Over 9,000 students were absent on the first day as the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and its equivalent examinations began across the country on Thursday.
Besides, 26 students were expelled for adopting unfair means in the examinations, says UNB.
This year, 1,774,533 students sat for the examinations -- 1,431,118 for the SSC examinations from eight general education boards while 244,209 for Dakhil exam under the Madrasah Education Board and 99,206 students for vocational exam under the Bangladesh Technical Education Board.
The written examinations will continue until February 25 while the practical examination will be held from February 26 to March 4.