School admission policy for 2027: lottery for class one, written test for classes two to nine

The Ministry of Education has published a new policy for student admission to government and non-government secondary schools for the 2027 academic year. Under the new rules, students for class one will be selected through a lottery. For classes two to nine, admission will be taken in order of merit from those who pass a written examination against vacant seats.

The Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education has issued two separate policies on how admission activities in government and non-government schools will be conducted for the 2027 academic year. The two policies were published last Wednesday (November 11) and Thursday (November 12). The guidelines give details on the admission method, age limit, application fee, examination mark distribution, number of seats and admission fee.

For admission to class one, a student's age must be more than or equal to six years, but less than seven years. According to the policy, the child's date of birth must be between January 1 and December 31, 2020; that is, the child must complete six years on January 1, 2027, but must not complete seven years on or after that date. A certified copy of the online birth registration certificate must be submitted with the application form for age verification.

For students with special needs, a provision has been kept for an additional relaxation of up to five years in determining age. Besides, instructions have been given to keep arrangements for waiving admission fees for poor, meritorious and special-needs students.

The academic year of both government and non-government secondary schools will be from January 1 to December 31. The policy instructs that each section of every class will have a maximum of 55 students. Students can be admitted to the entry class of the institution concerned and, subject to vacant seats, up to class nine.

For the 2027 academic year, admission activities in government secondary schools across the country will be conducted centrally online. From receiving applications to depositing fees, preparing and publishing results, all activities will be completed through the designated online system. An applicant for class one can choose a maximum of five government schools in order of preference. If a school has two shifts, including both shifts in the preference list will count as two separate choices. If more than one application is made to the same school, all applications of the student concerned will be cancelled.

In government schools, students for class one will be selected through a lottery, conducted centrally by the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE). Alongside the list of those selected, a waiting list equal to the number of vacant seats will also be published. If someone does not take admission within the stipulated time, students will be taken sequentially from the waiting list. For classes two to nine, a written examination will be held subject to vacant seats and students will be selected on the basis of marks obtained and order of merit; a waiting list of an equal number of candidates must also be kept ready alongside those selected.

Non-government secondary schools will conduct admission activities under their own management. The day and time of the admission test will be determined at a meeting of the institution's managing committee. To ensure that more than one institution in the same catchment area does not hold its admission test on the same day, the schedule must be set in discussion with the thana or upazila secondary education officer concerned. Non-government schools will also have a lottery for class one and a written test for classes two to nine. For admission to class nine, only students who have passed class eight or an equivalent examination will be considered. Admission test application forms can be collected from the school office and, if the institution has a website, from there as well.

There are differences in mark distribution between government and non-government schools. In government schools, for classes two to five the examination will be of 50 marks in one hour: Bangla 15, English 15 and mathematics 20; for classes six to nine, 100 marks in two hours: Bangla 30, English 30 and mathematics 40. In non-government schools, the examination will be of 50 marks for classes two and three, but a 100-mark written examination will be taken for classes four to nine.

The application fee for government secondary schools has been set at a maximum of Tk 110 for class one and a maximum of Tk 250 for classes two to nine. Other fees including session charges at the time of admission must be determined according to the Ministry of Education's instructions. For non-government schools, while one clause of the policy mentions the same amounts, a later clause says the price of the application form can be a maximum of Tk 200 in MPO-listed, partially MPO-listed and non-MPO institutions including Dhaka metropolis; a review of the policy notes that clarification is needed on this point.

In non-government institutions, the admission fee including session charges has been set according to location and type: Tk 500 in mofussil areas, Tk 1,000 in upazila municipal areas, Tk 2,000 in district headquarters municipal areas, Tk 3,000 in metropolitan cities other than Dhaka, and Tk 5,000 in MPO-listed institutions in Dhaka metropolis. In partially MPO-listed institutions in Dhaka metropolis, a maximum of Tk 8,000 can be taken in the Bangla medium including monthly tuition, session charge and development fee, and a maximum of Tk 10,000 in the English version. No institution can collect more than Tk 3,000 in the development sector.

The policy says that if a student is promoted to the next class after passing the annual examination in the same institution, a session charge can be taken every year, but no re-admission fee can be collected.

The policy does not yet mention specific dates for the start and end of applications. For government schools, applications must be made in the designated software according to a notice published by the Dhaka Metropolis Admission Committee; non-government schools will announce form distribution, submission time and admission test dates through their own notices. The government policy is named 'Student Admission Policy-2027 (Revised) for Government Secondary Schools' and the non-government policy is named 'Student Admission Policy-2027 for Non-Government Schools, Schools and Colleges (Secondary, Lower Secondary and Attached Primary Level)'.