A total of 1,937 students were absent from the Bengali (Compulsory) First Paper examination on the opening day of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations under the Dinajpur Education Board.
Among the absentees, 366 were from Dinajpur district, said a notification issued by the Board's Examination Controller Mohammad Borhan Uddin.
A total of 91,036 candidates were scheduled to sit for the Bengali First Paper examination.
The notification also said one student was expelled from an examination centre in Thakurgaon district for adopting unfair means.
This year, a total of 113,479 students—including regular, irregular and improvement candidates—from 665 colleges across the eight districts of Rangpur division are expected to appear in the HSC examinations under the Dinajpur Education Board.
Of them, 59,043 are female and 54,436 are male.
The Education Board said necessary measures have been taken to ensure the examinations are conducted in a fair and cheating-free environment.
Although CCTV cameras were installed at the examination centres, police personnel deployed for security were not seen wearing body-worn cameras.
The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations began simultaneously across the country on Thursday, with over 12.70 lakh candidates set to appear under 11 education boards.
HSC exams began at 10 am with Bangla 1st Paper on the first day.