Even though it is a lottery, parents' worry over their children getting into good schools is rising once again as time for admission to class-I in state-run high schools approaches.
The distribution of admission forms from government schools is set to begin as early as December 5 this year and continue till 5:00pm on December 13. The forms are priced Tk 100 a piece.
Lotteries will be held for schools in Dhaka on December 26 and 27 in two venues in presence of guardians, teachers, school managing committee, and officials concerned, said Prof Shafiqur Rahman, director (secondary) of Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE).
Outside Dhaka, the district committees, upazila committees and school managing committees of state-run schools will conduct the lottery.
Like last year, the government is going for lottery to pick preschoolers who will be going to the 317 secondary schools across the country. There are 24 government high schools in Dhaka and 13 of them have class-I, accommodating around 2,000 children.
However, Viqarunnisa Noon School, a private school, will also be picking preschoolers through lottery like it did last year. It has 1,568 spots in class-I. The school has already completed form distribution and interview of the students to verify their age. The result of the interview would be published on December 1 and lottery would also be held on the same day.
The lottery system for class-I in government high schools received good response from parents. Last year the system was introduced to reduce the agonising worry and torment parents and preschoolers had to go through to get into a good school.
However, Wasekur Rahman, a parent of a preschooler, told The Daily Star that couple of years ago parents had a hand in getting their children into good schools since they could prepare their children for the tests. “But now it is all luck.”
Meanwhile, children trying to get into classes between class-II and -IX in public high schools will have to sit for a written test on Bangla, English and Mathematics.
The test will be held on December 18, 19 and 20 and the results would be published sometime before December 29, said DSHE sources. The DSHE divided the schools in three groups. A student can only buy one form from one particular group.
Group-A comprises of Government Laboratory School, Mirpur Government High School, Motijheel Government Girls' High School, Khilgaon Government High School, Islamia Government High School, Nawabpur Government High School, Mohammadpur Government High School and New Government Girls' High School.
Motijheel Government Boys' High School, Narinda Government High School, Government Muslim High School, Banglabazar Government Girls' High School, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Government Boys' High School, Government Bigyan College High School, Dhanmondi Government Girls' High School and Dhanmondi Kamrunessa Government Girls' High School are in Group-B.
Group-C schools include Dhanmondi Government Boys' High School, Armanitola Government High School, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Government Girls' High School, Tikatuli Kamrunessa Government Girls' High School, Tejgaon Government Girls' High School, Dhaka Collegiate School, Gonobhaban Government High School and Tejgaon Government High School.