The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent exams have begun at 3,007 centres across Bangladesh.

As many as 2,024,192 candidates from 11 educational boards are sitting for the exams this year.

The exams kicked off at 10 am on Thursday, with the Bengali first paper under the general education board, the Quran Majid and Tajvid test under the madrasa board, and the Bengali second paper as part of the SSC and Dakhil vocational tests.

The 2024 exams mark a return to the traditional exam schedule after a four-year disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of examinees this year are 47,971 fewer than last year's total of 2,072,163.

This year, the written examinations under the nine general and technical boards will end on Mar 12. The practicals under 10 educational boards will begin on Mar 13.

The SSC exams will be held until Mar 20, while the technical practical exams are scheduled to end on Mar 21.

Students from 29,735 educational institutions are taking the exams this year.