More than 120,000 students who passed this year’s Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent exams have not enrolled in colleges or madrasas for higher secondary education, raising concerns over potential dropouts right after completing secondary level.

According to official data, a total of 1,206,597 students were eligible for college admission this year. However, despite four rounds of applications, only 1,080,091 students were selected for enrollment, leaving 126,000 students outside the process.

Prof Mohammad Ali Jinnah of Dhaka University’s Institute of Education and Research (IER) expressed concern that these students may already be dropping out.

We need detailed research to understand why they are not pursuing higher secondary enrollment. Economic hardship, early entry into the workforce, and other social factors could be major reasons,” he told.

The Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, however, said a clearer picture will emerge once data from the Technical Education Board admissions are included.

This year, SSC and equivalent exam results were published on July 10. Out of 1,303,426 successful candidates under 11 education boards, the number rose to 1,308,354 after re-scrutiny in August. Of them, 101,757 passed under the Technical Education Board through SSC (vocational) and Dakhil (vocational) exams.

Students under the Technical Education Board are currently enrolling in HSC (BM, BMT), Diploma in Engineering, and other technical programs separately, which is why their numbers were excluded from the central admission process.

Prof Khondoker Ehsanul Kabir, chairman of the Dhaka Education Board and president of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, told, “Around 1.08 million students have already secured college admission. For the rest, we need to wait for the technical board’s admission data to get a complete picture.”

Prof Jinnah, however, warned that without immediate measures, the missing 120,000-plus students could be permanently left behind.

The Education Ministry should take steps to ensure these students are not lost. Options like non-formal education, vocational diploma courses, or alternative learning pathways must be offered. Otherwise, this large number of young people may become a burden on society, he cautioned.