Girls outperform boys in SSC and HSC. What prevents them from climbing higher?

TBS Infographics

The recently published results of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) 2023 shows that girls have once again won the race against boys, both in terms of pass rate and the overall number of GPA-5.

This year a total of 13,74,488 students sat for HSC and equivalent exams. Of them, 6,98,135 were boys and 6,76,353 were girls. Eventually, 80.75% girls and 76.76% boys successfully cleared the exams. 

The breakdown of the results also reveals that a total of 41,804 girls secured GPA-5 compared to 36,717 boys this year. 

Just like that, girls have maintained their superiority over boys in HSC exam pass rates for 14 consecutive years, while they have surpassed boys in securing GPA-5 for the third year in a row.

And it's not the HSC exams only. The SSC results that came out in July showed that for the seventh year in a row, girls had a higher pass rate compared to boys, while they did better in achieving GPA-5 for the sixth consecutive year as well.

Such successes of girls haven't escaped the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's attention either, as she also flagged the 'reverse gender gap' in education. 

"The pass rate among girls appears to be steadily on the rise. There was a time when educational opportunities were denied to girls, but now they are making significant progress," stated the Prime Minister, emphasising the need to investigate the factors contributing to the performance gap among boys.

When The Business Standard consulted with experts, it became apparent that they share the same concern about the recent decline in boys' results and identified multiple reasons behind this trend. 

Nevertheless, they also insisted that it is imperative to investigate why, despite performing well in public exams, a significant number of girls in the country struggle to replicate this success in higher education, research and career.

Dr Sayed Saikh Imtiaz, a professor of Women and Gender Studies at the University of Dhaka, has been working on the psychology of adolescent boys for a while now. From his perspective, a significant factor contributing to the decline of boys is their diminishing commitment to education. 

"These days, many boys aren't taking their studies seriously. They hardly listen to their parents and elderly members of the family, and remain immersed in technology and electronic devices all day long. Additionally, there is a prevalent desire among many boys to initiate earning at an early age, often compromising their commitment to studies," he said. 

Syed Nazmus Sakib, a senior teacher at the Birshreshtha Noor Mohammad Public School and College, insisted that girls' attitude towards education is totally different, and they are very easy to handle. 

"Whereas I find it difficult to discipline boys, it's effortlessly achieved with girls. Also, they are very determined to do well in their studies. I think this determination stems from the demotivation they frequently encounter in their surroundings. So, they make it a point to do well in their exams," remarked Sakib. 

Nevertheless, although girls can demonstrate their capabilities in SSC and HSC exams, many of them hardly get such opportunities to showcase their abilities in the later stages of their education.

"At every stage of school, college, university, a girl is constantly fighting with her surroundings. Not everyone persists till the end," said Sumaiya Shifat, an assistant professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Jahangirnagar University. 

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (Banbeis), the ratio of male and female students is almost equal among students who participated in the secondary and higher secondary examinations in the last five years.

During this time frame, female students comprised 49.50% of the primary education system in the country. This percentage increased to 54.67% in secondary education and 51.89% in higher secondary education.

However, just 36.30% of students are female at the university level.

Interestingly, as per the Global Gender Gap Report 2023, while Bangladesh ranks 1st in eliminating gender gap in secondary education enrollment, it ranks 116th in tertiary education.  

This clearly indicates that, despite outperforming their male counterparts in public exams, female students are still not receiving sufficient opportunities to pursue higher education, resulting in their lack of presence in research and subsequent formal careers as well. 

Although women's involvement in science and research stands at 28%, only 17% of women are in leadership roles within the research domain. 

Dr Imtiaz suggested that one reason for this is the significant lag of female students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects, as their parents don't want to invest much in them in their initial days of education. 

"For instance, while parents opt for two private tutors to teach science subjects to their sons in the ninth grade, they typically engage only one private tutor for their daughter. Consequently, it is rare to find female students pursuing science or engineering subjects," he said.

According to latest Banbeis data, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) has only 21.25% female students. The scenario is more or less the same in other engineering and technology universities as well. 

The Global Gender Gap Report also suggests that the participation of women in the information and technology sector is only 27.25%, while women's participation in science, mathematics and statistics is 14.92%.

