Representational Image. Photo: Collected
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Representational Image. Photo: Collected
A majority of students who achieved Grade Point Average-5 in both Secondary School Certificate and Higher Secondary Certificate examinations have failed to secure the minimum pass marks during the Dhaka University’s undergraduate entry tests for the 2025-26 academic session, according to the university data.
In the session, only 28% of candidates with GPA-5 scores in both SSC and HSC passed the admission tests across three faculties of the university, meaning around 72% of such students failed to secure even the minimum qualifying marks.
Data from the university’s Central Admission Office shows that this trend has continued over the past three years. A total of 46,861 candidates with dual GPA-5 sat for the admission tests this year across the Science, Business Studies, and Arts, Law and Social Sciences faculties, with only 12,913 students passing.
Highlights: TBS
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Highlights: TBS
In the 2024-25 session, 98,159 candidates with GPA-5 in both SSC and HSC had taken part in the admission tests. Of them, 16,538 passed, indicating a pass rate of about 16%. In the 2023-24 session, the pass rate among such candidates was around 30%.
The university takes an admission test of 100 marks, including 60 marks for Multiple Choice Questions and 40 marks for the written section. Candidates must secure at least 24 marks in the MCQ to qualify.
Only candidates who pass this stage will have their written scripts checked, based on the number of available seats. The pass marks are different for each unit and subject.
Unit-wise performance
This year at the Business Studies faculty, 4,542 candidates with dual GPA-5 took part in the admission test, of whom 1,621 passed, resulting in a pass rate of 35.7%.
In the Science unit, 25,345 such candidates sat for the test, and 6,916 passed.
In the Arts, Law and Social Sciences unit, 16,974 candidates with GPA-5 participated, with 4,376 passing, indicating a pass rate of about 25%.
Concerns over assessment
Analysts say the results indicate weaknesses in learning and assessment at the school and college levels.
They suggest that students are facing university admission tests with gaps in their understanding. The use of a condensed syllabus during the post-Covid period has also been cited as a possible factor.
Mohammad Moninur Rashid, a professor at the Institute of Education and Research of the university, said, “We have turned GPA-5 into a kind of ‘craze’; it has become worthless. The inability of GPA-5 students to obtain minimum pass marks in the admission test shows that our assessments in SSC and HSC are not being done correctly. At the same time, there remains a significant deficit in our students’ learning.”
He also said that the country’s education system is in a state of crisis. To overcome this situation, an education commission must be formed with all relevant stakeholders to reach a long-term solution.
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