No Errors in HSC Chemistry Question Paper, Says Dhaka Education Board

The Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board has rejected allegations of errors in the HSC Chemistry 2nd Paper examination, describing the questions as technically sound and well-crafted. The board confirmed that official guidelines for answer sheet evaluation have already been published and dispatched to chief examiners and examiners.

The clarification follows complaints raised by examinees and educators regarding alleged inaccuracies in creative questions (CQ) 1, 5, 6, and 8 from the examination held on Wednesday (July 22).

Speaking on condition of anonymity on Sunday (July 26), a senior official from the Dhaka Education Board dismissed the claims, explaining that the confusion stems from a misunderstanding of creative question structures.

According to the official, creative questions assess four distinct cognitive domains: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, and Higher-Order Thinking Skills. While most candidates can comfortably answer the first three components, the higher-order thinking segment is intentionally designed to be rigorous and analytical to evaluate problem-solving capabilities. Average students often struggle to grasp these complex prompts and incorrectly perceive them as flawed.

The official further attributed the controversy to coaching center proprietors, alleging that they are spreading misinformation on social media out of commercial concern after their suggested question sets failed to appear in the exam.

Addressing candidate demographics, the board official noted that out of nearly 1.2 million examinees this year, approximately 800,000 belong to the science stream. He emphasized that general students have not submitted formal complaints, maintaining that the exam paper met high academic standards and contained no operational or conceptual errors.