HSC results in Sylhet hit 12-year low, nearly half of students fail

Sylhet has witnessed a disastrous outcome in this year's Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations, with the lowest pass rate in the past twelve years. Nearly half of the students have failed, according to the results officially announced today (16 October).

At a formal ceremony held in the Education Board Conference Hall, Professor Md Anwar Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of the Sylhet Education Board, declared that 51.86% of students passed this year. The announcement was made in the presence of board officials and educators.

Comparing with previous years, the pass rate in Sylhet was 85.39% in 2023–24, 71.62% in 2023, 81.40% in 2022, 94.80% in 2021, and a full 100% in 2020, the COVID-19 year when all students were promoted under the "autopass" policy. 

In 2019, the pass rate was 67.05%, in 2018 it was 73.7%, in 2017 it was 72%, in 2016 it was 68.59%, in 2015 it was 74.57%, and in 2014 it stood at 79.16%.

The exceptional results in 2020 were due to the COVID-era autopass, while in 2021, exams were conducted on a curtailed syllabus, and the final results included combined marks from the JSC and SSC exams, inflating the pass rate significantly.

This year, a total of 69,944 students were registered for the examinations under the Sylhet Board, of which 69,172 appeared, comprising 27,764 boys and 41,408 girls. 

Among them, 35,870 students passed, with 13,870 boys and 22,001 girls succeeding. A total of 1,602 students earned GPA-5, including 681 boys and 921 girls. Boys' pass rate lagged at 49.96%, while girls passed at 53.13%.

By stream, pass rates were lowest in the Humanities at 45.59%, while Science achieved 75.95%, and Business Studies 50.18%. Among the GPA-5 achievers, 1,379 students were from Science, 153 from Humanities, and 70 from Business Studies. 

In comparison, 6,698 students earned GPA-5 last year, indicating a dramatic decline this year.

Regionally, Moulvibazar recorded the lowest pass rate at 45.80%, while Sylhet district led with 60.61%. In other districts, Habiganj achieved 49.88%, and Sunamganj 47.35%.

In terms of GPA-5 distribution across the general education boards, Dhaka topped with 26,063 students, followed by Rajshahi with 10,137, Dinajpur 6,260, Chattogram 6,097, Jessore 5,995, Madrasah Board 4,268, Comilla 2,707, Mymensingh 2,684, Barishal 1,674, Technical Board 1,610, while Sylhet Board recorded the lowest number with 1,602 students achieving GPA-5.

Overall, the Dhaka Board also recorded the highest pass rate among general education boards at 64.62%, followed by Barishal 62.57%, Rajshahi 59.40%, Dinajpur 57.49%, Chattogram 52.57%, Sylhet 51.86%, Mymensingh 51.54%, Jessore 50.20%, and Comilla 48.86%.

Commenting on the poor performance, Professor Chowdhury cited weak performance in English as a major reason, noting the shortage of qualified English teachers in many colleges. "Nearly half of the students failed in English alone," he said. He also pointed to low college attendance as another factor contributing to the overall decline in results.

The results have sparked concern among educators, parents, and policymakers in Sylhet, highlighting the urgent need to improve teaching quality, student engagement, and curriculum effectiveness, especially in English and other key subjects, to prevent such widespread failure in future examinations.