carry 100 marks, including 30 each for Bangla and English and 40 for mathematics. Candidates will have two hours to complete the examination.
Questions must be based on textbooks published by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) and must be appropriate to the relevant grade.
The maximum application fee has been set at Tk110 for class one and Tk250 for classes two through nine. Admission fees, including session charges, will be determined in accordance with directives from the Ministry of Education.
Under the seat reservation provisions, 40 per cent of seats in government schools in the Dhaka metropolitan area will be reserved for students from the respective catchment areas, while the remaining 60 per cent will remain open to all applicants.
The policy also reserves 10 per cent of class six seats for students promoted from independent government primary schools. Other specified quotas include five per cent for sons and daughters of freedom fighters and martyred freedom fighters, two per cent for students with special needs, two per cent for children of officials and employees of the Ministry of Education and its subordinate offices, three per cent for siblings of current students and two per cent for twins.
An additional five per cent of seats in each section will be reserved for children of government employees who require admission because of their parents’ transfers.
Separate admission committees will be formed at the metropolitan, district and upazila levels to oversee the process.
The new policy sets out the procedures for student selection, examination marks, application fees and reserved seats for the 2027 academic year.
