Top grades fall for fourth year in Bangladesh exams

For the fourth year running, fewer students in Bangladesh have achieved the highest possible grade, GPA-5, in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations. This year's results show a continued downward trend, with 116,676 students securing the top grade, a notable drop from 139,032 in the previous year.

The decline is even more pronounced when compared to previous years. In 2022, a significantly higher 269,602 students achieved GPA-5. The number has steadily decreased since then, falling to 183,578 in 2023 and 182,129 in 2024, before the latest drop.

Statistics from the Education Ministry reveal that girls continue to outperform boys in achieving top grades, with 63,896 girls securing GPA-5 compared to 52,780 boys this year. Among the nine general education boards, Dhaka Board saw the highest number of GPA-5 achievers with 33,253 students, followed by Rajshahi with 16,113 and Dinajpur with 13,639.

The Madrasah Education Board saw 6,716 students achieve GPA-5, while the Technical Education Board had 3,951 top scorers. Accompanying the drop in top grades, the overall pass rate for the SSC and equivalent examinations also decreased to 62.25 percent this year, down from 68.45 percent last year.