Furthermore, participation of women in social sciences, journalism and communication is 27.78% and it is 46.5% in engineering-manufacturing and construction. 

Meanwhile, Public Service Commission (PSC) data reveals that, in the recent general BCSs, one woman was recommended for every three men. However, the number of women securing jobs in special BCS was nearly equal to that of men.

So, what other factors contribute to women continuing to trail behind in higher education and beyond?

According to Ranjana Huda, a communication specialist and columnist, the reason for this is that many girls are left out of higher education due to marriage or child marriage in the middle of their studies.

Due to household responsibilities, child rearing, crisis of caregivers, shortage of domestic help, lack of daycare homes, responsibility of looking after elderly people in the family, and above all, reluctance of husbands; many women are forced to leave their studies and jobs. 

"Once you leave your studies and jobs in this competitive market, it becomes difficult to re-enter," she said. 

Md Abdul Muyeed, a professor of Economics at Islamic University, Bangladesh, said that such a gloomy situation persists because of the unfair division of household labour, as even if both husband and wife have the same status, salary and formal work responsibilities, husbands rarely contribute to household chores, believing that these are for women to do. 

He pointed out the popular belief in our country that women should fulfil the work of taking care of her children, husband and husband's family first, and she can go to work only after completing all these tasks all by herself.

"Whenever a poor family sees a little affluence, it is suggested that the wife quit her job. All the responsibilities of child rearing fall on women. Many girls pursue higher education for reasons of marriage, not to participate in the economy," he added. 

Kamrunnaher Sultana Munny, a lecturer of Syed Ashraful Islam Poura Mohila Degree College in Kishoreganj, shared that such scenarios are more commonplace among female students outside Dhaka. 

"Many parents want to marry off their daughters even while they are at the HSC level. And at the honour's level, the tendency increases manifold, for two reasons. Firstly, guardians often fail to grasp the significance of women's higher education, and secondly, economic pressures compel them to curtail their daughters' educational endeavours," she said. 

In this point, Dr Imtiaz reflected that the country's higher education infrastructure is still not adequate, hence many parents outside Dhaka fear to let their daughters come alone to big cities for educational purposes. 

"Say, why would guardians of a girl in Kurigram let their daughter come to Dhaka amid the lack of safety and security? Even in Dhaka University, there are only five residential halls for female students, compared to 16 for their male counterparts. Only a few years ago, there was just one washroom for female students inside the Arts Building," said Dr Imtiaz. 

Notably, as the universities in Bangladesh do not have the required number of residential halls, 64% students are deprived of such facilities. Of the 36% students who get a chance to stay in residence halls, 59% are male students and 41% are female students. Hence, many female students are forced to live outside the university area and ride public transport. 

According to a survey by Aachol Foundation published in June 2022, 63.4% female adolescents and young women had been subjected to various forms of harassment on public transports in the preceding six months. 

Of those, 46.5% said they had been sexually harassed, 15.3% went through bullying, 15.2% faced discrimination, 14.9% gender inequality, and 8.2% faced body shaming.

Dr Imtiaz also urged for achieving a balance in the ratio of male and female teachers at the university level to enhance the comfort of female students in classroom environments.

According to the latest University Grant Commision (UGC) report, there are only 29.33% female teachers in the universities. 

However, Shifat is of the opinion that the stark reality of women's lack of participation in higher education and professional careers may change with the requisite support from society and their families.

"There are many working women who do not get any support from their own or husband's family. Instead, they listen to negative things because they work outside home. A woman can handle herself, family and work beautifully, only if she gets a little support and assurance," said Shifat. 

That said, Shifat also pointed out that there are also some responsibilities for women themselves. According to her, patriarchy in the society is so deeply rooted in women that many of them, despite being women themselves, hold and carry patriarchal attitudes even more strongly. 

"In many cases, a woman tries to reverse the progress of another woman without changing the problems and subordination she herself has faced as a woman. And thus, she inconspicuously cooperates in preventing other women from moving forward," explained Shifat, calling for a change in such behaviour in both men and women.

Disclaimer: This article was first published on 1 December, 2023