Students seeking admission to Class 1 at government secondary schools in Bangladesh will be selected through a lottery in the 2027 academic year, while applicants for Classes 2 to 9 will have to sit written admission tests for vacant seats.
The information was outlined in the Government Secondary School Student Admission Policy 2027, issued by the Ministry of Education on Tuesday night. The policy was signed by Tania Ferdous, deputy secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division responsible for Government Secondary-1.
The admission policy for private secondary schools has not yet been issued. Ministry sources said the private-school policy may follow the framework of the government-school guidelines and is expected to be announced soon.
Under the new policy, student selection for Class 1 must be conducted through a lottery.
Applicants may list up to five educational institutions in order of preference. If an applicant selects both shifts at a double-shift school, the two shifts will count as separate preferences. Submitting multiple applications to the same institution will result in all applications being cancelled.
For Classes 2 to 9, students must be selected for vacant seats through written admission tests based on merit. Schools must also prepare a waiting list containing as many students as there are vacant seats.
The policy sets different marks and examination durations for the two groups of classes.
For admission to Classes 2 to 5, the test will carry 50 marks and last one hour. Bangla and English will each carry 15 marks, while mathematics will carry 20. For Classes 6 to 9, the examination will carry 100 marks and last two hours. Bangla and English will each account for 30 marks, while mathematics will carry 40.
On August 6, the Ministry of Education announced that lottery-based admission would replace admission tests for Class 1 from the 2027 academic year, while admission tests would continue for other classes.
Speaking to Ajker Patrika on Tuesday, Md Helaluzzaman Sarker, joint secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division’s Private Secondary Wing, said private-school admissions were generally conducted in line with the government-school policy. He said the private-school guidelines would be issued soon.
The government had previously considered using lotteries for admission to Classes 2 to 5 at both government and private schools. The proposal was included in a draft of the Student Admission Policy 2026 prepared by the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE).
DSHE Assistant Director for Secondary-2 S M Moslem Uddin told Ajker Patrika that the directorate had proposed lottery-based admissions for Classes 2 to 5. However, after considering different opinions, higher authorities decided to select students for Classes 2 to 9 through admission tests.
Lottery-based admission to Class 1 at government secondary schools was first introduced in the 2011 academic year, replacing admission tests. The system was extended to private schools the following year, while admission tests continued for Classes 2 to 9.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, lottery-based admission was introduced for all classes from the 2021 academic year. The system remained in place until the latest policy change.
The issue was debated in Parliament on March 15, when Hasnat Abdullah, a member of parliament for Cumilla-4 (Debidwar), strongly criticised lottery-based school admissions.
The following day, Education Minister A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milan announced that the lottery system would be scrapped. At a press conference at the Secretariat on March 16, he said the government was moving towards admission tests instead of lotteries.
Following the announcement, some educationists and people involved in the education sector expressed concern about reintroducing admission tests, particularly at the primary level. They warned that such tests could place additional pressure on children and increase dependence on coaching centres and private tutors.
