Matiur RahmanThe results of higher secondary certificate and equivalent examinations in all the country’s education boards published on Saturday marked a significant decrease this year. Teachers and educationists blamed rather lack of infrastructures such as laboratories and libraries in rural colleges for poor performance of students besides ‘dearth of skilled teachers’.The government, on the other hand, accused opposition BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami as the prime minister herself and the education minister both put the blame on them for their political programmes disrupting the examination schedules.
The results rather have amply shown the widening gap between the students of rural and urban areas widely for facilities and standards in education.
The overall percentage and the number of GPA-5 scorers in HSC and equivalent examinations this year have marked a sharp decline. The combined pass percentage is 74.30 which is 4.37 percentage point lower than the figure of 78.67 in last year held under the country’s 10 education boards.
The number of students who scored GPA 5 is 58,197, down by 2,965 compared to the figure of 61,162 in the last year. The boards made the list based on criteria of the number of regular examinees, pass percentage, the number of GPA 5 achievers and the average GPA in the institutions while placing the top educational institutions regarding success in the examinations.
The pass percentage was 75.08 in 2011, 74.28 in 2010 and the number of GPA 5 is also down by 2,965 as the figure came down from 61,162 last year to 58,197 this year. The pass percentage for girl students also decreased significantly as 70.29 per cent this year passed the examinations – 8.9 per cent lower than the previous year’s figure of 79.19.
A total of 10,02,496 this year appeared in the HSC and equivalent examinations under eight general education boards, the Madrasha Education Board and the Technical Education Board and a total of 7,44,891, students have come out successfull.
As in the past, students of educational institutions in urban areas did well than the students from institutions in rural areas belying
the government claims that it has taken steps to remove the disparity between rural and urban students in education. It can be mentioned that no government colleges in rural areas could earn a place among the 10 best institutions.
The educational institutions in the rural areas have failed to make their mark as students there do not get the same level of private tuition or coaching as the well-to-do urban students usually get in urban students get.
Moreover, academic environment in urban institutions is far better than what it is in rural areas. In fact, there is little progress in reducing the rural-urban disparity in education system as the gap is widening with the passing of days when there is no effective steps known to have taken by the government yet.
Creative questions though have been introduced to help students to develop their intellectual ability and creative thinking in place of the traditional education system caused more failure this year instead. (Matiur Rahman is a senior journalist of Bangladesh)
