The HSC ICT Exam 2026 is being conducted in Bangladesh on Saturday, the fifth day of the national exam schedule. Students sat for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) examination under eight general education boards, while the Madrasa Education Board held the English First Paper examination and the Technical Education Board conducted the Principles and Applications of Accounting-II examination.
Examinations were held in 59 districts under the eight general education boards. Since morning, examination centres across the country were busy with students arriving for their tests. Many guardians also accompanied the examinees and waited outside the centres after they entered.
However, the Information and Communication Technology (Subject Code-275) examination under the Chattogram Education Board was postponed in all districts under the board due to severe weather and the worsening flood situation. The decision was announced in a notice signed by the Controller of Examinations, Professor Md. Parvez Sajjad Chowdhury on Friday.
The same weather conditions also led to the postponement of Saturday’s Alim and Technical Education Board HSC (BMT) examinations in five districts of the Chattogram region.
According to the Ministry of Education, a total of 1,270,583 students are taking this year’s HSC and equivalent examinations under 11 education boards. Among them are 621,969 male students and 648,614 female students. Female examinees outnumber male examinees by 26,645.
Education officials said the higher number of female candidates reflects continued progress in women’s education in Bangladesh.
Earlier, at a press conference on July 1, Secondary and Higher Education Division Secretary Abdul Khaleque said students from 9,439 educational institutions are sitting the examinations at 2,697 centres nationwide. He also said the HSC examinations under the nine general education boards are being held with a single and uniform question paper.
Education data released by the ministry and the education boards also show that a large number of regular students are not participating in this year’s examinations.
After passing the SSC and equivalent examinations in the 2024-25 academic year, around 1.5 million students registered for Class XI. However, only about 950,000 students completed the examination form fill-up. As a result, around 550,000 regular students, or nearly 36 percent, are not taking this year’s HSC and equivalent examinations.
The participation rate has fallen compared with last year. In 2025, just over 29 percent of registered regular students did not sit for the examinations.
Under the nine general education boards, 1,186,461 students registered in Class XI during the 2024-25 academic year. Of them, 794,477 completed examination forms, while 391,984 did not. This means 33.04 percent of regular students under the general boards are absent from this year’s examinations, up from about 27 percent last year.
The Madrasa Education Board recorded an even higher non-participation rate. Of the 139,929 students who registered for the first year of Alim, only 78,269 completed examination forms. More than 61,000 students did not, resulting in a non-participation rate of 44.07 percent, compared with about 39 percent last year.
The Bangladesh Technical Education Board recorded the highest rate. Among 165,542 registered Class XI (Vocational) students, only 75,197 completed examination forms. The remaining 90,345 students did not, meaning 54.58 percent are not participating in this year’s examinations. Last year’s figure was about 40 percent.
The Ministry of Education and the education boards are continuing to monitor the examination process, while postponed examinations in the affected areas are expected to be rescheduled through separate official notices.
