Govt plans policy to specify who can apply next year

The government plans to introduce a policy next year specifying which students will be eligible to apply for re-scrutiny of SSC answer scripts, following a record number of applications this year.

Around 12.88 lakh answer scripts have been submitted for re-scrutiny this year, the highest-ever number, creating additional pressure on education boards and examiners.

Professor Syed Akhtaruzzaman, chairman of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka, told the Daily Sun that re-evaluation would be conducted this year, but the process would be regulated from next year.

“It is currently open to everyone, which is why the number of applications is so high,” he said.

“We will conduct a re-evaluation this time. However, we will introduce conditions next year specifying who will be eligible to apply. This time, even students who secured A+ grades applied in the hope of increasing their marks, which has contributed to the high number of applications,” he added.

The education minister’s announcement of re-evaluation on the day the SSC results were published generated considerable interest among students and parents, prompting many to apply in the hope of improving their marks.

The unusually high number of applications later raised concerns about the feasibility of examining such a large volume of answer scripts. The education minister also indicated that a policy would be formulated to regulate the process in future.

Confusion over re-scrutiny, re-evaluation

There is also confusion among students and parents over whether the answer scripts will merely be re-scrutinised or fully re-evaluated.

Officials of several education boards gave differing explanations to the Daily Sun.

Professor Jasmin Taslima Banu, controller of examinations of the Dhaka Education Board, said the answer scripts would not merely be re-scrutinised but re-evaluated.

Professor Dr Shamima Ara Chowdhury, chairman of the Rajshahi Education Board, said the scripts would undergo re-scrutiny, with re-evaluation carried out where necessary.

Sharif Morshed Reza, controller of examinations of the Barishal Education Board, said the scripts would be re-evaluated.

“The number of scripts may seem very high when viewed together. In reality, the number varies from board to board. In my board, there are only 55,153 scripts,” he said.

The differing explanations have caused uncertainty among students and parents.

Abdur Rahman, a parent, said, “My daughter missed an A+ because of her marks. I applied in the hope that her answer script would be re-evaluated. But if that does not happen, there is no point in my applying.”
Boards collect nearly Tk20cr

SSC and equivalent examination results were published on 10 August. Applications for re-scrutiny opened the following day and continued until 17 August.

A total of 4.02 lakh candidates applied within the stipulated period. Many students applied for re-scrutiny of multiple subjects, resulting in 12.88 lakh answer scripts being submitted.

Of the total, 10.56 lakh applications were for written examination scripts and 2.31 lakh for practical examination scripts.

The fee for re-scrutiny is Tk150 per subject. The education boards therefore collected Tk19 crore 31 lakh 88 thousand 900 from the applicants.

Last year, a record 92,863 students submitted 223,664 answer scripts for re-evaluation.

Compared with 2024, the number of applicants has increased by around 21,000, while the number of scripts submitted for re-evaluation has risen by nearly 40,000.

More than six lakh students failed the SSC examination this year, while the overall pass rate was 62.25 per cent.

‘No clear policy for evaluation system’

Professor Mohammad Mojibur Rahman of the Institute of Education and Research at Dhaka University said the large number of applications reflected a broader weakness in the examination system.

“Our main problem is that there is no clear policy for the evaluation system. I have repeatedly said that these problems are arising precisely because there is no proper policy,” he told the Daily Sun.

He said there was no fixed and uniform standard for evaluating answer scripts, while the quality and pattern of questions changed from year to year.

“There should be a specific standard for evaluation. Whether the questions are content-based or curriculum-based, there must be a standard. But we are not maintaining that standard,” he said.