HSC admissions this year will again be based on SSC and equivalent exam results, not admission tests, the Dhaka Education Board has confirmed. As before the applications will be submitted online and seats allotted by merit and preference.
Following the change in government, questions arose over whether admission tests might replace the results-based system, especially after primary and secondary institutions moved from lottery-based admission to testing. However, the Dhaka Education Board has decided to keep the existing process unchanged.
Two senior board officials confirmed this to Prothom Alo. Board Chairman Professor Syed Akhtaruzzaman said details of this year's admission process would be announced a few days before SSC results are published, declining to elaborate further.
SSC results will be released on August 10 after boards said they weren't ready. Under the existing system the students apply online to five to ten colleges or madrasas, paying a fee and are placed based on results, quota and preference. This applies to all colleges and madrasas except a few institutions like Notre Dame College, Dhaka. Technical Education Board institutions follow a separate process. BUET provides technical support for the centralized online system.
An official said admission tests would risk complications and are difficult to implement on short notice, making results-based admission almost certain. Quota-related decisions, however, await a policy call from the Ministry of Education.
The admission schedule, initially planned to open 10 days after results is being revised. Board data show over 2.6 million HSC seats nationwide against more than 1.857 million SSC candidates with 25,408 absent on the first exam day alone suggesting many seats will again go vacant with the exact number depending on this year's pass rate.
