Education in Bangladesh is administered by the country's Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education implements policies for primary education and state-funded schools at a local level. Constitutionally, education in Bangladesh is compulsory for all citizens until the end of grade eight. Primary and secondary education are partially funded by the state, and free of charge in public institutions.
Bangladesh conforms fully to the UN's Education For All (EFA) objectivesBangladesh: Education for All 2015 National Review . Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Government of Bangladesh. and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)Millennium Development Goals: Bangladesh Progress Report 2015 . General Economics Division (GED), Bangladesh Planning Commission. plancomm.gov.bd. as well as other education-related international declarations. Now, the government of Bangladesh tends to align the curriculum that meets the "Goal: SDG-4" that is the "Quality Education" characterized in the charter of "Sustainable Development Goal 4". Article 17 of the Bangladesh Constitution provides that all children shall receive free and compulsory education.
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) finds that Bangladesh is fulfilling only 67.4% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to education based on the country's level of income. HRMI breaks down the right to education by looking at the rights to both primary education and secondary education. While taking into consideration Bangladesh's income level, the nation is achieving 99.2% of what should be possible based on its resources (income) for primary education but only 63.7% for secondary education. Over the course of the past five decades, Bangladesh has achieved commendable advancements in the domain of education. As education stands as an indispensable human right, dedicated efforts are being exerted to guarantee its accessibility for every individual. Looking ahead to the next decade, it is conceivable that Bangladesh will attain a full literacy rate of 100 percent.
A noteworthy facet in Bangladesh is the near-universal enrollment of children in schools, evident through a primary school net enrollment rate of 98%. Additionally, an increasing number of female students are enrolling in school, subsequently entering the workforce and making substantial contributions to the expansion of various economic sectors. The government in recent years has made notable efforts at improving women's educational condition in the country.
Education system
The mainstream education system is divided into four levels: Pre-primary level (Classes K-2) Primary level (Classes 3–8) Secondary level (Classes 9–12) Tertiary level
At all levels of schooling, students can choose to receive their education either in English or Bengali.
Bangladesh has allocated 60 percent of primary school teaching positions specifically for women.
There is no middle school system in Bangladesh.
National curriculum The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) provides textbooks, takes standardized tests via one of two languages: English and Bengali. Bengali and English are mandatory subjects for all students following the national curriculum irrespective of their chosen medium of instruction. The Bengali version of the national curriculum is called "Bangla version" and the English version of the national curriculum is called "English version". Those who follow these individual curriculums are called "Bangla version students" and "English version students" respectively. Bangla version of alternate curriculums are called "Bangla Medium" and English version of alternate curriculums are called "English medium". Those who follow these individual alternate curriculums are called "Bangla medium students" and "English medium students" respectively.
A student is expected to complete 12 years of education up to class 12. The curriculum does not include pre-school.
There is no choice of subjects offered to students under this curriculum until class 9 and again at class 11 when a student is expected to choose between 3 streams of education. The 3 streams of education are as following: Arts and Humanities Commerce Science
In class 9–10 and 11–12, each has its own pre-selected set of subjects with one optional subject which can be changed. For instance, a student studying in science group can't replace chemistry, Bangla or religion for accounting or history. In other words, a student of this curriculum has to study a pre-set group of subjects with having only one choice of replacing an elective subject to another elective subject. Science is the most sought-after stream of education in urban areas. Schools often restrict students getting less than their set grade point average (GPA) from pursuing the science stream of education in SSC and HSC.
Standardized exams were held in class 5 and class 8 called Primary Education Completion Certificate and Junior School Certificate (JSC) respectively. These exams are now defunct; with the last exam of PECE being held in 2019, and the last exam of JSC being held in November 2024
100% of the mark obtained in certificates of SSC (class 10) and HSC (class 12) examinations is obtained from standardized written tests, multiple choice questions, practical part, and viva-voice involved with practical part. Classroom performance, homework and assignments play no part in a student's certificate. Standardized written tests (Creative part) and multiple-choice questions (MCQ) are taken in a single sitting without breaks. A student is given a blank answer script separate from the question paper to answer the creative part, and a separate Optical Mark Reader (OMR) sheet to mark answers to Multiple Choice Questions. Time allocation for MCQ and CQ (Creative Questions) parts are separate and strictly enforced, OMR sheet is taken away after the allocated time, and CQ question is provided. Practical part is taken in another sitting on a separate day, viva-voice is taken during practical exam simultaneously.
