The draft evaluation process developed by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) stipulates that midterm and annual final exams as well as public exams like the SSC, and HSC will each last five hours.
These exams will take place from 10:00am to 4:00pm, with a one-hour break in between. In this test, students will undergo six sessions to showcase their proficiency. The board intends to put the new evaluation system into place in June of this year.
In addition, there has been a lot of criticism directed towards the draft of the new evaluation procedure, which aims to redesign student assessments.
The draft proposes that similar to midterm and annual exams, each subject will have a five-hour final exam. During the exam period, there will be six sessions. There will be one hour of theory testing and four hours of practical testing. The theory test will be assessed by the Board of Education.
Throughout these five hours, students are required to work in groups. Once more, each person must complete their own practical work.
For classes IV through IX, the student's own institution will serve as the evaluation or examination centre. Additionally, students must travel to an outside location for their SSC and HSC exams.
Under the new curriculum, students of classes VI to X will study ten common subjects, and the only curriculum used for SSC exams is that of class X. Furthermore, there will be separate yearly public examinations for classes XI and XII, with the cumulative scores from these exams used to determine HSC results. Officials said results of the students of classes IV and V will be
based on a combination of class performance and yearly exams, while students of classes I to III will receive results based on performance-based assessments. In a similar way, grades of the students of classes VI to VIII will be determined by a combination of annual exams and class performance. Lastly, the grades of students of classes IX and X will be determined by a combination of annual, public, and class exams. For classes XI and XII, public exams will determine the remaining marks, with class performance accounting for thirty percent of the total.
NCTB Chairman Prof. Md. Farhadul Islam expressed optimism about the new evaluation process, which is pending for approval by the minister of education. Professor Moshiuzzaman, a member of the NCTB, stated that there will not be a marking scheme for the test in this regard. The results will be split into three sections by the assessors. Students of classes IV to IX require annual midterm and final examinations. Only a final exam will be used to evaluate SSC and HSC students.
He said, "We worked with seasoned testing and evaluation educators to prepare this draft. The draft is presented to the ministry's senior officials. In this case, they will have the last say.”
Sources said the new curriculum has been implemented gradually, with textbooks being assigned to various classes over time. With SSC exams under the new curriculum scheduled for 2026 and HSC exams for 2028, the ministry plans to introduce new textbooks for class XI students in 2026 and class XII students in 2027.