33,860 candidates absent on first day of SSC exams

Some 33,860 candidates, out of the total 20,21,868, were absent across the country on the first day of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and its equivalent examinations.

SSC aspirants sat for Bangla first paper exam on Thursday while Dhakhil examinees took part in Quran Majeed and Tajweed, Dakhil (vocational) and SSC (vocational) in Bangla-II exams.

The examinations were taken at 3,790 centres for two hours – 1 hour and 40 minutes for the written part and 20 minutes for the MCQ part.  Considering the traffic conditions in the capital and other major cities, the exams started at 11am, instead of 10am.

"The examinations took place peacefully. There was no question paper leakage or irregularity," Professor Tapan Kumar Sarker, chairman of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka, said while talking to The Business Standard after the examinations.

He thanked the guardians, teachers and law enforcement agencies for their utmost support in holding the exams properly.

Usually, the SSC and its equivalent exams take place in February, but this year they were deferred for more than seven months in two phases – the first time for a surge in Covid-19 cases, and the second time for a deteriorating flood situation in northern Bangladesh.

The examinations will end on 18 October.

This year, 20,21,868 students from 29,591 institutions have registered themselves to take the SSC and equivalent exams under 9 general education boards, the Madrasa Education Board and the Bangladesh Technical Education Board. 

The number of students is some 2,21,386 less than that of last year.