JSC, JDC exams begin Tuesday

Junior School Certificate (JSC) and Junior Dakhil Certificate (JDC) examinations for eighth-graders will begin on Tuesday. Around 18.62 lakh students including 3.23 lakh from madrasas will take the public examinations in 2,008 examination centres under eight general education boards and the madrasa education board, according to education board officials. Like the previous year, the JSC examinations will be held with common question papers. “All the preparations are in place to ensure the students can sit the examinations peacefully,” Prof Fahima Khatun, chairman of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka, told The Daily Star. The total number of examinees is around 3.41 lakh more than that of the previous year as around 70 percent students, who flunked last year, have registered to retake the exams, pointed out Fahima, also the coordinator of inter-education board. Besides, making it mandatory to pass the JSC or JDC examinations for admission in ninth-grade is another reason behind the bigger number of examinees as the guardians are now more conscious about the exams, she added. The JSC examinations will cover nine subjects each of 100 marks, while the JDC examinations will have 10 subjects with the same marks for each. Candidates will get three hours to complete each examination. However, physically challenged students will get 20 minutes extra, said the chairman of Dhaka board. As per official statistics, Dhaka board has the highest 4.64 lakh examinees while Barisal board has the lowest 85,532. Besides, 385 students will sit the exams at seven overseas centres. The examinations will end on November 21. The results will be in grades. Students will be awarded scholarships on the basis of their results.