Failed but Fighting: NTRCA Candidates Demand Pass Status and E-Certificates
A group of candidates who were declared unsuccessful in the final results of the 18th Teacher Registration Examination have called upon the Ministry of Education and relevant authorities to revise the outcome and issue them e-certificates. They claim the published results were “grossly discriminatory” and have urged authorities to “correct the results immediately and declare all candidates with 40 percent or above marks as passed.”
The demand was made during a press conference held at the Shafiqul Kabir Auditorium of the Dhaka Reporters Unity on Friday, June 27.
Job-seeker Sonia Akter, presenting a five-point demand on behalf of the candidates, said, “Since the NTRCA regulations stipulate that a candidate scoring 40 percent in the viva voce qualifies as passed, all those who have scored 40 percent or more in total (written plus viva) should be declared successful and allowed to participate in the recruitment process.” She added, “Since NTRCA issues certificates based on written exam scores, and all those who appeared in the viva had already passed the written test with 40 percent or above, they all deserve the e-certificate.”
Sonia further claimed, “NTRCA conducted the written examination using a question format and marking scheme that deviated from its own published guidelines. Despite this, we passed. Most of us received 12 marks in the viva according to the provided score sheets. Therefore, we should be declared successful at least on humanitarian grounds and allowed inclusion in the merit list for the 6th mass circular based on our written scores.”
In a written statement, the candidates reiterated their objection to the structure and assessment of the exam. They claimed that although they passed a flawed written exam and received adequate marks in the viva, they were still declared unsuccessful in the final list.
Following the publication of the final results on June 4, which declared 60,521 candidates as successful and 20,688 as failed, the aggrieved candidates have launched a series of protests. These included sit-ins and demonstrations in front of the NTRCA office and the National Press Club.
In continuation of their movement, candidate Shahadat Hossain announced a mass gathering in front of the NTRCA building, demanding a review of the viva results and the issuance of certificates to all eligible candidates whose documents are in order.
Sonia Akter appealed to the Ministry of Education, saying, “This discriminatory result must be corrected. Otherwise, the futures of thousands of meritorious and hardworking young teachers will be ruined, and NTRCA will lose the trust of the nation’s students.”
Other candidates present at the press conference included Sohel Rana, Abu Taher, and Nilufa Yasmin.
The 18th Teacher Registration final results were initially published on June 4, and a revised version followed on June 23, dated June 15. In the updated list, 113 more candidates were declared successful, raising the total to 60,634. The revision, however, has sparked further controversy and criticism against NTRCA.
According to sources, the NTRCA announced the 18th registration examination on November 2, 2023, attracting a record 1.9 million applicants. The preliminary test was held on March 15, 2024, where 479,981 candidates passed. The written exams were conducted on July 12 and 13, with results published on October 14. A total of 83,865 candidates passed the written exam, of whom 81,209 appeared for the viva.
