Nearly 40m people can’t read

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj has stressed the need to strengthen non-formal education to bring nearly 40 million people who remain outside literacy and formal education into the mainstream of education and skills development.

“About 22 percent of the country’s population is still outside literacy and formal education. In terms of numbers, this represents nearly 40 million people, a huge population. A large portion of them are adults, while many school-age children also remain outside formal education,” he said.

The state minister made the remarks while addressing a discussion and non-formal education award ceremony organised at the auditorium of the Bureau of Non-Formal Education in Tejgaon, Dhaka,
on Tuesday, marking International Literacy Day 2026.

He said bringing this population back into the mainstream of education and skills development must be given the highest priority.

“Our main goal is to ensure that no child in the country remains out of school,” Bobby said, adding that every child should have access to education based on ethics and values as well as opportunities to acquire skills that would help them build their careers in the future.

He called for making the Bureau of Non-Formal Education a stronger and more empowered institution, considering the scale of its activities and the size of the population it serves.

“The Bureau has the opportunity to work with the largest population among the ministries and directorates involved in education. Therefore, given the scale of its activities, it needs to be transformed into one of the country’s strongest and most empowered institutions,” he said.

Calling for greater focus on outcomes, Bobby said ongoing projects should be rescoping, redesigning and refocusing where necessary.

“While implementing projects, special attention must be given to whether the desired outcomes are actually being achieved,” he said.

The state minister said the government’s objective should not be limited to bringing children to schools but also ensuring quality education.

He identified ethics and values-based education and skills-based education as two important components of this effort.

“A child should not merely become formally educated; they should also acquire the necessary skills to succeed in their future working life,” he said.

Bobby also stressed the proper use of the education budget, saying a significant portion of the allocation should be spent on improving the quality of education, bringing children back to school, increasing literacy and developing skills.

“Instead of spending education-sector funds only on infrastructure, every taka of the budget should be used to ensure quality education for people,” he said.

Highlighting the significance of International Literacy Day, he said increasing the literacy rate alone was not enough.

“Education must improve people’s quality of life, develop them into ethical citizens with strong values, and enable them to play an effective role in their working lives,” he said.

Director General of the Bureau of Non-Formal Education Monowara Ishrat chaired the programme. Secretary of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education Jesmin Nahar and Additional Secretary Md Mokhlesur Rahman attended the event as special guests.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Directorate of Primary Education and Bureau of Non-Formal Education, as well as representatives of various development partner organisations, were also present.