Students failing SSC to be offered vocational education, says education minister

Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon has said students who fail in two subjects in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations will be allowed to retake the exams within 15 days of the publication of results.

He also said the practice of students failing year after year would no longer be allowed to continue. Those who fail the supplementary examinations will be considered for technical and vocational education.

The minister made the remarks as the chief guest at the inauguration of an orientation training course for officers of the 49th Bangladesh Civil Service (General Education) cadre in Bogura on Tuesday (October 13).

Milon said students who fail would be given another opportunity to sit for the examinations within 15 days of the results being published. Those who fail again would be offered pathways into technical and vocational education.

He said students' results would be considered when determining whether they should continue in the general education system. Those unable to pass the subsequent examinations would be given opportunities to pursue technical and vocational education.

The minister questioned whether enough attention was being paid to students who fail and eventually drop out of education.

“Those who perform well are already doing so. But do we know what happens to students who drop out? After failing examinations, where do they go? Are we keeping track of them? We must first identify these issues,” he said.

“I know how little the difference can be between passing and failing, sometimes just one mark. But we must also give serious consideration to this issue. We need to think about how to bring students who fail and drop out back into mainstream education and what programmes can be introduced for them. In this regard, we are placing the greatest emphasis on technical education,” he added.

Milon said technical education was essential to prepare the younger generation for an era shaped by globalisation, technological advancement and artificial intelligence. He said the government was working to bring students who drop out or fail examinations under technical education programmes in the future.

Minister recalls working with Tarique Rahman

During the programme, Milon also reflected on his political career and his experiences working with leaders of different generations. He said he had written articles while in the opposition and recalled publishing one in 2015 titled “Tarique Rahman Genetically Smart”.

“I tried to explain the issue in that article. I wrote it based on my experience of observing him while working with him during my tenure as state minister for education. At that time, he was not the prime minister of Bangladesh. I wrote those words based on how I had seen him then,” Milon said.

Referring to former president Ziaur Rahman, the minister said he had spoken about Bangladesh's vast untapped resources and the opportunities they could create for the country.

“Ziaur Rahman said we had many abundant resources that we could not use at the time. A day would come when the vast resources of the sea beyond Bangladesh's borders would open up new possibilities for us. The alluvial soil flowing down from the Himalayas gives us strength. In this way, the possibility of another Bangladesh is emerging, and we can see it,” he said.

Milon said Ziaur Rahman's foresight and vision had been evident at the time. He also recalled having the opportunity to work during the tenure of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, saying she gave considerable importance to education and consistently focused on the needs of teachers.

Turning to his experience working with Tarique Rahman, Milon said he had worked with him on improving the education system between 2001 and 2006.

“The approach that has emerged from the experiences and thinking of these two generations is something Tarique Rahman is continuing to work on, drawing on those lessons,” he said.