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Behind the impressive SSC results and a surge in GPA-5 scores at some of Bangladesh’s top educational institutions lies a troubling practice: students being filtered out before they get the chance to sit for the public examination.
An analysis of registration and form-filling data for the 2026 SSC examination found significant gaps between the number of students registered at several institutions and those who ultimately appeared for the exam. Nasima Kadir Molla High School in Narsingdi and Milestone School and College in Dhaka are among the institutions where the disparity is particularly striking.
At Nasima Kadir Molla High School, all 382 students who sat for this year’s SSC examination secured GPA-5, giving the school a 100% pass rate. The institution has also recorded a 100% GPA-5 rate in several previous years, including 2025, 2022, 2017 and 2015.
Yet 616 students were registered for the 2026 SSC examination from the 2024-25 academic session. Only 382 ultimately took the public examination, meaning 234 registered students did not appear.
Students and parents who were affected allege that many were prevented from filling out SSC forms after being marked as failures in school test examinations. They claim the tests were effectively used to screen out weaker-performing students and protect the institution’s record of 100% GPA-5 results.
Students who were unable to sit for the exam through the school later appeared from other institutions in Narsingdi and achieved strong results. At Narsingdi Sanbin School, 25 of 50 such students secured GPA-5. Three of five students who sat for the exam from Ghoradia High School also achieved GPA-5, while one of four from Narsingdi Model School did so.
Milestone School and College also reported an impressive result this year. Of 1,493 students who appeared in the SSC examination from its Bangla and English versions, 1,488 passed, producing a 99.67% pass rate. Among them, 613 secured GPA-5.
However, 1,991 students were registered in Class 9 at the institution’s Diabari campus, while only 1,440 eventually sat for the public examination—a gap of 551 students. At its Mohammadpur campus, 204 students were registered in Class 9, but only 134 appeared for the SSC exam, leaving 70 students out.
Similar discrepancies were found at several other prominent Dhaka schools. At Viqarunnisa Noon School, 2,134 students were registered, compared with 2,072 who appeared for the examination. Monipur School had 3,490 registered students, of whom 3,359 sat for the exam. At Motijheel Ideal School, 2,770 students were registered and 2,722 filled out examination forms.
Mohammad Kamal Hossain, assistant head teacher of Nasima Kadir Molla High School, said some students had failed one or more subjects in the first test examination. Following appeals from parents, the school conducted another examination, but many still failed to qualify in the selection test and therefore could not fill out forms for the SSC examination.
Milestone principal Mohammad Ziaul Alam could not be reached despite several phone calls. The institution’s public relations officer, Shah Bulbul, said he did not have the exact figures for Class 9 registrations and SSC examinees, but acknowledged that students should not be prevented from sitting for public examinations simply to maintain a 100% pass rate.
Educationists argue that institutions should publish the number of students admitted or registered in Class 9 alongside the number who actually sit for the SSC exam, the pass rate and the GPA-5 rate. Such disclosure would allow parents to assess the real picture behind headline-grabbing results.
They also warn that intense competition over academic results has created a commercial race among prestigious institutions, driving demand for admission and expanding related markets such as coaching, special classes and transport services.
Ziaul Kabir Dulu, president of the Guardians Unity Forum, said educational quality should not be judged solely by pass rates or GPA-5 numbers. The pressure to achieve top grades, he said, is also increasing students’ mental burden.
Dhaka Education Board Chairman Professor Syed Akhtaruzzaman said some institutions had engaged in an “unhealthy competition” to maintain 100% pass rates. The board is collecting information on institutions suspected of such practices and will seek explanations from them, he said.
If their explanations are unsatisfactory, the authorities will take necessary action. The board is also reviewing cases involving institutions accused of similar irregularities in previous years.