Md Moniruzzaman :
A large number of students secure GPA-5 (grade point average-5) in both SSC and HSC examinations every year, but when they sit for Dhaka University(DU) admission tests their performance falls flat on its face.
Around 1.90 lakh students have obtained GPA-5 achieving more than 80% mark in HSC and equivocal examinations in the recent year but the students do not gather 40% mark for passing the DU test.
Academics say that the GPA-5 numbers are not a real picture. The rapid growth of GPA-5 is a fatal inflation like money inflation.
“The GPA-5 numbers are not a real picture. As if the examination paper be evaluated keeping an standard way, how many marks they get there,” Mohammad Nure Alam Siddique, Prof of Institute of Education and Research, said.
“There have an actual loophole in our evaluation system of the SSC and HSC examination and even the admission test do not too standard. They cannot learn those things what they are supposed to learn at this stage,” he added.
According to DU data, the admission test will be taken 100 marks. Of which, 60 marks are from the MCQ part and 40 marks from the written part. A total of 24 marks out of 60 are required to pass for the MCQ part.
Besides, a total of 11 marks out of 40 should be obtained for pass. Moreover, to pass the exam, the students have to get a total of 40 marks in these two parts.
Moreover, the number of GPA-5 holders increased five to six times in the last five-year, but the pass rate of DU admission tests is worsening gradually.
Dhaka University’s last five-year admission tests result show that majority of students with GPA-5 have failed to obtain the minimum pass marks.
According to the DU admission office, this year a total of 2,80,076 students from different five units sat in the admission test. Of them, only 9.41 percent students pass.
The rest 90.59 percent candidate in the five units has failed to obtain 40 percent minimum pass mark in the 100-mark admission test.
The pass rate was 12.36% in 2020-21 academic secession, 13.60% in 2019-20 academic secession, 13.23% in 2018-19 academic secession and 14.35% in 2017-18 academic secession. That means the pass rate decrease every year. This year, the successful candidate’s percentage of “Ka” unit was 10.39 percent, 9.87% in “Kha” unit, 14.30% in “Ga” unit, 8.58% in “Gha” unit and only 3.91% in “Cha” unit.
On the other hand, the GPA-5 holders increased more and more every year. A total of 1,89,169 students have got GPA-5 in the HSC examination of the last year.
The GPA-5 secures was 1,61,807 in 2020 HSC and equivocal examinations, 47,286 in 2019, 29,262 in 2018 and 37,969 in 2017.
The GPA-5 holders in SSC and equivocal examinations in 2021 was 1,83,340, 1,35,898 in 2020, 1,05,594 in 2019, 1,10,629 in 2018, 1,04,761 in 2017.
Some questions, however, naturally arise, what is going on the examination? As if the quality of the students risen that much? Why did a big piece of them fail to get the minimum pass marks at the Dhaka University Admissions Test?
“The rapid growth of GPA-5 is a fatal inflation and education quality being mitigate by it like money inflation. It could not improve the quality of education, rather it lead to low the quality of education,” Md Kamrul Hasan, Prof of Physics Department said.
“The increment rate of GPA-5 since its inception is unimaginable. The rate proves that the quality is bad. However, it cannot be said that the quality of the entrance exam questions are very good. Meanwhile, the overall quality of education is remain poor,” he said.
“The high result is also for showing that the system is doing well and it creates demand for private universities which owner’s some politicians,” Prof Md Kamrul Hasan said.
