Over 12.18 lakh students under 10 education boards will sit for the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and its equivalent examinations which is scheduled to start on April 3.

The exams will end June 9 while the practical tests will be held form June 11 to June 20, said Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid at a press briefing at the secretariat on Thursday.

This year, 12,18,628 students from 8,533 educational institutions will sit for the examinations.

Of them, 10,20,109 students will sit for the HSC exams under eight general education boards.

On the other hand, 91,591 students will appear in Alim (Higher secondary level of madrasa) examinations, 1,02,132 in HSC Bangladesh Technical Education exams and 4,796 Diploma in Business Studies (DIBS) students, Nahid said.

Nahid said 6,54,114 boys and 5,64,514 girls will appear in the HSC and equivalent examinations at 2,452 centres.

Apart from 2,452 centres in Bangladesh, the exams will also be held in seven overseas centres where 262 students will take part.

This year, 11 more papers under six subjects have been included in the newly introduced Creative Question System for the examinations.

Physically challenged students will be given 20 minutes extra time while autistic ones will get 30 minutes, the minister informed in the press meet.

There will have no scope of leaking question papers as all coaching centres will be kept under watch, the minister added.