This year’s SSC and equivalent exams have shown a significant gap in the results of students from cities and rural areas. Students from large cities like Dhaka and Chittagong have performed relatively well in terms of pass rates and obtaining GPA-5, but the scenario in rural areas is quite bleak.

In the Dhaka metropolitan area, under the Dhaka Education Board, the pass rate is more than 83 per cent, whereas, in Madaripur district under the same board, it is around 58 per cent.

Similarly, in Chittagong metropolitan, the pass rate is about 74 per cent, while it is about 57 per cent in the district of Chittagong excluding the metropolitan area.

The pass rate in Khagrachcari, under the Chittagong Education Board, is about 35 per cent, whereas last year, it was nearly 61 per cent.

Analysing the results shows that while the pass rate for the nine general education boards is 64 per cent, the results for Dhaka and Chittagong metropolitan areas are significantly better—averaging at 78. 5 per cent.

The gap between cities and rural areas is also apparent in the highest result indicator, obtaining GPA-5. Among the 33,253 students who received GPA-5 under the Dhaka Education Board, more than 58 per cent are from educational institutions in Dhaka metropolitan.