The results of this year’s Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations were published on Monday, with an overall pass rate of 62.25 percent across the country’s 11 education boards.A total of 1,16,676 students secured GPA-5 this year, down from 1,39,032 last year. The overall pass rate also declined from 68.45 percent recorded in the previous year.Education and Primary and Mass Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon officially announced the results at a press conference held at the Secretariat at 10:00 am.Following the announcement, the results were made available simultaneously through the websites of all education boards, the respective educational institutions and SMS services.Prof Syed Akhtaruzzaman, president of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee and chairman of the Dhaka Education Board, presented the detailed results at the press conference.Overall resultsA total of 18,29,485 candidates appeared in the SSC and equivalent examinations this year under the country’s nine general education boards, Madrasa Education Board and Technical Education Board.Of them, 11,38,877 candidates passed. Among the successful candidates, 5,30,938 were boys and 6,07,939 were girls.Both the overall pass rate and the number of GPA-5 achievers declined compared with last year.General education boardsUnder the nine general education boards, a total of 14,04,539 candidates took part in the examinations. Of them, 8,99,610 passed, resulting in a pass rate of 64.05 percent.Among those who passed, 3,95,814 were boys and 5,03,796 were girls. A total of 1,06,009 students secured GPA-5.Madrasa Education BoardA total of 2,96,982 candidates appeared in the Dakhil examination under the Madrasa Education Board, with 1,64,797 candidates passing.The pass rate stood at 55.49 percent, while 6,716 students secured GPA-5.Technical Education BoardUnder the Technical Education Board, 1,27,964 candidates appeared in the SSC and Dakhil (Vocational) examinations.Of them, 74,470 candidates passed, recording a pass rate of 58.2 percent.Board-wise resultsThe Dhaka Education Board recorded the highest pass rate among the general education boards, with 71.63 percent. A total of 33,253 students secured GPA-5.The Rajshahi Education Board recorded a pass rate of 63.67 percent, with 22,327 students achieving GPA-5.The pass rate in the Jashore Education Board was 66.27 percent, while 11,478 students secured GPA-5.The Sylhet Education Board recorded a pass rate of 58.33 percent, with 3,836 students securing GPA-5.In the Dinajpur Education Board, the pass rate stood at 58.05 percent, while 13,639 students achieved GPA-5.The Chattogram Education Board recorded a pass rate of 59.48 percent, with 9,398 students securing GPA-5.The Barishal Education Board recorded a pass rate of 60.35 percent, while 2,778 students achieved GPA-5.The Mymensingh Education Board recorded a pass rate of 57.39 percent, with 5,700 students securing GPA-5.The Cumilla Education Board recorded a pass rate of 65.42 percent, while 9,814 students achieved GPA-5.Group-wise resultsAccording to the group-wise results of the nine general education boards, students from the science group recorded the highest pass rate.A total of 4,57,188 students from the science group passed, with a pass rate of 80.64 percent.In the humanities group, 3,11,174 students passed, recording a pass rate of 48.74 percent.Meanwhile, 1,41,248 students passed from the business education group, with a pass rate of 64.29 percent.Prime Minister’s Education Adviser Dr Mahdi Amin, Secondary and Higher Education Division Secretary Md Abdul Khaleque and chairmen of different education boards were present at the press conference.