Dhaka: Some 13,069 students were absent on the first day of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and its equivalent examinations that began on Sunday.

Besides, 66 students and an invigilator were expelled on the first day for adopting unfair means, according to the education ministry’s control room.

A total of 995,437 candidates, including boys and girls, from 8,864 institutions under eight general education boards, Madrasah Education Board, Bangladesh Technical Education Board and Diploma in Business Studies (DIBS) Board sat for the HSC and its equivalent examinations this year through 2,489 examination centres across the country.

Of them, 814,216 examinees appeared for HSC examination, while 90,882 for Alim examination, 86,297 for HSC (BM/Vocational) examination and 4,042 examinees for DIBS (Dhaka Board) examination.

Among the general boards, the highest 276,129 examinees appeared under Dhaka Board, 106,281 under Rajshahi Board, 88,721 under Dinajpur Board, 87,386 under Jessore Board, 82,446 under Comilla Board, 68,173 under Chittagong Board, 52,960 under Sylhet and 52,120 under Barisal Board.

A total of 271 examinees appeared at the HSC examination through seven oversees examination centres --two each in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and one each in Qatar, Libya and Bahrain.

In 2016, a total of 12,18,628 examinees from 8,533 institutions sat for the HSC and its equivalent examinations through 2,452 examination centres in the country.

The written examinations will end on May 1 while the practical tests will be held from May 16 to May 25.