HSC, equivalent exams begin today

The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations begins across the country today, Thursday, with more than 1.25 million students participating under 11 education boards. According to official data, a total of 1,251,111 students are expected to sit for the exams—618,015 male and 633,096 female candidates—across 2,797 examination centers nationwide.

On the first day, students under the nine general education boards will take the Bangla First Paper exam at 1,605 centers. Meanwhile, 459 centers under the Madrasa Education Board will administer the Alim Quran Majid exam, and 733 centers under the Technical Education Board will conduct HSC (BM/BMT) exams. All exams are scheduled to start at 10:00 AM and end at 1:00 PM.

The Dhaka Board has the highest number of candidates at 291,241, followed by Rajshahi with 133,242, Jashore with 116,317, Cumilla with 101,750, and Chattogram with 100,135. Other board-wise figures include 103,832 candidates in Dinajpur, 78,273 in Mymensingh, 69,683 in Sylhet, and 61,025 in Barishal. The Alim examination under the Madrasa Board has 86,102 candidates, while 109,611 students are appearing under the Technical Board.

Multiple monitoring teams have been deployed to oversee compliance with health guidelines. The coordination committee has made mask-wearing mandatory for all examinees. Additionally, hand sanitizers are being provided at every center, and efforts have been intensified to maintain cleanliness and control mosquitoes to combat dengue risks.

Each exam center will have a dedicated medical team. Law enforcement agencies have been instructed to raise awareness, ensure safety, and prevent crowding around exam centers. In line with dengue prevention efforts, spraying of mosquito repellents and thorough cleaning in and around the centers have been made mandatory.

Students are required to arrive at their centers at least 30 minutes before the start of the exam. In the event of delays due to natural disasters, the lost time will be compensated by extending the exam duration accordingly.