Bangladesh HSC Pass Rate Falls to 52.12%, With 594,113 Students Failing

Nearly half of candidates fail as results fall again

Bangladesh's 2026 Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations ended with 594,113 students failing and a national pass rate of 52.12%, extending a sharp decline in results. Education Minister A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon announced the results on Saturday, October 31, at the Secretariat in Dhaka.

Of the 1,240,798 candidates who sat examinations under 11 education boards, 646,685 passed. The pass rate fell by 6.71 percentage points from 58.83% in 2025. In simple terms, about 52 out of every 100 candidates passed this year, compared with about 59 last year.

The number earning GPA-5, the highest grade point average, dropped to 40,084 from 69,097. That means 29,013 fewer students achieved the top grade, a fall of about 42%. The decline reaches beyond the highest scorers: the number failing increased by 85,412 from last year's 508,701, or about 16.8%.

Milon described the results as unsatisfactory and said the government would take steps to address gaps in learning. He also announced that students who failed one or more subjects would have an opportunity to retake those subjects within one to two months.

The immediate concern for families is therefore twofold: understanding why so many students struggled, and finding out how quickly unsuccessful candidates can prepare for another attempt. For colleges and education officials, the results also point to large differences between institutions, regions and groups of students.

How far have results fallen?

The nine general education boards recorded a pass rate of 51.62%, down from 57.12% in 2025, a decline of 5.50 percentage points. Their results are counted separately from the Madrasah Education Board and the Technical Education Board before being combined into the national figure.

Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS) records put the general board pass rate at 47.73% in 2004 and 59.16% in 2005. The 2026 figure is the lowest since 2004. The broader historical comparison accompanying the national results gives a 2004 rate of 47.74%; the general board series provides the more specific comparison for ordinary HSC examinations.

Across the general boards, 1,048,530 candidates sat the examinations and 507,281 failed. BANBEIS records beginning in 1990 show no previous year with as many unsuccessful candidates in that group. This is a record count of failures across a large examination cohort.

GPA-5 results also reached their lowest level since 2018, when 29,262 students achieved the highest grade. The figure rose to 47,286 in 2019, compared with 40,084 this year. Together, the falling pass rate and shrinking top grade count show difficulties across more than one level of achievement.

Which boards performed best?

Dhaka had the highest pass rate among the 11 boards at 61.80%, followed by the Madrasah Education Board at 61.07%. Barishal recorded the lowest rate, 44.84%. The gap between Dhaka and Barishal was 16.96 percentage points.

The full board results show how widely outcomes varied:

• Dhaka: 61.80%.
• Madrasah Education Board: 61.07%.
• Chattogram: 52.07%.
• Mymensingh: 51.44%.
• Sylhet: 50.90%.
• Technical Education Board: 49.43%.
• Cumilla: 48.04%.
• Dinajpur: 45.98%.
• Rajshahi: 45.06%.
• Jashore: 44.92%.
• Barishal: 44.84%.

Six boards recorded pass rates below 50%, meaning more candidates failed than passed in each of them. Even the strongest board, Dhaka, had roughly 38 unsuccessful candidates for every 100 who sat the examinations.

Girls lead in passing, boys in top grades

Female candidates had a national pass rate of 56.31%, compared with 47.75% for male candidates. The difference was 8.56 percentage points, a substantial gap in an examination where nearly half of all candidates failed.

Among 633,149 female candidates, 356,528 passed. Among 607,649 male candidates, 290,157 passed. Girls therefore accounted for more successful candidates both in number and as a share of those taking the examinations.

Boys nevertheless earned more GPA-5 results: 20,363, compared with 19,721 for girls, a difference of 642. Passing and achieving the highest grade measure different parts of performance. A group can have more students reaching the top grade while also having a larger share failing.

Chattogram showed a different pattern at the top. Girls there led both in passing and in GPA-5 results. Their pass rate was 53.49%, against 47.62% for boys, while girls earned 1,596 of the board's 2,929 GPA-5 results. Boys earned the remaining 1,333.

Chattogram faces a steep loss of top grades

Chattogram Education Board Examination Controller Professor Parvez Sazzad Chowdhury announced the board's results on October 31. Its pass rate slipped to 52.07% from 52.57% in 2025, reaching its lowest level in 15 years.

The board had 99,878 registered students across Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari. Of those, 96,335 appeared at 114 examination centres, representing 280 colleges, and 50,166 passed. Registration counts include students who ultimately did not sit the examinations; the pass rate uses those who appeared.

The GPA-5 count fell to 2,929. Figures accompanying the board results put last year's total at 6,130, a fall of 3,201; another published breakdown gives the decrease as 3,168, which implies a previous total of 6,097. Both comparisons put the loss of top grades at more than half.

Chattogram's recent pass rates trace a longer decline: 89.4% in 2021, 78.8% in 2022, 74% in 2023 and 70.4% in 2024, before falling to 52.57% in 2025. In 2020, all candidates passed through a special assessment system introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than the usual examination process.

