Why HSC pass rate plummets to 58.83%
The results were simultaneously published on today (16 October) at 10am in respective institutions and online
The average pass rate for the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations for 2025 has sharply dropped to 58.83% across 11 education boards, marking a decline of 18.95% from the previous year's 77.78%.
This marks one of the lowest results in recent years and the Dhaka Education Board chairman blames students' weakness in English, Mathematics, and ICT.
While unveiling the results, Chairman of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka, Professor Dr Khondokar Ehsanul Kabir, also said students may not have studied well enough.
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"Almost half of the students failing in the HSC and equivalent exams is unfortunate. Through this result, we are standing before a mirror – the flaws are visible," he said.
The results of all education boards were simultaneously published at 10am today (16 October) in respective institutions and online.
A total of 69,097 students secured a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 5 this time across the 11 education boards, a steep drop from the 1,45,911 students who achieved the top grade in 2024. The difference marks a staggering decrease of 76,814 top scorers.
This year's examinations saw some 12,35,661 candidates participate across the general education boards. Of them, 7,26,960 successfully passed the exams across the nine general education boards, Madrasah Education Board, and the Technical Education Board.
Why students didn't fare well
"The answer scripts were evaluated according to the rules. Most of the failed students struggled in English, Mathematics, and ICT," said Prof Dr Khondokar Ehsanul Kabir.
"The examiners took extra time for marking – this is the real result," he told reporters after unveiling the results for the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) 2025 and equivalent examinations.
He said the answer scripts were evaluated following official guidelines.
He said, "This reality has presented itself to us; we did not fabricate it. The results are poor but also real.
"We believe many students became disengaged from their studies and stayed away from their books. It is now the responsibility of all concerned stakeholders to find the reasons behind this," he added.
Girls maintain lead
Despite the overall decline in results, female students maintained a clear lead over their male counterparts in both overall success and the acquisition of top scores, continuing the trend.
The pass rate for female students across all 11 boards stood at 62.97%, significantly higher than the 54.60% pass rate achieved by male students.
In the most competitive category, some 37,044 female students obtained a GPA-5, outnumbering the 32,053 male students who achieved the same.
Additionally, the results highlighted a vast range in performance across the boards:
The Dhaka Education Board recorded the highest pass rate among general boards at 64.62%. Other high performers included the Barishal Board at 62.57% and the Rajshahi Board at 59.40%.
Boards struggling below the 55% mark included Cumilla (48.86%), Jashore (50.20%), Chattogram (52.57%), Sylhet (51.86%), and Mymensingh (51.54%).
Meanwhile, the Madrasah Education Board registered a high pass rate of 75.61%, while the Technical Board achieved 62.67%.
The results further saw that 345 institutions achieved a 100% pass rate, while an alarming 202 institutions saw no students pass, recording a 0% success rate.
The examinations were held at 2,797 centres across the country, beginning on 26 June.
