At Kishoreganj Model College, only 6.71 per cent of candidates passed this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations. In contrast, 68.2 per cent of candidates at Dhaka’s Notre Dame College secured GPA-5, the highest grade.
The striking contrast highlights deep inequalities in educational quality and facilities across Bangladesh, as leading colleges maintained strong results despite the country’s worst HSC performance in 22 years.
Institutions in small towns and rural areas, however, fared considerably worse than their urban counterparts.
Educationists attribute the disparity to differences in teacher quality, institutional management, facilities and students’ socioeconomic backgrounds.
Professor M Wahiduzzaman of Dhaka University’s Institute of Education and Research (IER) told TIMES that leading institutions had managed to withstand the disruption through their teaching methods and management.
“These institutions have managed to cope with the situation through their own teaching methods and management,” he said.
National University Pro-Vice-Chancellor Mohammad Ali Zinnah pointed to unequal resources and opportunities.
“The quality of teachers is not the same everywhere, nor are the facilities. Students also could not prepare equally because of differences in their socioeconomic backgrounds. These factors also played a role,” he said.
Colleges known for academic excellence, where parents compete to enrol their children, recorded pass rates ranging from 94 per cent to almost 100 per cent, with substantial numbers of students securing GPA-5.
Although the Barishal Education Board recorded the country’s poorest results, all 46 candidates at Barishal Cadet College passed with GPA-5.
Dhaka’s Holy Cross College achieved a pass rate of 99.62 per cent, with 816 students, or 62.67 per cent of candidates, securing GPA-5.
At Notre Dame College, 98.83 per cent of its 3,256 candidates passed, while 2,229 achieved GPA-5.
Rajuk Uttara Model College recorded a pass rate of 99.39 per cent among 1,636 candidates. Of them, 829, or 50.67 per cent, secured GPA-5.
At Dhaka Residential Model College, 99.89 per cent of the 932 candidates passed, with 605, or 64.91 per cent, achieving GPA-5.
Birshreshtha Noor Mohammad Public College also recorded a pass rate of 99.89 per cent, while 874 candidates, or approximately 49.10 per cent, secured GPA-5.
Its principal, Lieutenant Colonel Md Tajul Islam, attributed the results to structured teaching and consistent academic supervision.
“At our institution, teaching activities are conducted in a highly planned and disciplined manner throughout the year. We follow a specific routine, academic calendar and classroom activities to prepare students from their first day until the HSC examinations. As a result, even though results have deteriorated elsewhere in the country, there is little scope for such an impact at our institution,” he told TIMES.
At Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, 2,238 of the 2,377 candidates passed, a rate of 94.15 per cent, while 416 achieved GPA-5.
Outside Dhaka, Abdul Kadir Molla City College in Narsingdi recorded just one failure among its 1,552 candidates. A total of 561 students, or 36.15 per cent, secured GPA-5.
All 61 candidates at Feni Girls’ Cadet College passed, including 45 who achieved GPA-5.
Political influence and unequal resources
Professor Md Abdus Salam of IER said the results had once again exposed inequalities between urban and rural colleges.
“There are enormous differences in the quality of teachers and facilities between colleges in rural and urban areas. A large proportion of students live in villages and small towns. But colleges are established there on political considerations. Relatives are recruited as teachers, and teachers are also appointed in exchange for money, raising questions about their qualifications,” he told TIMES.
Citing the example of a member of parliament who had established 35 colleges in his constituency, Salam criticised the political considerations behind institutional expansion.
“Instead of emphasising the quality of education, it has been turned into a political tool. As a result, examination performance suffers,” he said.
He also identified financial circumstances and differences in parental awareness as contributing factors.
“Parents in rural areas are not that aware. They cannot keep track of their children. But in cities, parents are much more aware,” he said.
To reduce inequality, Salam advocated establishing educational institutions based on catchment areas, with students attending colleges in their own localities.
“The greatest emphasis should be placed on establishing educational institutions based on catchment areas. Children should be admitted to institutions in the areas where they live. This system exists around the world. Then the educated and aware parents in those areas, including government officials and university professors, will put pressure on their local institutions to improve. That will reduce inequality,” he said.
“The best students in our country enrol in so-called good colleges. But we have to break this notion that one particular college is better than another,” he added.
Campus unrest and examination standards
Professor Wahiduzzaman said instability in educational institutions, harassment of teachers, political interference and a deteriorating psychological environment for students had contributed to the poor results.
He pointed to two years of disruption marked by the removal of teachers and principals, disputes over control of institutions, campus violence and political influence.
Students had to sit their examinations amid these circumstances, he said.
Wahiduzzaman also called for a review of whether the examinations had been conducted scientifically and to appropriate standards.
“A standard question paper should contain three types of questions: easy, moderate and difficult. This would give average students an opportunity to pass. Good students would be able to demonstrate their abilities, while talented students could achieve the highest results,” he said.
“It is unrealistic to expect everyone to achieve GPA-5. However, it is also undesirable for large numbers of students to fall into despair because of examination results,” he added.
Tajul Islam stressed the importance of institutional accountability, regular teaching and targeted support for struggling students.
“Institutional commitment and supervision are extremely important for good results. It is necessary to ensure students attend classes regularly, teachers conduct lessons conscientiously, examinations, model tests and quizzes are organised, and special measures are taken for weaker students. At the same time, regular communication with parents must be maintained,” he said.