Local results expose large gaps between colleges

Chattogram City recorded a pass rate of 66.20%, compared with 41.42% in Bandarban, 33.24% in Rangamati and 29.85% in Khagrachhari. The difference between the city and Khagrachhari was 36.35 percentage points, making geography a central concern in examining access to effective teaching.

All nine candidates at three colleges under the Chattogram board failed: five at Srijani Trust School and College, two at Meron Sun College and two at BIAM Laboratory School and College in Cox's Bazar.

Six other institutions achieved a 100% pass rate: Barabkunda High School and College, Faujdarhat Cadet College, KAFCO School and College, Quantum Cosmo College, Ramu Cantonment English School and College, and Leaders School and College. Their candidate groups ranged from six to 134, so the number of students behind each percentage matters.

Faujdarhat's detailed results recorded 43 students earning GPA-5, including 32 with Golden GPA-5, although the board's college listing gave its total candidate count as 44. Principal Lieutenant Colonel Adnan Kabir attributed the college's sustained success to textbook study, regular practice, teacher commitment, parental support and additional guidance for weaker students.

In Phulbari, local education officials also identified weak institutional results. Uttar Lakshmipur School and College had no passes among five candidates, while Pukhuri School and College had one pass among 10. Chintamon Government College recorded 179 passes from 225 candidates, or 79.55%. Upazila Secondary Education Officer Abul Kalam Azad said institutions performing poorly would be investigated. Administrators identified difficulty with English as a major concern.

What educators say needs investigation

Rasheda K. Choudhury, executive director of the Campaign for Popular Education, linked the weak results to several pressures arriving in succession. She identified learning gaps from the pandemic, disruption surrounding the July uprising and teacher shortages as possible contributors.

Choudhury also pointed to differences in family income and location. Students from wealthier households can obtain learning support that poorer families may struggle to afford, while rural institutions often have fewer resources. Her recommendation was to examine those differences alongside classroom teaching, rather than place responsibility entirely on students.

Professor Siddiqur Rahman, former director of Dhaka University's Institute of Education and Research, called for research using a representative sample to identify the causes. He said closures during the 2024 uprising could have affected learning and recommended reviewing whether earlier marking practices had been unusually generous.

Rahman also highlighted longstanding weakness in English and the difficulties some students face after moving from secondary school to college. He recommended examining whether students who performed well in the Secondary School Certificate examinations receive enough support to manage the next stage of study.

Support should follow the institutional review

Rahman proposed special reviews of colleges where fewer than 20% of candidates passed. Those reviews would examine teaching quality, whether classes take place regularly, whether weaker students receive extra lessons and whether teachers provide adequate help.

He also recommended studying institutions where everyone passed. Comparing their teaching and support arrangements with those at struggling colleges could give education officials practical approaches to use elsewhere. Teachers, students and parents should all be consulted, he said.

Choudhury called for independent research into institutions where no candidate passed. She recommended checking for vacant teaching posts, shortages of teachers qualified in particular subjects, inadequate facilities and weaknesses in management, then providing assistance matched to each institution's needs.

Regular supervision should include advice and support, she argued, with local education administrators and parents involved, especially poorer families in rural areas. She cited an approach used in Thailand in which struggling institutions receive intensive attention over one to two years. Her recommendation for Bangladesh was sustained help to repair identified weaknesses.

Retakes offer students another chance

Milon said candidates who failed one or more subjects could retake only those subjects within one to two months. That would allow students to concentrate their preparation on the papers they need to pass instead of repeating subjects they have already cleared.

The minister's announcement covered a broader group and a longer period than the arrangement Choudhury referred to when welcoming another examination opportunity for students failing one or two subjects within a month. No exact retake date, registration deadline or detailed procedure was given.

Choudhury also urged the government to provide options for students facing deeper academic difficulties. She proposed short courses in technical and vocational skills, languages and other abilities useful for employment, alongside efforts to help unsuccessful candidates continue learning.

The examination and results schedule stretched across several months:

• July 2, 2026: HSC and equivalent examinations began.
• August 8: Written examinations ended for most boards.
• September 9: Chattogram completed written examinations postponed because of flooding.
• October 31: Results were announced nationally and by education boards.
• Within one to two months of the announcement: The minister said unsuccessful candidates would receive a retake opportunity.

Students can obtain their results through official online result portals, their educational institutions and SMS services. Institutions were advised to download and publish results using their education board details and Educational Institute Identification Number, known as an EIIN.

Key Points

• Bangladesh's 2026 HSC and equivalent pass rate fell to 52.12%, from 58.83% in 2025.
• Of 1,240,798 candidates who appeared, 646,685 passed and 594,113 failed.
• GPA-5 recipients fell by about 42%, to 40,084.
• The general boards recorded their lowest pass rate since 2004 and their largest failure count in BANBEIS records beginning in 1990.
• Girls led boys in the national pass rate by 8.56 percentage points; boys earned 642 more GPA-5 results.
• Educators recommended research, targeted college reviews, stronger classroom teaching and help for disadvantaged students.
• The education minister announced retakes in failed subjects within one to two months, with the detailed schedule still pending.