SSC exams begin today

The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations begin across the country today, with authorities taking special measures to manage traffic and ensure smooth conduct.

On the first day, exams will start at 10:00am. Subjects include Bangla (compulsory) first paper and Easy Bangla first paper under the nine general education boards, Quran Majid and Tajvid under the madrassah board, and Bangla (2) under the technical education board.

In Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) areas, examinees have been allowed to enter exam centres from 8:00am—an hour earlier than usual—following a request from police authorities to ease traffic congestion. Typically, centres open at 9:00am, with entry permitted until 9:30am.

This year, around 18.57 lakh students from 30,666 educational institutions are expected to sit for the exams at 3,885 centres nationwide.

According to Dhaka education board’s Controller of Examinations, Professor SM Kamal Uddin Hyder, approximately 18.95 lakh students initially registered. Of them, about 14.48 lakh will appear as regular candidates, while around 4.47 lakh did not complete the necessary formalities. In addition, roughly 4.08 lakh irregular candidates are also participating.

The exams are being held amid ongoing load shedding and intense summer heat, posing additional challenges for students.

Speaking at a press briefing at the Secretariat, Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon said strict measures would be enforced to maintain discipline and prevent irregularities on Monday. He warned that any ministry employee found involved in corruption would face immediate action, citing the suspension of an official on the same day.

Authorities have also announced enhanced monitoring this year. CCTV cameras are to be installed in every exam room, and existing inactive systems must be made operational. All footage will be preserved for review.

Other directives include ensuring adequate lighting and ventilation, placing visible clocks in each exam room, deploying sufficient security personnel, and prohibiting the use of mobile phones by anyone except the centre secretary. Measures such as body searches and strict supervision aim to prevent all forms of cheating.

The ministry also plans to increase the number of examiners and randomly review answer scripts to detect negligence or malpractice, including the outsourcing of script evaluation.

The minister added that the government is considering holding next year’s SSC and equivalent examinations in December, though no final decision has been made.