Nearly 10 Lakh University Seats Set to Go Vacant as HSC Pass Rate Falls to 52 Percent

Only 6,46,685 students passed this year's HSC and equivalent examinations against 16,13,235 available university seats across the country, leaving an estimated 9,66,550 seats unfilled. Educationists say the sharp decline reflects years of unplanned expansion in higher education.

Photo Source: TBS

DHAKA, Bangladesh: Nearly 10 lakh university seats across Bangladesh are expected to go unfilled this academic year after the number of students passing the Higher Secondary Certificate and equivalent examinations fell sharply, raising fresh concerns about the country's higher education system.

A total of 6,46,685 students passed this year's examinations, against 16,13,235 available seats at public and private universities, leaving an estimated 9,66,550 seats vacant. The overall pass rate across 11 education boards dropped to 52.12 percent from 58.83 percent in 2025.

According to the University Grants Commission, 47 public universities including the National University have 14,36,196 seats, while 106 private universities have 1,77,039 seats.

Private Universities Most at Risk

Educationists warned that the shortfall would hit higher education institutions hard, particularly private universities outside the top tier that were already struggling to attract students.

Professor HM Jahirul Haque, Vice-Chancellor of Canadian University of Bangladesh, said the sharp decline in HSC graduates would particularly affect average-quality private universities.

"The unplanned expansion of private universities is a major injustice to the country's education system. Increasing the number of institutions does not necessarily improve the quality of education. Excessive expansion without proper planning is undermining the quality of private higher education," he said.

He added that the top 10 private universities and another 10 mid-tier institutions were unlikely to face an admission crisis, while third-tier universities would have significant difficulty attracting students.

An Opportunity, Not a Crisis

Not all educationists view the vacant seats as a problem. Professor Mohammad Mojibur Rahman of the Institute of Education and Research at Dhaka University said the situation should not be used as a reason to manipulate examination results.

"Higher education is not meant for everyone in the way primary education is a fundamental right. We have expanded universities, colleges and honours programmes across districts, upazilas and rural areas without proper planning," he said.

He argued that vacant seats could actually improve the teacher-to-student ratio and allow for better guidance and feedback.

"The government should use this opportunity to review the entire higher education system and bring it under proper planning and regulation," he added.

Government Response

Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon said sufficient university seats were available and that individual universities would decide whether to relax admission requirements in light of the low pass rate.

Among the country's leading public universities, Dhaka University has 13,833 seats, Chittagong University 10,429 and Jahangirnagar University 4,604. Among private universities, American International University-Bangladesh has 15,630 seats, Daffodil International University 7,925 and BRAC University 5,960.