Dhaka, April 10 -- At least 22 candidates have been expelled, and 26,928 were absent on the first day of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations.

The Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee disclosed the figures on Thursday following the completion of the day's tests.

The opening day's exams included Bangla First Paper for general SSC candidates, the Quran Majeed and Tajweed for Dakhil candidates, and the Bangla Second Paper for those in the SSC and Dakhil Vocational streams.

Khondokar Ehsanul Kabir, chief of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee and chairman of the Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, confirmed that a total of 26,928 candidates did not attend their scheduled ...