Education board says she could still pass if her second paper score meets combined requirement, but inquiry disputes claims of emergency hospital visit.

Anisa Ahmed, a Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinee who missed her first day’s Bangla First Paper exam due to arriving late at the exam center, will not be allowed to retake the test after investigations revealed inconsistencies in her explanation for the delay.

On the first day of the HSC examinations, Anisa was seen crying outside the Government Bangla College exam center, telling reporters that she had been late because she was attending to her ailing mother at the hospital. Her emotional account, captured in photos and videos, quickly spread on social media, sparking a wave of public sympathy and demands for her to be allowed to take the exam. In response, the Ministry of Education and the Dhaka Education Board initially announced that she would be given the opportunity to sit for the missed paper.

However, the decision was put on hold pending verification of her claims. Two separate inquiry committees were formed—one by the Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board and another by Government Bangla College, the exam center in question. Both investigations concluded that the details provided by Anisa did not match the findings.

According to officials from the Education Ministry and Dhaka Board, speaking on condition of anonymity, the investigation found that Anisa’s mother was a regular patient at the hospital mentioned and was not admitted suddenly on the morning of the exam due to a health emergency, as claimed. There were also questions regarding the authenticity of the hospital admission slip she submitted as evidence.

Dhaka Board’s Exam Controller, S.M. Kamal Uddin Haider, told the media on Sunday that no final decision had been made regarding Anisa’s examination status, but the information she provided had been reviewed carefully. He added that under existing rules, a student who fails to appear for one paper may still pass if the combined score of both papers in that subject reaches 66. “If she scores 66 marks in total for both Bangla papers, she will pass the subject, even without taking the first paper,” he said.

Principal Md. Asaduzzaman of Dhaka Education Board Laboratory School and College, where Anisa is a student, explained that she had not contacted the school after the incident. He said that both the college and board investigation teams had requested documentation, including the hospital admission slip, which the school collected from Anisa and forwarded to the committees. “If a student submits false documents, there’s nothing we can do at the school level. It is the committee’s job to verify authenticity, and from what I understand, they found no truth to her claims. Therefore, the board is not allowing her to take the missed exam,” he said.

Asaduzzaman added that Anisa’s only remaining option is to score 66 marks in the Bangla Second Paper, which, when combined with the first paper’s zero score, would still allow her to pass. If she achieves this and passes all other subjects, her overall HSC result would remain valid.

The case has drawn significant public attention, with many initially sympathizing with Anisa after the viral images of her crying outside the exam hall. However, the investigation’s outcome has shifted the narrative, raising questions about the accuracy of her claims and the integrity of documentation provided to justify special consideration.