She made the announcement at a virtual press conference on HSC examination arranged by the Education Ministry.
Dipu Moni said an alternative method of evaluation will be used this time.
“The HSC results will be evaluated based on the students’ JSC and SSC results,” she said. “The results will be readied by December.”
Dr Dipu Moni said the decision has been taken considering the global pandemic and planning for a risk-free exam is virtually impossible at the moment
“There is no guarantee when the coronavirus situation will return to normal…Accuracy, reliability, avoiding health risks to students in taking HSC exams should be kept in mind while planning,” she said adding that 30-32 working days will be needed to take the HSC exam.
“The decision to place one student on each bench for the exam and follow all the hygiene rules, it would require double number of centers. If the center is to be doubled, the manpower has to be doubled. It is difficult for the ministry,” she said.
The number of subjects can be reduced to take the exam but every subject is important for higher secondary level students.
“The bigger risk was that if a student gets infected or someone in his or her family gets infected after we start to take exams what will happen to that examinee,” Dr Dipu Moni said.
She highlighted that In foreign countries like India, China and Hong Kong have either canceled or postponed public exams that are similar to HSC.
The Education Minister noted that the decision was taken after consultation with the examinees, teachers, parents, health department and other stakeholders.
Technical committee
The Minister also announced that a technical committee will be formed comprised of officials from relevant sectors to decide the marking parameters from SSC and JSC examination results.
“Some students change their group (Science, Commerce or Humanities) after the SSC exam, the technical committee will be helping in their evaluation,” she added.
Dr Dipu Moni also noted that the committee is expected to submit their report in this regard within the first week of November.
She noted that there is a possibility of holding uniform admission tests in universities.
“It will be discussed with the universities and the Covid-19 pandemic situation will also be taken into consideration while making the final decision,” she said.
Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel’s comments
Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel said if the exams were to be postponed for next year, the country would lag behind.
"If we wait, we will fall behind on a global scale...Alternative evaluation methods have been used in many places around the world to solve the issue," he said.
The HSC and equivalent examinations were scheduled to begin on April 1, but the government was forced to postpone it on March 22 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Educational institutions closure
All educational institutions were closed on March 16 to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The closure was extended until Oct 31 as there has been no marked improvement in the situation.
Besides, there will be no Primary Education Completion (PEC) and its equivalent Ebtedayee examination for 2020 and the students will be promoted to the next class through class assessment instead.
Dipu Moni on Sept 30 said they are making plans considering various alternatives since experts have warned about the possible second wave of coronavirus during winter.
No JSC, JDC, PEC, Ebtedayee this year
On August 27, the government decided not to hold this year's Junior School Certificate (JSC) and Junior Dakhil Certificate (JDC)examinations due to the coronavirus pandemic.
There will be no Primary Education Completion (PEC) and its equivalent Ebtedayee examination for 2020 and the students will be promoted to the next class through class assessment instead.
The PEC and Ebtedayee examinations were scheduled to begin on November 17 with around 30 lakh students preparing to appear in the exams.
Coronavirus Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Wednesday reported the death of 35 more patients from Covid-19 in 24 hours spiking the total fatalities to 5,440.
Health authorities reported 1,520 new cases of Covid-19 after testing 13,032 samples during the period.
The fatality rate in Bangladesh is 1.456 percent while the daily infection rate declined to 11.46 percent.
So far, 3,73,151 patients have been detected in the country since March 8 after testing 20,26,808 samples and 18.41 percent of them have turned out to be Covid-19 positive.
The country saw the recovery of 1,798 former Covid-19 patients in the last 24 hours till Wednesday 8 am which pushed up the number of total recoveries across the country to 2,86,631.
A handout of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) provided the latest information confirming that the recovery rate has climbed to 76.81 percent in Bangladesh.
Also read: HSC exam schedule to be announced Monday or Tuesday: Minister