Dhaka: Bangladesh’s education system is in a worrying crisis, with recent reports from international agencies, particularly the World Bank, pointing to a harsh and unwelcome truth: literacy rates have risen on paper, but quality has fallen behind.
It is a matter of deep regret that the knowledge of a student who has passed higher secondary level is considered equivalent to only the seventh grade by international standards. This vast “learning gap” threatens to break the backbone of the nation.
The decline in education quality has many causes. First, the main obstacle to quality education is a shortage of skilled and qualified teachers. According to UNESCO, Bangladesh ranks at the bottom of South Asia in the share of skilled secondary-level teachers, with 55 percent failing to meet minimum competency standards. A lack of transparency in teacher recruitment, political influence and insufficient training have deepened the crisis.
Second, the education system has become certificate-driven. Studying for exams rather than studying to learn has become the central problem. The absence of a unified education system has created disorder. Because the goals of privatization have not been understood, the commercialization of education has grown. Public education suffers from mismanagement, and basic education is largely neglected. Teachers no longer show the same interest or sincerity in teaching as before.
Pressure on parents and students in private education is rising. Coaching and private tutoring are not enough to keep up. The crude face of education commerce is everywhere. There is a shortage of ideal teachers across the board, and life-oriented, practical education is largely absent. Students are caught in the maze of chasing GPA-5. As a result, there is a growing class of highly educated unemployed people, while skilled workers are not being produced to meet labor market demand.
Overcoming these structural and ideological failures is the demand of the times. First, teacher recruitment must be made fully free of political influence and based on merit and transparency. Adequate salaries, allowances and other benefits for teachers must be ensured. The education system should be made uniform, with 90 percent of it under government management; only 10 percent can be private or charitable institutions. Improving teachers is the most important path to improving education, and providing them with subject-based training is essential.
Second, the education system must be freed from the narrow confines of politics and brought under a long-term national education policy. The policy and curriculum should not be overhauled every time the government changes. Third, special emphasis must be placed on reading skills at the primary and secondary levels.
Fourth, a strong link must be established between education and the labor market. Expanding technical and vocational education alongside theoretical education has become essential. Investment in research must rise, and the quality of higher education institutions must be monitored to strengthen Bangladesh’s standing in global rankings.
Bangladesh’s education system is at a turning point. Real national development is not possible based on cheap statistics of pass rates alone. There is no alternative to quality education in building a knowledge-based society. The national education system must be inclusive, equitable and offer lifelong learning opportunities. The curriculum must be made outcome- and competency-based to help students acquire real skills.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report