Online registration has opened for the 12th Bangladesh Junior Science Olympiad (BdJSO 2026), which will select the Bangladesh team for the 23rd International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO 2026) in Sofia, Bulgaria.

School, college and madrasa students from across Bangladesh can register at online.bdjso.org, according to a press release.

Students from Bangla-medium, English-medium and English-version institutions are eligible to participate. Registration can be completed using any internet-connected device, including a smartphone, laptop, tablet or desktop computer.

Those who registered online and participated in previous years may complete this year’s registration by logging into their existing accounts and updating their information.

The registration deadline and the dates and venues of the regional and national rounds will be announced in the notice section of bdjso.org once they are finalised. Registered students will also be notified by SMS or email.

Students enrolled at any educational institution in Bangladesh and born after 1 January 2011 may participate by registering within the stipulated period.

Participants will be placed in categories according to the classes in which they are studying in 2026.

As in previous years, the Olympiad will be held in three categories: primary, for students in classes three to five or equivalent; junior, for those in classes six to eight or equivalent; and secondary, for students in classes nine to 11 or equivalent, including SSC candidates.

The rules apply to students from all educational institutions, including Bangla-medium, English-medium, English-version and madrasa institutions. However, students may compete only in their respective categories.

The Olympiad is generally held in two stages: regional or online rounds across the country, followed by the national round in Dhaka.

Questions combining physics, chemistry and biology will be provided in both Bangla and English for each category. Regional rounds generally comprise 12 to 20 short and analytical questions, with participants given between one hour and 90 minutes to complete them.

Modelled on the International Junior Science Olympiad, the national round will feature both short questions and stimulus-based analytical problems.

Following the regional or online and national rounds, the national-round winners will join the BdJSO national camp.

The Bangladesh team for the 23rd International Junior Science Olympiad in Sofia will then be selected through an initial screening, long-term training and a final international team selection examination.

The final team will be chosen based not only on academic performance but also on students’ communication skills, conduct, psychological readiness and overall abilities.

For the first stage, participants are advised to study and understand the science textbooks prescribed for their respective classes. Rote learning alone is unlikely to help students perform well in BdJSO.

Students in higher classes may also consult supplementary books. Recommended physics books include Muhammad Zafar Iqbal’s Podarthobigganer Prothom Path and Young and Freedman’s University Physics with Modern Physics.

Recommended chemistry books include Ebbing and Gammon’s General Chemistry and Raymond Chang’s Chemistry.

For biology, students may consult Gazi Azmal’s higher secondary zoology textbook, Abul Hasan’s higher secondary botany textbook, and Reece, Urry and Cain’s Campbell Biology.

Detailed preparation guidelines are available at bdjso.org/whatwhare, while a complete and updated reading list can be found at bdjso.org/booklist.

The Olympiad is organised by the Society for the Popularization of Science, Bangladesh (SPSB), also known as the Bangladesh Science Popularisation Society.