The average pass rate for the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations for 2025 has sharply dropped to 58.83% across 11 education boards, marking a decline of 18.95% from the previous year’s 77.78%.

The results were simultaneously published today (16 October) at 10am in respective institutions and online.

Chairman of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka, Professor Dr Khondokar Ehsanul Kabir, formally announced the results at the Dhaka Education Board auditorium.

The examinations saw some 12,35,661 candidates participate across the general education boards.

Of them, a total of 7,26,960 students successfully passed the exams across the nine general education boards, Madrasha Education Board, and the Technical Education Board this year.

Girls maintain lead

A total of 69,097 students secured a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 5 this time across the 11 education boards, a steep drop from the 1,45,911 students who achieved the top grade in 2024. The difference marks a staggering decrease of 76,814 top scorers.

Despite the overall decline in results, female students maintained a clear lead over their male counterparts in both overall success and the acquisition of top scores, continuing the trend.

The pass rate for female students across all 11 boards stood at 62.97%, significantly higher than the 54.60% pass rate achieved by male students.

In the most competitive category, some 37,044 female students obtained a GPA-5, outnumbering the 32,053 male students who achieved the same.

Additionally, the results highlighted a vast range in performance across the boards:

The Dhaka Education Board recorded the highest pass rate among general boards at 64.62%. Other high performers included the Barishal Board at 62.57% and the Rajshahi Board at 59.40%.

Boards struggling below the 55% mark included Cumilla (48.86%), Jashore (50.20%), Chattogram (52.57%), Sylhet (51.86%), and Mymensingh (51.54%).

Meanwhile, the Madrasah Education Board registered a high pass rate of 75.61%, while the Technical Board achieved 62.67%.

The results further saw that 345 institutions achieved a 100% pass rate, while an alarming 202 institutions saw no students pass, recording a 0% success rate.

The examinations were held at 2,797 centres across the country, beginning on 26 June.