No PECE this year
The coronavirus situation forced the government to cancel this year's Primary Education Completion Examination and its equivalent Ebtedayee Education Completion Exam.
As the exams are cancelled, the school authorities, in accordance with the government directions, will hold a school-based final exam if the educational institutions reopen, said top officials of the primary and mass education ministry.
The government will not provide any scholarship to over 1 lakh students of primary schools and madrassas across the country that are offered on the basis of results.
Since inception, PECE and EECE were cancelled for the first time this year. PECE was introduced in 2009 and Ebtedayee in 2010.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accepted the proposal for cancellation this year's PECE and equivalent exams, state minister for Primary and Mass Education Zakir Hossen said at a briefing yesterday at his secretariat office.
If schools reopen this year, the students may seat for annual exams at their own institutions, he said.
Primary and Mass Education Senior Secretary Akram-Al-Hossain told The Daily Star that schools would fix the modalities and question patterns for the school based exams.
The primary and mass education ministry on August 19 sent a proposal to the Prime Minister's Office seeking Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's approval to cancel this year's PECE and equivalent exams.
The move came after Primary and Mass Education Senior Secretary Akram-Al-Hossain, and Secondary and Higher Education Secretary Mahbub Hossain held a meeting with the PM's principal secretary and other top officials of the PMO in the second week of August.
The PECE and equivalent exams for the fifth graders is the largest public examination scheduled for November. This year, about 3 million students were expected to sit for the PECE exams.
Prof Mazharul Hannan, a teacher leader since 1972 and now president of Bangladesh Principals' Association, said this was for the first time any public examinations were cancelled since the independence of Bangladesh.
NO SCHOLARSHIP TO 1.05 LAKH STUDENTS
As no board exams will take place, the primary and mass education ministry will not provide any scholarship based on the results this year, said Akram.
Directorate of Primary Education officials said that each year government provide scholarship to 105,000 students -- 82,500 from primary schools and 22,500 from madrassas -- for three years.
At primary schools, 33,000 students get scholarships under talent pool while 49,500 under general category. In madrassas, 7,500 students get scholarships under talent pool while 15,000 under general category.
A student under talent pool receives Tk 300 per month while those under general category get Tk 225 per month. They get the scholarships for three years from class VI to VIII.
SCHOOL REOPENING IN SEPTEMBER UNLIKELY
A secretary of the government said that there was high possibility that educational institutions would not reopen in September as coronavirus situation is still bad in the country.
Akram said that they will take the decision regarding the school reopening only after consulting with top officials of education ministry.
"If we reopen the educational institutions, all exams and others activities should be carried out at schools following the health guideline strictly", he added.
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