Hundreds of Colleges See No Admissions in First Phase of 2025–26 Academic Year

In the first phase of admissions for the 2025–26 academic year, no students were admitted to 378 colleges and madrasahs nationwide. Additionally, 10 colleges did not receive a single application.

Under the Rajshahi Education Board, RMJ College had 150 seats for the 11th grade, but not one student was selected. Similarly, Jaflong Hanifa Khatun Memorial College in Sylhet, which has 300 seats, also failed to enroll any students.

The first-phase results for 11th-grade admission were published on Wednesday, revealing these gaps. Despite applying, 25,348 students were left unplaced, including 5,765 students who had achieved a GPA of 5.

Centralized Online Admission System

Admission to 11th grade in most colleges and madrasahs across Bangladesh—except select institutions such as Notre Dame College—is managed through a centralized online system. This process, overseen by the Dhaka Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education with technical support from BUET, selects students based solely on their SSC and equivalent exam results, without entrance tests. Admissions under the Technical Education Board follow a separate system.

This year, 1,904,086 students registered under 11 education boards for SSC and equivalent exams, of whom 1,303,426 passed, leaving more than 600,000 students unsuccessful. There are 8,015 eligible institutions for 11th-grade admission, offering 2,563,063 seats. Among 1,073,310 eligible applicants, 1,047,962 students were placed, leaving over 25,000 unplaced.

Students must apply to at least five and at most ten institutions, ranking them by preference. Admission is determined by academic merit, quotas (if applicable), and the students’ listed preferences. Many students tend to apply mainly to well-known colleges or madrasahs, which sometimes leads to mismatches between results, preferences, and available seats.

Upcoming Phases

Second and third phases of admission will allow students who did not apply in the first phase to try again, though options and chances of entering preferred institutions decrease with each round.

Most Popular Colleges

Government Ananda Mohan College in Mymensingh received the highest number of applications, with 36,185 students vying for 981 seats. Adamjee Cantonment College in Dhaka followed with 35,082 applications for 2,161 seats. Other top colleges by application numbers include BAF Shaheen College (Dhaka), Shaheed AHM Kamaruzzaman Government Degree College, Kabi Nazrul Government College, Rajshahi Government College, Baklia Government College, Government AH College (Bogura), Dinajpur Government College, and New Government Degree College.

Institutions Without Any Admissions

The Dhaka Education Board provided a breakdown of the 378 institutions that did not admit any students:

• Rajshahi: 56

• Dinajpur: 42

• Dhaka: 39

• Mymensingh: 35

• Jashore: 16

• Barishal: 13

• Cumilla: 12

• Sylhet: 3

• Chattogram: 1

• Madrasahs nationwide: 161

Among the 10 colleges that received no applications at all, nine fall under the Barishal Education Board. An example is Kathalia Secondary Girls’ School and College, which has 450 seats but no applicants. One college under the Chattogram Education Board also received no applications.

Official Comments

Professor Khondoker Ehsanul Kabir, Chairman of the Dhaka Education Board and President of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, told Prothom Alo: “In past years, many students applied in the second phase. We expect similar trends this year, but the final reasons for unplaced students will only become clear after the admission process concludes.”