Weakness in English dents HSC results
Beyond English, some boards also had poor performances in Higher Mathematics and Accounting.
English proficiency or the lack of it has emerged as a significant factor influencing the 2023 Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination results, according to education experts.
Acknowledging this concern, the country's education boards are now taking proactive measures to enhance students' English language skills.
A comprehensive analysis of the HSC examination results paints a concerning picture, with the pass rate for English hitting a low at 82.73%. In stark contrast, Bengali secured the highest pass rate at 94.66%. Other subjects displayed varying success rates, with ICT and Physics at 92.46%, Chemistry at 92.7%, and Accounting at 84.96%.
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Beyond English, some boards also had poor performances in Higher Mathematics and Accounting. The Jashore Board reported the lowest pass rate and GPA-5 among the nine education boards. The average pass rate for English in this board was 77.36%, making it the lowest in terms of overall pass rate of 69.88%.
Conversely, the Barisal Board stands out among the general education boards, achieving an overall pass rate of 80.65% and an impressive 86.01% success rate in English. Similarly, other boards have exhibited noteworthy pass rates in English, such as Dhaka at 86.83%, Rajshahi at 83.18%, Khulna at 81.91%, Chittagong at 88.91%, Sylhet at 82.19%, Dinajpur at 82.80%, and Mymensingh at 75.38%.
Jashore Board Chairman Prof Ahsan Habib told The Business Standard, "This year, students have done much worse in English than we expected. They have also done poorly in Higher Mathematics. Students are always a bit nervous about English. This batch of students could not learn English properly in school. We tried to move the examination forward, so students had less time to prepare as the examination was held in 20 months instead of 24 months."
Prof Ahsan Habib outlined the board's response, saying, "We have already taken action on the issue of English." The plans include district-level discussion meetings involving principals and teachers of English to address weaknesses and enhance administrative and academic support.
Similar initiatives are underway in other boards, with Prof Gazi Hasan Kamal of Mymensingh Board planning workshops and training for English language teachers based on feedback from government college teachers. Prof SM Abdus Samad Azad of Dinajpur Board emphasised plans to monitor and address the reasons behind students' poor performance in English.
Systemic issues and policy concerns
The persistent challenge of English proficiency is not a new issue, as students consistently perform poorly in English compared to other subjects.
The English proficiency struggle extends beyond HSC results, with the highest number of failures occurring in the English section of Dhaka University's admission test annually. Lamisha Rashid, a first-year student, shared her perspective, stating, "English seems much harder than other subjects."
Prof Shamsad Mortuza at the University of Dhaka criticised existing policies, teacher quality, and insufficient training, questioning the sincerity in teaching English. He emphasised the need for a cohesive approach to developing English proficiency from primary to university levels.
"As global citizens, how do we see English? Do we see English as a second language or a foreign language? We need to answer this question," he added.
Prof Shamsad Mortuza noted a systemic problem in the education supply chain, stating, "English proficiency is not being developed consistently from primary to secondary, from secondary to higher secondary, and even after coming to the university. The weakness of 12 years is being exposed through the HSC results."
