A total of 25,970 candidates passed, while 950 secured GPA-5, accounting for 1.64% of all examinees.

The Barishal education board has recorded the lowest HSC pass rate among the country’s nine general education boards this year, with only 44.84% of candidates passing.

Education experts have blamed negligence by teachers, students, and guardians for the continued decline in academic performance.

The pass rate has dropped by 38.01 percentage points in two years, falling from 81.85% in 2024 to 62.57% in 2025 and 44.84% this year.

Speaking at a press briefing this morning (31 October), the board’s Controller of Examinations Prof Sharif Morshed Reza said a total of 57,912 students — 26,755 boys and 31,157 girls — from 350 colleges across the division’s six districts sat for the examinations.

A total of 25,970 passed, while 950 secured GPA-5, accounting for 1.64% of all examinees. The number of GPA-5 achievers also fell from 1,674 last year to 950 this year, a decline of 724.

Girls outperformed the boys, as in previous years, according to Sharif. The pass rate among female students was 52.97%, compared with 35.38% among male students.

A total of 14 students — nine boys and five girls — were expelled from the examinations.

Prof Debashish Chakraborty, a history teacher at Amrit Lal Dey College, said the results reflected students’ actual level of preparation and learning.

He said students had become more dependent on coaching centres than classroom lessons, adding that results would not improve unless they returned to regular classes.

An analysis of the results shows that only three educational institutions under the board achieved a 100% pass rate — one each in Barishal, Patuakhali, and Pirojpur districts. In contrast, 11 institutions recorded a 100% failure rate.

English was the subject in which students performed worst, with only 54% of candidates passing, according to the board’s review.

Assistant Professor Dulal Majumdar, of the accounting department at Amrit Lal Dey College, placed the greatest responsibility on teachers, saying the education system was making students dependent on coaching and handouts rather than encouraging classroom learning.

He also criticised guardians for failing to monitor their children’s studies and activities, saying the combined lack of attention had contributed to the poor results.

Prof Md Salam Howlader, principal of Barishal Government Women’s College, said the results might appear poor but reflected the actual state of education in the region.

He said teachers, students, and guardians all needed to take greater responsibility and become more attentive to their respective roles if the students were to achieve the expected results.