Weak edu system puts youth dividend at risk
High student dropout rates and shortcomings in education quality threaten to weaken Bangladesh’s demographic dividend and slow progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon has warned.
Speaking at a session of a three-day conference in Dhaka on a five-year strategic framework for achieving the SDGs, Milon said large numbers of students were being lost at different stages of the education system, with many failing to progress from primary to secondary, higher
secondary and eventually university education.
“System loss in the power sector causes economic losses, but system loss in education is more dangerous for the nation,” he said, stressing the need to transform Bangladesh’s large population into skilled human resources.
The minister said education should receive the highest priority, with government efforts focusing not only on infrastructure but also on improving quality, recruiting teachers, preventing dropouts, reforming curricula, expanding research and strengthening links between universities and industry.
Education allocation rises to Tk1.36 lakh crore
Milon said the education budget had increased from Tk87,000 crore to Tk1.36 lakh crore in the current fiscal year, equivalent to a net 2% of GDP.
However, he cautioned that simply increasing allocations would not produce better outcomes unless the additional resources were used effectively.
Bangladesh’s large young population could become a major competitive advantage if equipped with appropriate skills, he said. But the fact that many educated Bangladeshis are taking up low-skilled jobs abroad reflects a major weakness in the education system.
Around 15 million Bangladeshis are currently working overseas, while remittances remain the “bloodline” of the economy, Milon said.
He called for greater emphasis on skills development and foreign-language training, including Japanese and Mandarin alongside English, to expand opportunities for Bangladeshis to secure skilled employment overseas.
New curriculum planned for 2028
The minister said the education system could not undergo a complete curriculum overhaul this year, although revisions had already been made and four new textbooks introduced.
A new curriculum is planned to be introduced from 2028, he said.
The government is also introducing programmes aimed at making learning more enjoyable and project-based, while promoting sports and taking measures to address student addiction and dropout rates.
Bangladesh currently has 57 public and 116 private universities. Milon said the priority should be improving the quality of higher education, expanding employment-oriented learning, strengthening research and developing industry-academia links rather than simply increasing the number of universities.
Teacher shortages remain critical
Teacher shortages continue to pose a major challenge to the education system. Around 38,000 government primary schools do not have headteachers, while nearly 77,000 teaching positions remain vacant in schools and colleges.
“An educational institution cannot function effectively without teachers,” Milon said, pointing to lawsuits and other administrative complications as barriers to recruitment.
He also said the government had allocated funds to address delays in teachers’ retirement benefits covering the period from 2021 to 2026.
An initiative is scheduled to provide retirement benefits to around 75,000 teachers on 15 August, he said.
Planning State Minister Junaid Saki also spoke at the session.
The minister’s remarks come as Bangladesh prepares to implement a new five-year strategic framework aimed at advancing the SDGs, with education and skills development identified as crucial to harnessing the country’s demographic potential and achieving more inclusive economic growth.
