The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations have recorded their lowest pass rate in 21 years, with the average rate across 11 education boards falling to 52.12 per cent.
Of the 1,240,798 candidates who sat the examinations, 646,685 passed, while 594,113 failed.
Poor performances in English and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) significantly affected the overall results. A total of 382,021 candidates failed in the two subjects, including 243,528 in English and 138,493 in ICT.
The pass rate is the lowest since 2004, when it stood at 47.74 per cent. It had not fallen below that level in the intervening years.
Among the general education boards, Dhaka recorded the highest pass rate at 61.80 per cent, with 16,714 students achieving GPA-5. Chattogram followed with a pass rate of 52.07 per cent and 2,921 GPA-5 achievers, while Mymensingh and Sylhet recorded pass rates of 51.44 per cent and 50.90 per cent, respectively.
Barishal recorded the lowest pass rate among the general boards at 44.84 per cent, followed by Jashore at 44.92 per cent, Rajshahi at 45.06 per cent, Dinajpur at 45.98 per cent and Cumilla at 48.04 per cent.
Among the specialised boards, the Madrasah Education Board recorded a pass rate of 61.07 per cent, with 3,250 students achieving GPA-5. The Technical Education Board posted a pass rate of 49.43 per cent, with 886 GPA-5 achievers.
