Staff Correspondent

Applications for re-scrutiny of answer scripts have reached an unprecedented level this year following the publication of the SSC and equivalent examination results. Within the seven-day application period, 400,251 students submitted requests to have a total of 1,287,926 subject papers rechecked.

According to officials of the education boards, the number of applications has increased by around 550,000 compared with last year. On average, each applicant sought re-scrutiny of three subjects.

The SSC and equivalent examination results, published on August 10, showed an average pass rate of 62.25% this year, down from 68.45% in 2025. The pass rate fell by 6.20 percentage points in a year. The number of students securing GPA-5 also dropped by more than 22,000 compared with the previous year.

New Evaluation System Drives Interest

Education board officials believe one of the major reasons behind the surge in applications is a change in the answer-script re-scrutiny process.

Previously, re-scrutiny mainly involved checking for errors in adding marks, omitted marks for answers, or answers that had not been evaluated.

This year, however, provisions have been introduced to re-evaluate the entire answer script, increasing students’ interest in challenging their results. Many students who failed to achieve their expected grades applied in the hope of securing higher marks under the new system.

Officials also believe the relatively stricter evaluation of examination scripts, the lower overall pass rate and the decline in GPA-5 results contributed to the sharp rise in applications.

Dhaka Board Receives Highest Number of Applications

The Dhaka Education Board received the highest number of applications. A total of 335,677 applications were submitted for theoretical and practical subjects.

Of these, 277,665 applications were for theoretical subjects and 58,012 for practical subjects.

The Chattogram Board received 137,601 applications, followed by Rajshahi with 122,228, the Madrasa Education Board with 117,059 and Cumilla with 112,611.

The Dinajpur Board received 111,260 applications, Jessore 91,059, Mymensingh 87,157, Barishal 61,086, Sylhet 60,974 and the Technical Education Board 51,214.

English and Mathematics Among Most Challenged Subjects

Education board data show that English and mathematics received relatively high numbers of re-scrutiny applications. At the Dhaka Board alone, around 46,000 applications were submitted for English and nearly 34,000 for mathematics.

Officials said many students sought re-scrutiny after receiving lower-than-expected marks. However, it is not yet possible to say how many students will see their results change following the re-evaluation.

Major Challenge Ahead

Professor Syed Akhtaruzzaman, coordinator of the Inter-Education Board and chairman of the Dhaka Education Board, said applications had increased unusually this year because of the opportunity to have answer scripts evaluated under the new system.

He said the education boards would try to complete the re-scrutiny process and publish the revised results as quickly as possible.

Professor Khondokar Ehsanul Kabir, a former chairman of the Dhaka Education Board, said students have the right to seek re-scrutiny of their answer scripts. Changes in regulations, dissatisfaction with results and the revised evaluation system had collectively contributed to the increase in applications.

With students now able to seek a full re-evaluation of their answer scripts, expectations have also risen. The biggest challenge for the education boards will be to process the huge number of applications and publish the revised results within the stipulated timeframe.