The Higher Secondary Certificate and its equivalent examinations are going to start today across Bangladesh.
This year, 12.51 lakh students are sitting for the examinations under 11 education boards. Of the boards, nine are general education boards, one madrassah education board and one technical education board.
Wearing masks has been made mandatory for all candidates and staff during the examinations amid a surge in Covid and dengue cases nationwide.
The inter-education board coordination committee in its directives on June 16 also required hand sanitisers at the entrances of examination centres, dengue prevention measures, on-site medical teams, and coordination with local authorities to discourage gatherings of guardians of the students at the centres.
The HSC and its equivalent examinations are scheduled to be concluded by August 21.
The Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported that the examinations would be held in 2,797 centres across the country.
The theoretical part of the HSC and its equivalent examinations will be held from June 26 to August 10 and the practical part from August 11 to August 21.
All the coaching centres across the country will remain closed between June 20 and August 15 as a measure to prevent leaking of question papers.
Meanwhile, the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Rajshahi on June 21 cancelled a history 2nd paper question set for the HSC examinations after a trunk containing the question papers was found unlocked and breached inside the Dhamoirhat police station in Naogaon on June 20.
Board officials said that the history 2nd paper examination was scheduled for July 19 and the examination would be held on an alternative set.
Eight police personnel, including an officer-in-charge, have been withdrawn from duty till June 22 for their alleged involvement in an alleged attempt to leak question papers at the Dhamoirhat police station, official sources said.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Tuesday issued a set of directives, saying that in Dhaka, the examinations (each of three hours starting at 10:00am) would be held in 87 centres.
The police said that no vehicles would be allowed to be parked near the centres and urged the guardians not to stay on the roads near the centres. It also urged the citizens to avoid roads adjacent to the centres one hour before and one hour after the examinations.
The DMP also states that obstructing traffic by standing on roads is a punishable offense under the Road Transport Act 2018.
In the examination routine, special instructions regarding the examinations have been given.
No one, except for the examination secretary of the designated official for the examination centre, will be allowed to carry mobile phones to the examination centres.
All examinees are requested to enter their respective examination halls 30 minutes before the starting time and use only basic scientific calculators (non-programmed).
