Education Board to Probe SSC Marking; Teachers Face Up to 5 Years in Jail

Bangladesh will investigate allegations of excessive and insufficient marking in this year’s SSC and equivalent examinations after thousands of students saw changes in their results following re-scrutiny, the country’s education board authorities said on Thursday.

An investigation committee will be formed after Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon returns to the country, said Professor Syed Aktaruzzaman, chairman of the Dhaka Education Board and president of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee.

The committee will examine who evaluated the answer scripts and whether any teachers deliberately or improperly awarded marks, Aktaruzzaman told The Daily Campus.

“If it is proven under the amended law that anyone engaged in improper marking, including excessive overmarking or undermarking, the teacher could face up to five years in prison,” he said.

The move follows a large-scale re-scrutiny of this year’s SSC and equivalent examination results, which were published on Thursday.

Thousands see results change

A total of 1,829,485 students took the SSC and equivalent examinations under 11 education boards this year. Of them, 1,138,877 passed.

Between August 11 and 17, 402,051 students applied to have their answer scripts re-scrutinised. Since candidates could apply for multiple subjects, the number of scripts involved was much higher than the number of applicants.

Applications were submitted for the re-scrutiny of 1,056,455 written examination scripts and 231,471 practical scripts, for a total of 1,287,926 scripts.

The re-scrutiny results showed that 4,585 students who had initially failed were subsequently declared passed. Another 3,079 students received GPA-5 for the first time, while results in individual subjects changed for many other candidates.

The scale of the changes has prompted authorities to examine whether some of the original marking involved significant errors or improper evaluation.

Revised law brings tougher penalties

Bangladesh amended its public examination law on July 7, introducing “digital manipulation” as a new offence covering hacking or illegally altering examination results or merit lists.

Those found guilty of digital manipulation can face up to five years in prison and a fine.

The revised law also provides for tougher penalties and fines for organised examination fraud or the formation of groups involved in such offences.

The Cabinet has given final approval to the draft Public Examinations (Offences) (Amendment) Act, 2026.

The proposed investigation into marking practices will determine whether any individual teachers were responsible for improper marking and whether the conduct falls under the provisions of the revised law.