No grace or additional marks were given to the examinees to help them pass this year’s Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations, said Prof Dr. Khondokar Ehsanul Kabir, chairman of the Dhaka Education Board and head of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee.

Speaking at a media briefing at the Dhaka Board office on Thursday, he clarified that the results reflect students’ actual performance.

“This is the true result. No one has been given extra or grace marks. We made a 100 percent effort to ensure fair assessment,” he said.

The board chairman said examiners were strictly instructed to evaluate answer scripts based on merit alone. “The marks students earned in their scripts were accurately compiled and published through our system. No leniency or special treatment was applied.”

He claimed that unlike in previous years, this year’s results were completely free from external influence. “We faced no pressure from any higher authorities. We told examiners to mark answers properly, and that’s what they did.”

He urged everyone to accept the results as the answer scripts of the examinees were evaluated properly.

According to the Education Ministry, the average pass rate under 11 education boards across the country stands at 68.45 percent, a sharp decline from 83.04 percent recorded in 2024.

This year’s SSC and equivalent exams began on April 10 and concluded on May 13.

A total of 19, 28,970 students registered to take the exams including 9, 67,739 female students and 9, 61,231 male students.