The average pass rate in this year's Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations stands 58.83%, showing an 18.95 percentage point decrease from last year. Last year, the combined pass rate was 77.78 percent. A total of 69,097 students earned GPA-5 in HSC and equivalent examinations this year whereas the number was 1,45,911 last year. The results were officially released on Thursday, with all general, madrasa, and technical education boards publishing their outcomes simultaneously.

Professor Khondoker Ehsanul Kabir, chairman of the Dhaka Education Board and president of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, formally announced the results. Among the general education boards, 64.62 percent students passed in Dhaka, 59.40 percent in Rajshahi, 48.86 percent in Cumilla, 50.20 percent in Jashore, 52.57 percent in Chattogram, 62.57 percent in Barishal, 51.86 percent in Sylhet, 57.49 percent in Dinajpur and 51.54 percent in Mymensingh.

Islami Chhatra Shibir regained leadership of the Chittagong University Central Students' Union after 44 years. Candidates from the Shibir-backed panel Sampreetir Shikkharthi Jote have won 24 posts, including vice president and general secretary. The Election Commission announced the results of the seventh CUCSU election at 4:30am on Thursday. In the VP race, Shibir's Md Ibrahim Hossain was elected with 7,983 votes. He is the president of the organisation's Chattogram city south unit. His closest rival, Chhatra Dal's Sazzad Hossain, received 4,374 votes.

For the GS post, Shibir panel's Saeed Bin Habib was elected with 8,031 votes. He is the literary secretary of the university unit of Chhatra Shibir and a postgraduate student in the Department of History. His nearest competitor, Chhatra Dal's Md Shafayat, received 2,734 votes. Chief Election Commissioner Professor Monir Uddin, while announcing the results, said the election was held in a peaceful and competitive environment, and both candidates and voters participated in a festive spirit.

The National Citizen Party convener, Nahid Islam, said today that his party will not sign the July Charter unless there is a clear "legal foundation". "Signing the July Charter without confirming the order will worsen the situation," he said. Speaking at a press conference at the party's central office in Banglamotor, Dhaka, Nahid addressed the implementation of the July Charter and the current political landscape in the country.

He stressed that the consensus commission must take responsibility for resolving the charter's unresolved issues. "Once the commission's tenure ends, there will be no platform left for dialogue," he added. Nahid also accused the government of "resorting to tricks" by holding a signing ceremony without disclosing the contents of the July Charter to the public. Regarding the party's electoral symbol, he said, "The Election Commission is acting unilaterally and making decisions by force without any explanation. This will not be accepted."

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has undertaken a major administrative reform and expansion of its Customs and VAT wings in a bid to widen the tax net and strengthen revenue collection. According to an official order issued on Tuesday by the Internal Resources Division (IRD), a total of 12 new commissionerates, customs houses and specialised units have been established under the NBR. Under the new structure, 373 cadre posts and 3,224 non-cadre posts - totalling 3,597 new positions - have been created to enhance institutional capacity across the Customs and VAT wings.

The expansion aims to promote self-reliance in the national economy through increased revenue mobilisation, improve service delivery to ensure a business-friendly environment and make the indirect tax system more dynamic and effective, the IRD said in a statement. Following proposals from the NBR, the reform initiative received administrative approval from the Ministry of Public Administration, the Finance Division and the Cabinet Division before the IRD issued the order.