Too many seats, too few students: HSC hopefuls caught in admission confusion
Md. Sarfuzzaman Khan :
Millions of students and parents across Bangladesh are facing mounting anxiety over college admissions for the 2025-26 academic year, as the Ministry of Education has yet to announce a comprehensive plan to address seat surpluses, rising competition, and errors in SSC exam results.
This year, more than 3.3 million seats are available for admission into Class XI nationwide, yet only 1.3 million students passed the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations.
Education experts estimate that at least 10 per cent of successful SSC candidates do not continue to college, suggesting that nearly two million seats will remain vacant – a troubling sign for hundreds of private colleges already grappling with under-enrolment.
When contacted, Deputy College Inspector Mohammad Sana Ullah said, “Admissions are scheduled to begin at the end of July. We are awaiting final directives from the Ministry.”
According to the breakdown, around 2.2 million seats fall under general colleges and madrasas, 900,000 are overseen by the Technical Education Board, and a further 241,000 by polytechnic institutes. However, the issue is not merely excess capacity, but the intense demand for a limited number of places in a small group of elite colleges.
This year, 139,032 students achieved the highest GPA-5 grade, while the country’s top institutions have capacity for only about 100,000 students. In Dhaka, 30 of the most sought-after colleges can offer a combined total of just 50,000 seats, placing immense pressure on these institutions.
Notable seat allocations include Notre Dame College (3,270), Viqarunnisa Noon School & College (2,376), Dhaka College (1,200), Rajuk Uttara Model College (1,704), Holy Cross College (1,330), Adamjee Cantonment Public College (2,200), Dhaka Residential Model College (1,014), Ideal School & College, Motijheel (1,165), BAF Shaheen College (1,220), Dhaka City College (3,762), Dhaka Commerce College (4,700), Bangladesh Navy College (950), Shaheed Police Smrity College (880).
Last year, over 8,500 students with GPA-5 failed to secure a seat at their preferred institutions during the first round of admissions and were later placed in alternative colleges. Alarmingly, officials reported that at least 220 colleges had zero admissions, highlighting the gap between supply and actual demand.
In response to this year’s unique challenges, the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee has proposed retiring the long-standing freedom fighter quota and introducing a temporary ‘July Uprising Quota’. This new category would support students whose academic performance may have been affected by injury or trauma during recent political protests.
A senior official from the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, speaking on condition of anonymity, remarked, “At this stage, there are very few direct descendants of freedom fighters in the education system, and the court has already invalidated the grandchild quota. The policy requires updating.”
Currently, 93 per cent of college seats are filled on merit, with 7 per cent reserved – 5 per cent for descendants of freedom fighters and 2 per cent for children of Ministry of Education staff.
Separately, Dhaka’s leading missionary colleges – Notre Dame, Holy Cross, and St. Joseph – will continue conducting their own admission tests following High Court approval.
Notre Dame College Principal Hemanta Pius Rozario confirmed, “We will proceed with our independent admission process and hold our own entrance test, as in previous years.” Holy Cross and St. Joseph are also expected to follow this approach.
The admission process has been further complicated by significant errors in SSC results across several education boards. In one case, a student in Akkelpur, Joypurhat, was marked as having failed both Mathematics and Agriculture, despite only reappearing for the Mathematics exam.
“I am shocked. I only retook Mathematics, but now my result says I failed two subjects,” said Jit Chandra Mohanto. School authorities believe a technical error is to blame and hope it will be corrected with the final mark sheets.
Meanwhile, under the Jessore Board, all 48 science students from Pulherhat Secondary School were erroneously shown as having failed Chemistry due to the school’s failure to submit practical marks. After appeals from teachers, the board revised the results, reinstating the students’ full GPAs.
Jessore Board Exam Controller Abdul Matin confirmed the issue and assured that action would be taken against those responsible for the oversight.
Despite the rising concerns, the Ministry of Education has not yet issued detailed instructions for this year’s admissions. Repeated attempts to reach senior education officials for clarification went unanswered.
In the meantime, anxious parents and college administrators remain in limbo, urgently awaiting clear guidelines to help students plan the next steps in their academic journey.