Disciplinary Penalties and High Absenteeism Hit National HSC Exams

More than 33,000 candidates failed to appear for their Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations across Bangladesh on the third day of the national assessment schedule. Alongside the high absenteeism, forty-eight students were officially expelled for adopting unfair means during the tests. The Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee released the comprehensive figures on Monday afternoon following the conclusion of the day’s sessions, highlighting the ongoing logistical challenges authorities face in maintaining student retention and exam hall discipline.

The third day of the academic fixture featured the English First Paper exam for the nine general education boards. Concurrently, the Madrasah Education Board administered the Alim Bengali First Paper exam, whilst the Technical Education Board held assessments for various vocational, Business Management and Technology (BMT), and Diploma in Commerce subjects.

General Boards Witness Highest Drop in Attendance

Data compiled by the coordination committee reveals that the nine general education boards saw the highest absolute volume of missing candidates. Out of 997,021 registered students expected across 1,620 exam hubs, only 971,987 presented themselves. This resulted in an absenteeism count of 25,034 students for the general stream alone.

Disciplinary actions under the general boards also accounted for the bulk of the day’s expulsions. Out of the 43 general board students expelled for cheating, the Dhaka Board recorded the highest incidence with ten expulsions. This was followed by eight in Comilla, seven each in Dinajpur and Mymensingh, four in Barisal, three each in Rajshahi and Jessore, and a single student in Sylhet.

Madrasah and Technical Streams Reflect Similar Trends

The specialised streams mirrored the general boards regarding empty desks and disciplinary penalties. Under the Madrasah Education Board, 460 centres were prepared to host 83,333 candidates for the Alim Bengali examination. However, only 78,181 students attended, leaving 5,152 examinees absent. Two candidates were expelled by invigilators for breaching exam protocols.

The Technical Education Board registered 2,943 absences across its various vocational and commerce modules. Invigilators in these technical centres also penalised three students with expulsion for violating the code of conduct.

When aggregated across all participating streams, the third day of the nationwide assessment saw a total of 33,129 candidates absent, whilst 48 students faced academic expulsion. Education officials continue to monitor attendance patterns as the core academic calendar progresses, aiming to enforce rigorous anti-malpractice laws across all remaining examination halls.