HSC result shock: Deep urban-rural divide laid bare

Students in major urban education centres have considerably outperformed their counterparts in many outlying districts in terms of pass rates and GPA-5 results in this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations.

While the overall pass rate under the nine general education boards, which used identical question papers for the first time this year, was 51.62 percent, it reached 79.33 percent in Dhaka metropolis and 66.20 percent in Chattogram metropolis.

In Rajshahi and Sylhet districts, the rates were 55.33 and 57.62 percent respectively.

By contrast, five outlying districts under the same boards -- Manikganj, Khagrachhari, Naogaon, Jhalakathi and Moulvibazar -- recorded pass rates between 29.85 and 43.84 percent.

The findings point to a structural divide in educational opportunity, said M Niaz Asadullah, professor of economics at Dhaka University.

Dhaka’s concentration of top grades is consistent with its advantages in coaching, private tuition, academic resources and strong peer groups, he said.

The Daily Star found a gap of 41 percentage points between Dhaka metropolis and Manikganj, both under Dhaka Board.

Dhaka metropolis produced 13,482 of the 35,948 GPA-5 achievers under the nine general boards, or 37.5 percent, despite accounting for only 10.6 percent of examinees.

In the capital’s metropolitan area, 88,154 of 1,11,119 examinees passed, compared with 3,915 of 10,234 in Manikganj. Their pass rates were 79.33 percent and 38.25 percent respectively.

Under Chattogram Board, 66.20 percent passed in the metropolis, against 29.85 percent in Khagrachhari, 33.24 percent in Rangamati and 41.42 percent in Bandarban. Elsewhere in Chattogram district, 45.59 percent passed.

Under Rajshahi Board, the rates were 55.33 percent in Rajshahi district and 53.64 percent in Bogura, against 36.93 percent in Naogaon, 37.88 percent in Sirajganj and 38.36 percent in Chapainawabganj.

Under Sylhet Board, 57.62 percent passed in Sylhet district, compared with 43.84 percent in Moulvibazar. Under Barishal Board, the figures were 49.95 percent in Barishal district and 37.09 percent in Jhalakathi.

Barishal Board had the lowest pass rate, at 44.84 percent.

Dhaka metropolis produced 13,482 of the 35,948 GPA-5 achievers under the nine general boards, or 37.5 percent, despite accounting for only 10.6 percent of examinees.

At Notre Dame College in Dhaka, 2,229 students secured GPA-5, exceeding the individual totals of five of the country’s 11 education boards: Mymensingh, Cumilla, Sylhet, Barishal and Technical. Of its 3,256 examinees, 3,218 passed.

In Shariatpur, another district under Dhaka Board, just 35 of 5,727 examinees secured GPA-5. The proportion achieving the top grade was nearly 20 times higher in the capital.

Sylhet district accounted for 903 of its board’s 1,204 GPA-5 achievers, or 75 percent, despite having 43 percent of examinees. Sunamganj recorded only 46 GPA-5s among 13,667 candidates.

Rajshahi and Bogura districts together produced 3,094 of Rajshahi Board’s 4,520 GPA-5 achievers, or 68.5 percent, with fewer than 40 percent of candidates.

At Government Azizul Haque College, a sought-after college in Bogura city, 1,455 of 1,471 examinees passed and 747 secured GPA-5, more than half the district’s 1,309 top grades.

Yet none of the 46 examinees at the rural Taslim Uddin Tarafder College in Gabtali upazila passed.

Under Dinajpur Board, 749 of 804 candidates passed at Dinajpur Government College, compared with 209 of 534 at Kaharol Government College.

The Daily Star’s analysis found that 1,083 of 1,376 colleges under Rajshahi, Barishal and Chattogram boards had pass rates of 50 percent or below.

Under Rajshahi Board, the number rose from 457 of 750 colleges last year to 614 this year.

Rajshahi district colleges had an average of 40 teachers each in 2025, against 30 in Naogaon, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS).

The averages were 22 in Chattogram district and 15 in Khagrachhari.

BANBEIS also found that 54.21 percent of colleges were rural, although urban areas accounted for 76.11 percent of college students.

Poor facilities and low enrolment were also reported at colleges in rural areas, where no HSC examinees passed.

For instance, at Majidbaria College in Patuakhali’s Mirzaganj, classes are held in dilapidated tin-shed rooms. It has eight teachers, but its only HSC candidate failed.

Principal Faruk Mallik said the college had yet to secure monthly pay order (MPO) enlistment and poor infrastructure had contributed to low enrolment.

At Kadbhanu Memorial Secondary Girls’ School and College in Barguna’s Betagi, neither of its two HSC examinees passed.

Principal Shamima Nasrin said admissions to the higher secondary section had been suspended after 2024 because of a classroom shortage. It had applied to close the section.

Inequalities begin even before college.

Asadullah identified four factors: disruptions to earlier schooling, selective admissions, unequal family resources and private tuition, and weaknesses in teaching and institutional management.

Disadvantaged families had fewer ways to compensate for learning losses during the pandemic and later disruptions, including those caused by extreme weather.

Better-off households could afford tutors, materials, study spaces and sometimes relocation to better colleges, he said.

“HSC results are a late-stage expression of inequalities that often begin well before college,” he said.

Students entering Class XI with weak reading comprehension or mathematics could struggle with the higher secondary syllabus, although timely remedial teaching could help.

Asadullah urged regular, credible assessments to identify learning difficulties before HSC.

District totals include both urban and rural colleges, so the results do not measure a nationwide rural-urban divide.

The disparities are unsurprising without an area-based plan to ensure acceptable standards at all institutions, said Manzoor Ahmed, professor emeritus at BRAC University.

Education boards mainly handled registration and examinations, doing little to improve teaching or monitor quality, although they could use part of their fee income to raise standards.

“Does the government accept the responsibility for providing school education of acceptable quality for all children? If so, where is the time-bound plan for that?”

He urged the government to consider recommendations from the interim government’s consultation committee on secondary education and pursue a coordinated plan with education boards and agencies.

Fragmented, ad hoc and partial responses “can only aggravate problems further”, he said.