HSC exams begin tomorrow; here are the instructions students need to follow

The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exams, except for students in the Sylhet division, will begin tomorrow (30 June). 

For the Sylhet division only, the exams have been postponed by the government until 8 July due to flooding. Approximately 100,000 examinees from the division will attend the exams starting 9 July, and subsequent exams will be held as scheduled.

The exams for all other divisions will start with the Bangla first paper on 30 June, as announced by the boards on 2 April. The written exams will conclude on 11 August, followed by practical exams. 

It has been announced that the exams will be conducted according to a revised (short) syllabus.

The education boards have issued special instructions for this year’s HSC candidates, as they did in previous years. These instructions are:

• Candidates must be seated in the exam hall 30 minutes before the exam starts.
• The exams will start with multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and then proceed to a written (creative/theoretical) section.
• The duration of multiple-choice questions (MCQ) will be 30 minutes for 30 marks. The duration of creative questions (written) will be 2 hours and 30 minutes for 70 marks.
• In subjects with practicals, the MCQ will have 25 minutes for 25 marks, and the written section will have 2 hours and 35 minutes for 50 marks.
• The exams will continue without any breaks until the end, as stated on the question papers.

For exams starting at 10am:

• Blank answer sheets and multiple-choice OMR sheets will be distributed starting from 9:30am.
• MCQ question papers will be distributed at 10am.
• OMR sheets for MCQ answers will be collected at 10:30am, and question papers for the written bit will be distributed. [For the 25-mark multiple-choice test on subjects with practicals, this collection will happen at 10:25am]

For exams starting at 2pm:

• Blank answer sheets and OMR sheets will be distributed beginning at 1:30pm.
• MCQ question papers will be distributed at 2pm.
• OMR sheets for multiple-choice answers will be collected at 2:30pm, and question papers for the written will be distributed. [For the 25-mark MCQ test, this collection will happen at 2:25pm]

Some other important instructions are:

• Exams must be conducted within the times specified on the question papers.
• Candidates will collect their admit cards from the heads of their institutions.
• Each candidate must correctly fill in their exam roll number, registration number, subject code, etc, on the OMR sheet. Writing in the margins or folding the answer sheet is strictly prohibited.
• Candidates must pass separately in theoretical, multiple-choice, and practical parts.
• Candidates can only take the exams for the subjects listed on their registration card and admit card; they are not allowed to take the exams for other subjects.
• No candidate’s exam will be conducted at their college or institution; seating arrangements will be made through relocation.
• Candidates are allowed to use a non-programmable scientific calculator. The use of programmable calculators is prohibited.
• No one will be allowed to use mobile phones at the exam centre except for authorised personnel, and candidates cannot bring mobile phones to the centre.

As many as 1,450,790 students from nine general education boards, the madrasah board, and the technical board, will participate in this year’s HSC examinations.

These students will be spread across 2,275 centres in 9,463 educational institutions.

The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education has directed all schools, including those with attached colleges, to resume regular classes after exam hours and continue them on days without board exams. 

This ensures class activities do not interfere with the ongoing examinations.

All coaching centres nationwide will be closed for 44 days from 29 June to 11 August in light of the HSC and equivalent examinations.