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EDUCATION in Bangladesh has fallen victim to corruption, inefficiency, mismanagement, and neglect for decades. Both print and electronic media often expose many of these malpractices. However, some education illnesses don’t seem to come to the limelight for whatever reasons. There appears to be no one to take action on them.Ìý

Yes, we are talking about the condition of the practicals in school-leaving examinations such as the SSC and the HSC. To say that the practical is a travesty of examination is probably an understatement. Many of us know what happens in the name of the practical examination. This is the case in schools across the country.

The way the practical is conducted in thousands of schools serving as examination centres is neither assessment nor learning. It’s a fiasco. Any student who passed the SSC or the HSC examination doing the practicals will attest to this truth.

Only certain academic subjects have practical examinations at the SSC and HSC levels. In the Science group, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Higher Mathematics have compulsory practical components. In the Humanities and Business Studies groups, Agriculture, Home Economics, and Statistics include practical assessment. Additionally, subjects such as psychology and information and communication technology may also cover practical components, although these can vary from one school to another.

The practical component in each subject is allocated 25 marks. This mark is added to 75 marks reserved for the written component in each subject. Marks obtained from the theoretical and practical components determine a student’s final grade for the subject out of 100 marks.

Given that the practical constitutes a quarter of the total marks, there is no way it can be overlooked by students. This component has a significant contribution to their grades in individual subjects and to their overall GPAs.

Apart from assessment and grading, the practical is the only opportunity for students to demonstrate their learning and academic achievement. Whatever the official purpose of the practical, what happens in its name during examination may be completely unrelated to that aim.

The practical part of the school-leaving examination includes several activities. Preparing a notebook is a common task for many subjects. The main purpose of the notebook is to record practical experiences that students would have gained while doing experiments during the academic year. This task carries five points for each paper.Ìý

Next comes the oral examination, which also carries 5 marks. During the oral, the examiner may ask any question about the subject since the syllabus covers the entire textbook. The third part of the practical is performing experiments instantly at the exam centre, which is to be evaluated by an external examiner. This performance carries 15 marks.

However, all three activities appear to be nothing more than mere eyewash. This farcical exercise has continued for decades across schools in the country.

To begin with, the way notebooks are examined is ‘absurd’. It’s common knowledge that no one is responsible for going through the content in the notebook in most schools. What happens during the public examination is that the examiner tears it apart in front of the student. Perhaps a more conscientious examiner would mark it in red, sign it, and tear a small part so the same notebook cannot be submitted by someone else during the current year or in the future.

From the beginning, every student is informed that their notebook is not going to be checked; hence, the accuracy of the content never matters.

The ‘15 marks’ from the real-time practical during the exam are guaranteed for everyone, regardless of the outcome of the experiment or the manner of its reporting. Most of the time, students don’t have to engage in any practical activities due to the size of student bodies, limited time, and the absence of materials for experiments.

Therefore, the marks for experiments are usually given as free ‘gifts’ to students.

Students are usually allowed to choose the topic of their experiment. If this is not possible for any reason, they may have the opportunity to copy from their friends’ answer sheets, since the practical is never strictly invigilated. During chemistry practicals, they are allowed to keep their notebooks with them and copy answers word for word.

The first author of this essay took part in the most recent SSC examination. She had the exact experiences during the practicals that she had heard from her seniors. She and her classmates knew very well that no matter what they wrote in their answer sheets, the marks would not be affected. The teachers were not going to check the answers anyway.

During her chemistry viva, the examiner asked her a few questions about what she had written in her answer sheet. He also asked her to write down a simple chemical reaction. It was surprising that he did not care what she wrote or what answer she gave. Everyone knows that every student would earn either 24 or 25 marks.

As this ‘bogus’ practical has prevailed in the country for decades, students have developed management strategies. To save their time, most of them do not write about their experiment themselves; rather, they get it done by others. These ‘others’ may be one’s siblings, seniors or juniors at school or sometimes even parents. What is required is just a ‘notebook’, not what is written inside or by whom.

This system has brought a good opportunity for some people to start an innovative business, which is writing the practical notebook in return for payment. This service is available online and offline, which is a ‘time saver’ for many.

However, it is not the only business born out of the practicals. In many schools, teachers are unwilling to engage in formal testing for allocating marks to students. They have made life easier for all parties. It’s an open secret that they submit students’ practical marks to education boards in return for money.

Some private schools commit to their students and guardians that students will receive full marks for the practicals because their tuition fees are very high, which means the marks from the practical exams are often not obtained; these are commonly purchased.

In conclusion, the practical tests in the school-leaving examinations in Bangladesh are nothing but a time- and money-wasting ceremony that has little contribution to students’ learning or education. It’s astonishing that even after many curriculum reforms over the years, they have remained the same.

The time is ripe for investigating the practicals and rectifying this corrupt system without further delay. We can no longer afford to have practical exams as mere shows or sources of ill-gotten income for anyone.Ìý

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Jannat Romman passed her SSC examination in 2025 and is currently a Grade 11 student in Rangpur Government College. Obaidul Hamid is an associate professor at the University of Queensland in Australia.