Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, education in Bangladesh faced significant disruptions. From impacting the standard academic schedule to delaying back board exams—even cancellation of HSC in 2020—the country suffered a massive blow to the education system. The ripple effects continued, causing delays in starting classes for subsequent batches and significantly compressing the original 24-month duration allocated for grades 11 and 12.
Recognising these challenges, the Ministry of Education made some crucial adjustments. Starting with the HSC exam in 2021, a revised, shorter version of the original syllabus was introduced to make the examination requirements more manageable under the circumstances. These adjusted syllabi have been implemented for the HSC exams from 2021 through 2024. The upcoming HSC 2025 exam is notable as it is known to be the final HSC exam conducted using a short syllabus format.
For the HSC 2025 exam, scheduled to begin on 26 June, students will follow the specific revised short syllabus that was previously prepared for the HSC 2023 batch and was also used for the HSC 2024 exams. Crucially, the HSC 2025 examination will be conducted using the full original mark distribution. This means that while the content is based on the shortened syllabus, the assessment for each paper will adhere to the standard 100-mark scale.
Each subject paper across the Science, Commerce (Business Studies), and Arts (Humanities) groups is allocated a total of 100 marks. The time allotted for completing each paper is three hours. Most exams will consist of two main sections: a Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) part and a Creative Question (CQ) part. The exact mark breakdown between these sections differs depending on the subject.
The MCQ section will be valued at either 25 marks or 30 marks, based on the specific subject. Consequently, the time provided for this section will be 25 minutes or 30 minutes, respectively.
The Creative Question (CQ) section will cover the remaining marks, meaning it will be worth either 70 marks or 50 marks, varying by subject.
Time allocation for the CQ section corresponds to its mark value: 2 hours and 30 minutes are given for 70-mark CQ sections, while 2 hours and 35 minutes are provided for 50-mark CQ sections.
Point to be noted: some subjects (e.g., English 1st and 2nd paper) do not feature the MCQ/CQ division. For these subjects, the assessment will be a single written examination paper worth the full 100 marks, to be completed within the standard 3-hour timeframe.
More information, including the shortened syllabus and time allotted for a specific subject, can be found online.