Major shift in SSC: Conditional promotion introduced

In a significant update to the educational curriculum in Bangladesh, students who fail in one or two subjects will be allowed conditional admission to the eleventh grade.

Key Points:

• No selection exams will be held; all students promoted to the tenth grade will sit for the SSC exam.
• Students failing in three or more subjects will not be promoted to the eleventh grade.
• Students failing in one or two subjects will get conditional admission to the eleventh grade.
• The SSC evaluation will be 65% written and 35% activity-based.
• Results will be categorized into seven levels: ‘Unique, Achieving, Progressing, Active, Inquisitive, Developing, and Beginning’.

As per the new curriculum, students must attend at least 70% of school days in the tenth grade to be eligible for public assessment or the SSC exam. If a student fails in one or two SSC subjects, they can conditionally advance to the eleventh grade but must pass the failed subjects within the next two years. Students failing in three or more subjects will not be promoted.

Previously, students needed to pass selection tests in the tenth grade to sit for the SSC exam. The new curriculum eliminates these tests, allowing all students who complete the ninth grade to take the SSC exam.

This information comes from the latest proposal on the SSC evaluation framework by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB). NCTB officials expect the National Curriculum Coordination Committee (NCCC) to approve the evaluation criteria soon.

For more reading: SSC exams to be held in December from 2026