Lowest SSC pass rate in 17 years as over 6 lakh students fail
The highest-ever pass rate was recorded in 2014, at 91.34%
The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations recorded the lowest pass rate in 17 years this year, with an overall pass rate of only 68.45% across 11 education boards in Bangladesh and 600,660 students failing to pass the exams.
The results were officially announced today (10 July) at 2:00pm by Professor Khondoker Ehsanul Kabir, chairman of the Dhaka Education Board and president of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, during a press briefing at the board's conference room in the capital.
A review of past SSC performance shows that in 2007, the pass rate was 58.36%. However, starting in 2008, the success rate began to rise, reaching 72.18% that year and 70.89% in 2009.
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From 2010 to 2013, the rate climbed further—79.98%, 82.31%, and eventually 89%.
The highest-ever pass rate was recorded in 2014, at 91.34%.
Since then, the trend reversed. In 2015, the pass rate dropped to 87.04%, followed by 88.29% in 2016, 80.35% in 2017, and 77.77% in 2018.
In 2019 and 2020, the pass rates remained relatively stable at 82.20% and 82.87%, respectively.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 exams were held with a shortened syllabus, leading to a record-breaking pass rate of 93.58%.
In 2022, the pass rate was 87.44%, and in 2023, it declined to 80.39%.
In 2024, full marks and the full syllabus were reinstated, with a pass rate of 83.04%. But in 2025, the success rate plunged to 68.45% — the second lowest in the past 18 years.
'Reflection of reality': What Dhaka edu board chief says on low SSC pass rate
The aim of this year's SSC exams was not to manipulate GPA scores but to ensure a fair and proper evaluation process, Chairman of the Dhaka Education Board Professor Dr Khandokar Ehsanul Kabir said during a briefing today.
Responding to questions from journalists on the low overall pass rate, Prof Ehsanul said, "Our aim was to conduct the exams properly. We gave no special instructions to examiners. Teachers were simply told to award marks fairly."
He also pointed out that the previous three SSC exams (2021–2023) were held under exceptional conditions — reduced syllabuses, subject mapping, and ICT exclusions — due to the pandemic.
"If we look beyond those years, at 2018–2020, the current pass rate is consistent, hovering below 80%," he added.
