Alarming failures
Fourteen students appeared in this year's Secondary School Certificate exams from Ghagoa Girls High School in Gaibandha's Sundarganj. However, none of them passed.
Similarly, at Khayerbari Mirzapur Madrasa in Dinajpur, 24 students sat for the SSC exams this year. Hopes were high, as the recent past pass rate of the institution was 87 percent. But all of this year's examinees failed.
The institution has been affiliated with the Madrasa Education Board since 1985.
The government released the results of SSC and equivalent examinations on Sunday, revealing that over 83 percent of students passed nationwide, but data indicated that 51 educational institutions, including 42 madrasas and nine schools, had a 100 percent failure rate.
Analysis of the result data and reports from our correspondents nationwide revealed that the number of examinees was low in the majority of these institutions, predominantly located in rural areas.
Take the case of Uttar Keshabpur Girls Dakhil Madrasa in Patuakhali's Baufal for example.
Established in 1984, it still lacks the necessary infrastructure. This year, only one student took the public examination from the institution but failed to pass.
According to Latifa Begum, a teacher at the madrasa, their tin shed room for students was recently destroyed by a storm.
"How can we provide education to students if we don't even have a place to teach?" she asked.
Two more madrasas from Baufal upazila in this district -- Uttar Daspara Dakhil Madrasa and Poshchim Kalishuri Girls Dakhil Madrasa -- saw zero pass rates.
The situation in Sirajganj's Ullapara upazila area is no different than in Bogura, Dinajpur, or Patuakhali. Some four madrasas saw the same fate among the 53 madrasas in this upazila.
These institutions, too, only have a few students who appeared for SSC.
For example, Elengjani Dakhil Madrasa and Boro Koyaliber Dakhil Madrasa have only 12 students each, Haji Ahmed Ali Dakhil has 14 students, and Bogura Dakhil Madrasa has 15 students.
Furthermore, only one student passed from each of the following madrasas -- Khondokar Nurunnahar Dakhil, Udhunia Dakhil, and Haji Abed Ali Women Memorial Dakhil Madrasa.
Asifur Rahman, superintendent of Bogura Dakhil Madrasa, said majority of students enrolled in the Dakhil curriculum hail from remote areas, often showing a tendency to skip classes, while their families display a lack of seriousness regarding their education.
Professor Tapan Kumar Sarker, chairman of Dhaka education board and president of the inter-education board coordination committee, said when institutions have 100 percent failure rates, the government usually issues showcase notices, and if satisfactory reasons are not provided, the institutions are shut down.
He added that last year, the Dhaka board closed four schools and merged their students into nearby ones.
However, Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury said, "Taking action against these schools cannot be a solution. Instead, we need to explore alternatives to address the underlying issues behind the failure. If we take action against these schools, only the students will suffer."
(Our correspondents from Pabna, Dinajpur, Bogura, and Patuakhali contributed to this report.)
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