The decision to cancel the lottery system for admission to first grade and other levels in schools under the Ministry of Education, starting in the next academic year (2027), and to introduce entrance exams, has been amended. According to the new decision, there will be no entrance exams for first grade starting in the 2027 academic year. Admission to first grade will be determined by lottery.
However, students will be admitted to all other primary and secondary levels through entrance exams.
This information was announced in a press release from the Ministry of Education on Thursday.
Previously, at a press conference last March, the Minister of Education, ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon, suddenly announced that entrance exams would be introduced in place of the lottery system. At that time, he stated, “We have withdrawn the lottery system.”
Since that announcement, educators and education experts have stated that introducing entrance exams instead of the lottery, especially at the primary level, will increase unnecessary pressure on children. Furthermore, private tutoring and reliance on private academies may increase again, further exacerbating inequality within the education system. Meanwhile, reports have also surfaced of preparatory activities in various parts of Dhaka under the guise of preparing students for entrance exams.
Previously, children faced fierce competition from a young age in school entrance exams. Private tutoring and private schools were commonplace. Many families turned to preparation centers to secure their children’s admission to prestigious schools. Alongside this, there were also numerous reports of irregularities, corruption, and nepotism surrounding the admissions process. As a result, access to even prestigious or reputable schools remained virtually unattainable for many students from low-income and disadvantaged families. This situation has been widely debated and criticized in the media for a long time.
In this context, the lottery system was initially introduced only for admission to the first grade. Starting in the 2011 academic year, instead of an entrance exam, admission to first grade in public junior high schools (schools offering first grade) became mandatory through a lottery system. The following year, the same system was implemented in private schools. However, admission to grades two through nine remained by exam.
Subsequently, due to the coronavirus outbreak, in the 2021 academic year, students were admitted to all grades by lottery, a practice that was maintained. Now, this has changed. The lottery will continue for admission to first grade. However, students will be admitted to all other grades of elementary and junior high school through an entrance exam.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education’s press release indicated that the results of this year’s SSC exams and equivalent assessments will be published on August 10.
