HSC 2025: Dhaka board tops with 64.62% pass rate, Cumilla lowest at 48.86%
Dhaka Education Board registered the highest pass rate among all general education boards at 64.62%. It was closely followed by the Barishal Board at 62.57%, and the Rajshahi Board at 59.40%, indicating a relatively better performance in these regions
Dhaka education board topped the 2025 Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations with a 64.62% pass rate while Cumilla saw the lowest pass rate of 48.86%.
The results of the 2025 HSC and equivalent examinations revealed a sharp decline in the overall pass rate, which fell to 58.83% across 11 education boards — a significant drop of 18.95% from the 77.78% recorded last year.
The performance breakdown across the general education boards highlighted a considerable regional disparity in student success. Of the 7,26,960 students who successfully passed the exams, success rates varied widely among the general boards.
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The Dhaka Education Board registered the highest pass rate among all general education boards at 64.62%. It was closely followed by the Barishal Board at 62.57%, and the Rajshahi Board at 59.40%, indicating a relatively better performance in these regions.
However, the results painted a starkly different picture for several other boards, where pass rates struggled to cross the 55% threshold. The Cumilla Board recorded the lowest pass rate at 48.86%. The Jashore Board also struggled at 50.20%, while the Sylhet Board reported a low success rate of 51.86%.
The Mymensingh Board achieved 51.54%, and the Chattogram Board finished slightly higher at 52.57%.
Noakhali with the worst results
While announcing the results on this morning, Cumilla Board Chairman Professor Md Shamsul Islam revealed that only 2,707 students achieved a GPA-5 with him citing the cancellation of numerous sub-centres as a major factor in the sharp decline.
He focused on the procedural change, stating, "The number of venue centres was much higher in previous years. This time, 162 venue centres were cancelled. Students often took unfair advantages due to these sub-centres, and that opportunity was not available this year."
According to a results statement signed by the board's Controller of Examinations Professor Runa Nasrin, a total of 99,576 candidates participated in the examination. The total number of successful students stood at 47,657.
Among the six districts affiliated with the Cumilla Board, Noakhali District recorded the worst result with a pass rate of just 40.43%. Conversely, Cumilla District recorded the highest pass rate at 52.15%.
The results also showed nine institutions recording a zero pass rate, six of which had fewer than ten candidates, while only five institutions achieved a 100% pass rate.
From 77.78%
Last year, the HSC and equivalent examinations saw a total pass rate of 77.78%.
The general education boards had recorded a pass rate of 75.56%, while the madrasah and technical boards achieved significantly higher success rates of 93.40% and 88.09%, respectively.
A total of 1,45,911 students achieved the GPA-5, including 64,978 boys and 80,933 girls. The year before, in 2023, the average pass rate across 11 boards was 78.64%, with 92,365 students achieving GPA-5.
Some 13,31,058 students participated in the HSC and equivalent exams in 2024, comprising 6,66,013 boys and 6,65,045 girls. The pass rate for boys was 75.61%, while for girls it was 79.95%.
Among the nine general boards in 2024, Rajshahi had recorded a pass rate of 81.24%, Barishal 81.85%, Sylhet 85.39%, Dhaka 79.21%, Dinajpur 77.56%, Cumilla 71.15%, Chattogram 70.32%, Jashore 64.29%, and Mymensingh had the lowest pass rate at 63.22%.
