The Results of the HSC Examination

A few days ago, the results of this year’s HSC, Alim and equivalent exams came out. The average pass rate is 52.12 percent. Last year it was 58.83 percent, so this year’s rate is 6.71 percent lower. This is the lowest pass rate in 22 years. Many people see this result as a “disaster”.

Education experts give several reasons for the poor results. They say the syllabus put many examinees under mental pressure. They also say examiners followed the rules strictly and did not mark liberally. Political and social unrest also hit educational institutions, and many students lost interest in college. This hurt the results.

The Ministry of Education has decided to re-examine the answer scripts of examinees who are unhappy with their results. Online applications began yesterday and will run until Saturday. The education boards will announce the detailed rules and fee payment process on their websites. Students who failed in two subjects will get a chance to sit exams in those subjects within one month. Education experts say this decision of the ministry is positive, and disappointed students can use this chance to succeed.

Educationists call this year’s result “realistic” and “pragmatic”. They say it is right to give marks based on a true assessment of merit. During the whole rule of the fascist Ms. Sheikh Hasina, governments showed pass rates of at least 80 to 95 percent to take credit. This destroyed the whole education system. Even a student who did not sit the exam, or wrote nothing in the answer script, was shown as passed.

Though the so called pass rate rose, truly talented students suffered discrimination. In those years, schools, colleges and private universities sprang up like mushrooms. They need students. So they admit students but cannot give quality education. They let students sit exams without proper teaching, and they passed students freely to raise the pass rate. Many students with GPA 5 could not pass the admission tests of famous public universities, including Dhaka University. People criticised this widely then.

The fascist Hasina government ignored the criticism, took credit for the rising pass rate and pushed the quality of education down. The present BNP government came in and moved away from the habit of raising the so called pass rate. It has taken steps to judge truly talented students. This step is praiseworthy. It will help raise the quality of education.

We must note that the number of educated unemployed people is rising fast. Most of them cannot find jobs. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the unemployment rate among educated young people in Bangladesh is about 36 percent. That means 36 out of every 100 are jobless. The present President, when he was Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, spoke in July at the welcome event for new students at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in the capital.

He said the country has about 4 crore educated jobless people. He said 5 to 6 lakh applications come for one job post. His words show the terrible picture of jobs for the educated unemployed. The main reason is that most of them cannot show their talent in job interviews. They became educated on paper, but not through real education. So they get no jobs and stay unemployed.

Though the pass rate is low this time, it is fair to say that the system assessed talent properly. Those who failed will also understand that they cannot pass just by studying a little, as before. They must study properly. Many people criticise this year’s result on social media and other media. The government need not listen to them. The government must move ahead with the goal of “quality education”. There is no other way to improve the quality of education. It must put quality ahead of the quantity of the pass rate.

Experts say the syllabus caused the result disaster. The government can form an expert board with educationists and discuss how to fix this. This would help students avoid too much pressure and fear, and take an interest in their studies. We think the way the government now publishes secondary and higher secondary results according to students’ talent is right. It must keep this up.