GPA-5 achievers fall by about 42 percent in HSC, down by over 100,000 in two years

The number of students achieving GPA-5 in this year's HSC and equivalent examinations has fallen sharply for the second consecutive year. Across the country's 11 education boards, including general, madrasa and technical boards, 40,084 students achieved GPA-5 this year.

Last year 69,097 students achieved GPA-5. That means the number has fallen by 29,013 in one year, a drop of about 42 percent.

The HSC and equivalent results were published on Saturday (31 October). The overall pass rate this year is 52.12 percent, down from 58.83 percent last year. Both the pass rate and the number of GPA-5 achievers have declined.

A total of 1,270,583 students sat this year's HSC and equivalent examinations. On that basis, slightly more than three out of every 100 candidates achieved GPA-5, compared with about 5.5 percent last year.

The three-year picture makes the fall clearer. Two years ago, in 2024, 145,911 students achieved GPA-5 in the HSC. The year before that, in 2023, the figure was 92,595.

This year's total of 40,084 is 105,827 lower than in 2024. In other words, the number of GPA-5 achievers has fallen by about three-quarters in just two years.

This was also the first year in which the HSC examination was held with a common question paper across the country's nine general education boards, meaning students in every board sat the same questions.

In last year's board-wise figures, Dhaka Board had the highest number of GPA-5 achievers with 26,063, followed by Rajshahi Board with 10,137 and Dinajpur Board with 6,260.

Sylhet Board had the fewest GPA-5 achievers last year, with 1,602. This year's full board-wise breakdown was not yet available when the report was published.

The sharp fall defined results day: a pass rate down to 52.12 percent and the number of GPA-5 achievers nearly halved have become the most discussed features of this year's HSC results.