All coaching centres across the country will remain shut from November 8 to 25 ahead of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations, said Education Minister Dipu Moni on Wednesday.

SSC and equivalent examinations for the academic session 2020-21 will begin on November 14, Dipu Moni said at a press briefing at the secretariat.

This year the SSC and the HSC examinations could not be held as per schedules due to the Covid-19 pandemic and then the government decided to hold the examinations with shortened syllabuses.

Read:SSC exams to begin on Nov 14, HSC on Dec 2

The examinations will be held with short syllabuses on three elective subjects on a group basis.

According to the schedule, the SSC and its equivalent examinations will end on November 23.

Some 22,27,113 students are expected to take the SSC and equivalent exams this session while last year this number was 20,46,779. The number of candidates has increased by 1,79,334 with a growth rate of 8.76 per cent.

About 18,00,998 candidates will sit for the SSC exam under nine general education boards, 3,01,887 for Dakhil exams under Madrasa Education Board and 1,24,228 for vocational exam under Bangladesh Technical Education Board this year, the minister said.

Besides, 429 students will take part in the examination from abroad. Some 3,679 centers are set to sit for the SSC exam across the country.

This year, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and other social media will be monitored to prevent leakage of question papers. If any ID is suspected, law enforcers will monitor and will take immediate action.

The decision was taken at a meeting with law enforcement at the Ministry of Education on Wednesday regarding the security of SSC exams.

Educational institutions across the country had remained closed since March last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the closure was extended several times.

Read: SSC, HSC exams either in Nov or Dec next: Education Minister

Finally, the government reopened schools and colleges on September 13 following an improvement in the Covid-19 situation.

Last year’s HSC examinees were evaluated on the basis of their results of JSC and SSC exams, a decision which received a mixed reaction.