Dakhil pass rate lowest in 23 years

The Madrasah Education Board recorded its lowest pass rate in 23 years at 55.49 percent, while the Technical Education Board posted a 19-year low of 58.20 percent in this year’s SSC and equivalent examinations, according to education ministry data.

Madrasah Board’s pass rate fell by 12.60 percentage points from 68.09 percent last year, while the Technical Board recorded an even steeper decline of 15.43 percentage points from 73.63 percent. Of the 2.96 lakh examinees under the Madrasah Board, 1.64 lakh passed the Dakhil exams this year. Last year, 1.95 lakh of 2.86 lakh passed.

Girls performed better under the Madrasah Board this year, with 59.89 percent passing compared with 51.64 percent of boys. The number of GPA-5 achievers also fell to 6,716 from 9,066 last year. The figure was 14,206 in 2024, 6,213 in 2023 and 15,457 in 2022.

Prof Khondaker Mohammad Sadequr Rahman, chairman of the Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board, said tighter examination management may have contributed to the lower pass rate.

“One possible reason is that examinees did not sit for the examinations at their own institutions and had to go to other centres. This may have reduced irregularities,” he told The Daily Star.

A total of 226 institutions under the Madrasah Board recorded a zero pass rate, while 88 achieved a 100 percent pass rate.

Meanwhile, 74,470 of the 1,27,964 examinees under the Technical Education Board passed this year, putting the pass rate at 58.20 percent.

Last year, 1.01 lakh of 1.38 lakh examinees passed, with a rate of 73.63 percent. The rate therefore dropped by 15.43 percentage points in a year.

Girls again performed better, with 67.48 percent passing compared with 55.19 percent of boys.

The number of GPA-5 achievers under the Technical Board fell to 3,951 from 4,948 last year. The figure was 4,078 in 2024, 18,145 in 2023 and 18,655 in 2022.

A total of 29 institutions under the Technical Board recorded a zero pass rate, while 89 achieved a 100 percent pass rate.