Rajshahi Education Board Conducts Late-Night SSC Script Review

Late-night activities at the Rajshahi Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board drew significant attention as authorities carried out a second round of script reviews for recent Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations. The unexpected operation took place deep into the night, focusing particularly on answer scripts from subjects where numerous candidates had failed, specifically English and mathematics. The intensive review process required the urgent mobilization of academic staff to meet strict scheduling requirements.

According to official statistics provided by the education board, the 2026 SSC examinations in Rajshahi saw a total of 178,952 candidates register for the tests. Among these participants, 112,865 students successfully passed the examinations, resulting in an overall pass rate of 63.67 percent. A total of 16,113 candidates achieved the highest grade of GPA-5. A gender breakdown of the academic performance indicated that female students achieved a pass rate of 70.73 percent, while male students registered a pass rate of 57.33 percent. Following the publication of initial results, an overwhelming volume of applications was submitted by candidates, totaling 98,710 answer scripts requested for re-evaluation.

To manage the massive backlog of re-evaluation requests, 27 teachers were specially summoned to the board premises during the night hours. Professor Dr. Shamim Ara Chowdhury explained the rationale behind the unconventional timing, stating that daytime employment commitments at various institutions made evening hours more suitable for engaging the teachers. She noted the urgency of the situation, remarking that their work was not yet finished and results needed to be released quickly, which necessitated working through the night. She further elaborated that while the scripts had initially been evaluated and released, officials felt a more thorough review was necessary, particularly because a high volume of failures occurred in English and mathematics, causing slight delays in processing those specific subjects.

Addressing the mechanics of the late-night operation, Professor Dr. Shamim Ara Chowdhury dismissed any procedural irregularities while emphasizing the pressure to meet administrative deadlines. She stated that there was nothing left uninspected and that scripts were being thoroughly examined individually before being released. She stressed that the marks needed to be transferred to BUET, leaving virtually no remaining time before the upcoming deadline. The scheduled timeline indicates a strong possibility that the final re-evaluation results will be officially published on Thursday, September 10.

Despite the active administrative operations taking place on board premises, Professor Dr. Md. Abdur Rouf, the secretary of the education board, stated that he was completely unaware of the scripts being reviewed during the night. Describing his experience, Professor Dr. Md. Abdur Rouf mentioned that he had left the office alongside the chairman at quarter to six in the evening and subsequently went to sleep at his residence. He recounted being woken up at 1:30 in the night by his son, who showed him various incoming messages on his phone, leaving him utterly stunned and describing the entire situation as genuinely unfortunate.