Lagging Institutions Get Five Extra Days to Fill Out Junior Scholarship Exam Forms

The time for filling out forms for the Junior Scholarship Examination-2026 has been extended. Students of institutions that could not complete filling out the forms of their examinees within the stipulated time will get an extra opportunity to fill out forms from 25 October to 29 October.

The decision was announced in a notice from the Dhaka Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education. The notice, signed by the board's Controller of Examinations Professor Jesmin Taslima Banu, was published on Saturday (17 October). The notice drew the attention of the head teachers and principals of all secondary and lower-secondary level educational institutions in the country.

The notice said that under the junior scholarship examination policy, each educational institution can fill out forms for a maximum of 40 percent of its students as examinees. Only those institutions that could not finish filling out the forms for this 40 percent of examinees within the stipulated schedule will get the benefit of the extended time.

The form fill-up work during the extended period must be completed by the institutions themselves. The form fill-up fee must be paid through Sonali Seba and must be deposited by 29 October, the notice clearly stated. The notice did not say anything about whether any further opportunity would remain after the stipulated time.

The Junior Scholarship Examination is one of the country's biggest merit-based examinations for eighth-grade students. Doing well in this examination earns students government scholarships, which serve as financial assistance for their subsequent studies. Because of the institution-based quota, the form fill-up process is an important step for every school.

The need to extend the time had been heard from various institutions. It was not possible for all institutions to finish the processes of data entry, student verification and fee payment at the same pace within the stipulated time. Those concerned believe this decision of the board will bring relief to the students of the institutions that fell behind.

However, the extended time is not for all institutions — for those that have already completed the form fill-up, there is nothing new to do. The opportunity will apply only in the case of institutions that remain incomplete, and the maximum 40 percent limit also remains unchanged.

According to the already published schedule, the 2026 Junior Scholarship Examination will begin on 8 December. Examinations will be held in five subjects — Bangla, English, Mathematics, Science, and Bangladesh and Global Studies — and each examination will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Education board officials say the extended schedule for form fill-up will have no effect on the main examination schedule. The board has advised the institutions to finish all the work within the extended time.

Parents and students have been told that it is best to confirm right away whether the form fill-up has been completed through their own institution. If any institution's form fill-up remains, it must be finished between 25 and 29 October.