No Primary Education Completion, equivalent exams this year

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the government to cancel this year's Primary Education Completion Examination and its equivalent Ebtedayee Education Completion exam.

As the exams are cancelled, school authorities will hold a school-based final exam if the educational institutions reopen, said top officials of the primary and mass education ministry.

Government will not provide over one lakh students of primary schools and madrasas talent pool or general scholarship -- supposed to be provided on the basis of the exams.

This for the first time PECE and its equivalent EECE were cancelled after their introduction. PECE was introduced in 2009 and Ebtedayee tests were introduced the next year.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accepted the proposal for cancellation of this year's PECE and equivalent exams, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Md Zakir Hossain said at a briefing today at his secretariat office.

If schools are reopened 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 will decide on 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 the PM's approval to cancel this year's PEC and its 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 PEC and its equivalent exams for fifth graders are the largest public examinations scheduled for November.

This year, about 3 million students are expected to sit for the PEC exams.

The government closed all educational institutions on March 17 to curb the spread of coronavirus. The closure has been extended to August 31, and it is still uncertain when schools will reopen.

This is for the first time any public examination was cancelled since the independence of Bangladesh, according to Prof Mazharul Hannan, a teachers' leader since 1972 and now president of Bangladesh Principals' Association.

NO SCHOLARSHIP FOR 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 provides scholarship to 1,05,000 students -- 82,500 from primary schools and rest from madrasas -- for three years.

Of them, 33,000 students get scholarships under talent pool while 49,500 under general category. In madrasas 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.

SCHOOL REOPENING IN SEPTEMBER UNLIKELY

A secretary of the government said that there is high possibility that educational institutions will not reopen in September as coronavirus situation still has not improved 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.