Despite Admissions Completion, Around 800,000 School Seats Remain Vacant

Staff Report: PNN

Although central lottery and scheduled admission processes are complete, a large number of seats in public and private schools across Bangladesh remain vacant. Approximately 800,000 seats are empty, yet many students who applied could not secure admission, causing frustration among parents.

The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) stated that schools with vacant seats can still admit students following the prescribed guidelines.

Government schools had a total of 121,596 seats, with over 700,000 applications received. Only around 107,000 students were admitted, leaving about 14,000 government school seats vacant.

Private schools had 1,073,000 seats, with approximately 336,000 applications. About 198,000 students were admitted, leaving roughly 850,000 vacant seats.

Experts attribute the mismatch to parental preferences for “popular” schools, which creates oversubscription in some schools while leaving others empty. DSHE has provisions to fill vacant seats through local lotteries, ensuring transparency and giving priority to students on waiting lists.