With HSC results out, students now face tough competition for higher studies
Niloy Mahmud was over the moon after getting his HSC results on Sunday. His parents were also delighted as their son achieved the highest distinction, GPA-5.
A student from science group, Niloy wants to study engineering and his first choice is Buet. But whenever he thinks of getting into the university, a sense of worry takes over.
Because to secure a spot there, he will not only have to fight against most of the 26,556 students, who got GPA-5 like him from the science group, but also many others who cherish the same dream.
The Bangladesh University of Science and Technology (Buet) can accommodate around 1,000 freshers only.
“Despite getting GPA-5, no-one is certain about the admission. A hard competition is coming up and I will have to make it,” Niloy said.
The situation is the same for thousands of students who passed the HSC and equivalent examinations.
Although the number of GPA-5 scorers dropped this year, landing a spot at a public university, which remains on top of students’ wish list, still remains a big concern as the spots at these institutions are small compared to the number of students who have passed.
As many as 738,872 students — 389,363 boys and 349,509 girls — have passed the HSC and equivalent exams this year. Of them, 42,894 got GPA (grade point average)-5, while more than 2 lakh others scored GPA-4 or higher.
But the number of spots at the 37 public universities is around 43,000, according to the education ministry. Of the spots in public universities, Dhaka University has nearly 5,000 and Jahangirnagar University about 1,350. The public and private medical and dental colleges offer around 10,000 spots.
Sources in the ministry said unlike previous years, the public universities might see a fewer GPA-5 achievers getting in, as their number fell by 28,000 this year.
However, there will be a hard battle to enrol at public universities and medical colleges, especially Dhaka University and Buet, they said.
In contrast, many colleges affiliated with the National University, especially those in the remote areas, will not get enough students because of poor quality education and outdated curriculums.
As for the private universities, they have around 1.5 lakh spots. Many of these universities might raise the number of vacancies to take in more students.
Like the previous years, the students will have to go through hassles as the government could not introduce a “cluster system” at public universities even this year in the face of opposition from a number of public universities.
Under the system, the universities of similar characteristics will be brought under a cluster with a single admission test for each of them.
The government had considered introducing the system to ease admission hassles and help students get out of the grip of coaching centres.
-With The Daily Star input
