Scholarship examinations for primary school students on December 29

Scholarship examinations for primary school students will be held on December 29, according to the schedule announced by the government after reintroduction of the tests for the fifth graders following a decade-long gap.

Class 5 students will be able to undertake the exams in a bid to secure a scholarship for their secondary education.

The Directorate of Primary Education ordered the Upazila-level education offices to prepare for the exams in a notice on Friday, according to bdnews24.com.

It said the schools must evaluate answer sheets of annual exams of fifth graders daily and publish the results by Dec 21.

The Upazila Education Offices must collect and send the list of students who will appear for the exams by Dec 24.

The directorate will send the admit cards by Dec 26.

The exams will be held at 11 am in the Upazilas.

The introduction of the Primary Education Certificate exams in 2009 spelt the end of the separate scholarship exam. Students subsequently received a government stipend on the basis of their performance in the PEC exams.

However, the PEC exam has not been held for the last two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. Later, the government announced that the test would be scrapped as a new curriculum was on the way.

Under these circumstances, the government decided to resume the scholarship exams in a bid to identify meritorious students.

At least 10 per cent of fifth graders in every school across the country will be able to take part in the scholarship exams.

The last PEC exam was held in 2019. Based on the results of the exam, more than 80,000 students were awarded a stipend in February 2020.

Students who qualify for the talent-pool stipend get Tk 300 a month while general stipend holders get Tk 225 per month until they complete grade 8.