Dhaka, Oct. 16 -- English has recorded the lowest pass rate among all subjects in this year's HSC exams under the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Chattogram.

Officials say very high failure rates in three hill districts have dragged down overall results for the board.

Parvez Sajjad Chowdhury, controller of examinations, points to several causes for the drop in both pass rate and number of GPA-5 achievers, including lack of "sufficient number of good quality" English teachers, ending of over-marking, and irregular classroom teaching.

Results published on Thursday show that while the national pass rate stood at 58.83 percent, Chattogram board recorded only 52.57 percent.

Nationwide, 69,097 students obtained GPA-5, compare...