The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations of 2026 are set to begin across the country tomorrow, July 2, with 12,70,583 students preparing to sit for one of the nation’s most significant academic milestones.

This year’s figures tell a compelling story: female students have outpaced their male counterparts in participation, and the humanities stream has emerged as the single largest group of examinees.

According to the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, a total of 12,70,583 students are registered under 11 education boards. Of them, 621,969 are boys and 648,614 are girls, meaning 26,645 more girls will take part in the exams than boys, indicating a continuation of a trend seen in recent years, with female enrolment rising.

Students from 9,439 institutions will sit for the exams at 2,697 centres nationwide.

Prof Syed Akhtaruzzaman, Chairman of Dhaka Education Board and President of the Inter-Board Coordination Committee, told BSS recently that the growing participation of girls is a highly positive sign for the education system.

“However, the slight decline in boys’ participation will be examined. Teaching-learning gaps in past years may have contributed to this trend,” he noted.

Board-wise picture

The nine general education boards account for 10,69,714 candidates, including 4,92,406 boys and 5,77,308 girls.

Across the nine general education boards, the distribution of examinees paints a diverse picture.

Dhaka Board stands at the top with more than 3,03,000 candidates, including over 1,37,000 boys and 1,63,000 girls, reflecting the capital’s dominance in student numbers.

Close behind, Rajshahi Board has around 1,41,000 examinees, with boys slightly outnumbering girls, about 73,000 boys compared to 68,000 girls.

In Jessore, the total number of candidates is just over 1,17,000, where girls hold a slight edge, with 60,205 compared to 57,005 boys.

Dinajpur Board follows with 1,13,479 examinees, again showing a female majority, with 59,043 girls against 54,436 boys.

Moving to the port city, Chattogram Board has nearly 100,000 candidates, with girls significantly ahead, numbering 56,506 compared to 43,182 boys.

A similar pattern is seen in Cumilla, where out of 94,802 examinees, girls number 57,196, far surpassing the 37,606 boys.

In Mymensingh, the total number of candidates stands at 73,037, with girls slightly ahead at 38,724 compared to 34,313 boys.

Sylhet Board also reflects this trend. Of its 71,611 candidates, 43,066 are girls, while boys number 28,545.

Finally, Barishal Board has the smallest cohort, with 58,664 examinees, including 31,759 girls and 26,905 boys.

Humanities takes lead

The most striking feature of this year’s statistics is the dominance of the humanities stream.

Of the general board candidates, 617,697 are from humanities, nearly half of the total.

Science has 279,237 candidates, while business studies have a total of 169,683 candidates.

Describing the scenario, Professor Akhtaruzzaman explained that many students opt for humanities to complete their education quickly and enter the workforce.

He added that science enrolment is hampered in rural colleges due to fear of difficulty, a shortage of teachers, and a lack of laboratory facilities.

Madrasah and technical boards

Alongside the general boards, madrasah and technical board exams will also begin on July 2.

This year, the Madrasa Board has a total of 92,905 candidates, of whom 52,011 are boys and 40,894 are girls. The exams will be held at 461 centres nationwide.

Under the Technical Education Board, a total of 107,964 candidates, including 77,552 boys and 30,412 girls, will take part in HSC-equivalent exams this year at 610 exam centres.

Within madrasah streams, humanities dominate with 84,616 candidates, while science has only 7,626 students and the Mujabbid division has 663.

Of the total, 947,943 are regular candidates (2024-25 session), while 310,881 are irregular candidates who failed in previous years.

Among them, 195,106 failed in one subject, 64,670 in two subjects, and 6,740 applied for improvement exams.

A new uniformity

To reduce discrimination among the education boards and ensure fair and equal results for students, the administration has been moving toward uniformity this year in preparing question papers.

Noting the initiative, Prof S.M. Kamal Uddin Haydar, Secretary of Dhaka Education Board, said, “From this year, all nine general boards will conduct HSC exams with uniform question papers. From next year, madrasah and technical boards will also adopt common papers for general subjects.”

Security measures

To ensure fair exams, the Education Ministry and all education boards have taken maximum precautions. Question papers will be stored in treasury offices and verified three days before the exams.

On exam days, papers will be transported under police escort, with strict protocols for opening sealed packets only after confirmation codes are received.

In this regard, the President of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee said the country’s nine general education boards will administer the HSC examinations using a single, uniform set of question papers, and the boards have taken the highest level of precaution in distributing and safeguarding them.