Special HSC Measures Announced After Severe Weather

The government has announced special arrangements for students who were unable to attend the ongoing 2026 Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations because of severe weather, flooding and other unavoidable circumstances. It has also confirmed that all candidates will receive full marks for two faulty questions in the Physics First Paper examination, ensuring that no student is disadvantaged by errors in the question paper.

The announcement was made on Wednesday during the 25th sitting of the second and first budget session of the 13th National Parliament. Delivering a statement under Rule 300 of the parliamentary procedures, the Minister for Education and Primary Education said the measures had been approved to protect the academic interests of affected students. The parliamentary session began at 3:00 pm under the chairmanship of Deputy Speaker Barrister Kaysar Kamal.

According to the minister, a total of 1,270,583 candidates are sitting the 2026 HSC and equivalent examinations at 2,697 examination centres across the country. However, continuous heavy rainfall, flash floods, waterlogging and widespread flooding have disrupted examinations in several areas. As a result, a number of scheduled examinations in Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban under the Chattogram Education Board had to be postponed.

The minister noted that the disruption was not confined to the Chattogram Education Board alone. Students in several other districts also failed to reach examination centres on the scheduled dates because of adverse weather conditions, flooding or other unavoidable situations. Recognising the exceptional circumstances, the Ministry of Education has issued directives to ensure that these students are not unfairly deprived of the opportunity to complete their examinations.

Under the new arrangement, candidates who missed an examination for verified and unavoidable reasons will be allowed to sit the missed paper on a rescheduled date. They will answer the same question paper prepared by their respective education boards, ensuring consistency in the assessment process. The government believes this approach will safeguard fairness while ensuring that natural disasters do not prevent deserving students from being evaluated.

The minister stressed that the HSC examination represents one of the most significant milestones in a student’s academic journey. Performance in the examination plays a decisive role in determining eligibility for admission to universities and other higher education institutions. With that in mind, the government has chosen what it described as a practical and humanitarian approach so that affected candidates receive opportunities comparable to those available to other examinees.

The parliamentary statement also addressed concerns surrounding the recently held Physics First Paper examination. The minister informed lawmakers that two questions in the paper contained errors. Administrative action has already been taken against those responsible for preparing the question paper, and the officials concerned have been temporarily suspended while the matter is being investigated.

To protect students from any academic disadvantage, the government has decided to award full marks to every candidate for Questions 6 and 7 of the Physics First Paper examination. The minister made it clear that the responsibility for the mistakes rests entirely with those involved in preparing the examination paper and should not be borne by students. As a result, the identified errors will have no adverse impact on candidates’ final results.

The government’s decisions have been widely viewed as significant steps towards preserving the integrity of the examination process. By offering alternative examination opportunities to students affected by natural disasters while simultaneously correcting the consequences of question paper errors through full marks, the authorities aim to reduce uncertainty and maintain confidence in the public examination system.

The HSC and equivalent examinations are among the largest public examinations in Bangladesh, attracting well over a million candidates each year. Their results form the principal basis for admission to universities and many other tertiary institutions. Given their importance, ensuring that neither extreme weather events nor administrative shortcomings unfairly disrupt students’ educational futures remains a key priority for the education authorities.