Schools There are schools in Bangladesh that educates people of different backgrounds. This include International Schools with English or French as a medium of instruction, religiously affiliated schools, and schools teaching the national curriculum using Bengali or English as a medium of instruction. French International School of Dhaka (Ecole Française Internationale de Dacca) is a bilingual international school that offers 60% of its courses in French. The Aga Khan Academy, Dhaka is an international school by Aga Khan Development Network which is an English only school with Bangla and French courses. Cadet Colleges are important schools in the education system of Bangladesh which follows the national curriculum. A cadet college is a room and board collegiate administered by the Bangladesh Military. Discipline is compulsory at all cadet colleges. Faujdarhat Cadet College is the first cadet college in Bangladesh, established in 1958 over an area of at Faujdarhat in the district of Chittagong. At present, there are 12 cadet colleges in Bangladesh, including three for girls. Four Cadet Colleges were established before 1971. Other cadet colleges were built after the Liberation War of Bangladesh.Government of Bangladesh plans to build 1,000 primary schools in char areas.
As of September 2019, tertiary education in Bangladesh takes place at 44 government, 101 private and 3 international universities. Students can choose to further their studies in chartered accountancy, engineering, technology, agriculture and medicine at a variety of universities and colleges.
{An updated data chart January 2020 on the Primary Education can be retrieved from the following link}
+Numbers of Primary Education Institutions, Teachers and Students, 2018School typeNo. ofschoolsTotal teachersTotal studentsTotalFemale% femaleTotalGirls% girlsGovt. Primary Schools38,03322265214443464.910188129525202251.6New Nationalized PS25,008964604739649.14483785227823950.8Total government schools63,04131911219183060.1114671914753026151.32Regd. NGPS19377146460.2382821961151.2Non-regd. NGPS1,7446649471670.925626812711249.6Schools for Autistic Children3328224689.210652525049.3Ebtadaee Madrasahs2,67311673230019.737227718134148.7Kindergartens16,170937995481358.4198836591401646.0NGO Schools2,5125454376469.021017010789851.3Community Schools12040532279.516747867951.8Attached to High Madrasahs5,52619764281214.287104742734149.1Primary Sections of High Schools1,5118301445053.657275129565951.6BRAC7,7797798727793.332443818587357.3ROSC School3,8183591286779.81068845375150.3Sishu Kollyan Primary School13341027767.615665828452.9Other Schools3,2624875296760.9975194880850.0Total108,51548288427910557.819552979991388450.7 Non-English medium schools108515English medium schools196 AgeGradeEducational BoardQawmi Education BoardAlia Education Board3+NurseryPre-Primary EducationTahfeez ul Quran4+5+KG6+IPrimary EducationIbtedayiEbtedayee7+II8+III9+IV10+V11+VISecondary EducationJunior Secondary EducationMutawassitahDakhil12+VII13+VIII14+IXSecondary EducationSSC (Vocational)Artisan CourseSanaria ammah15+X16+XIHigher Secondary EducationDiploma (Engg.)HSC (BMT)C in EduC in AgriDiplomain CommDiploma in NursingAlim17+XII18+XIIIMasters (Prel)Bachelor (Pass)LLB (Hons)BSc(Hons)BBAFazilatFazil19+XIV20+XVBSc (Engg.)(BEngg.)TakmilKamil21+XVIMasters (Prel)BEd & Dip.Ed B.P. EdDip (Lsc)22+XVIIMA/MSc/Mcom/MSSLLMMBBS BDSMScMBAMEd& MAMA (Lsc)23+XVIIIPhDMPhil (Med.)PhDMSc (Engg.)PhD (Edu.)24+XIXMphilPost MBBSPhD (Engg.)25+XX26+XIX
Primary education
The overall responsibility of management of primary education lies with the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MOPME), set up as a Ministry in 1992. While MOPME is involved in formulation of policies, the responsibility of implementation rests with the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) headed by a Director General. The Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) and its subordinate offices in the district and Upazila are solely responsible for management and supervision of primary education. Their responsibilities include recruitment, posting, and transfer of teachers and other staff; arranging in-service training of teachers; distribution of free textbooks; and supervision of schools. The responsibility of school construction, repair and supply of school furniture lies with the DPE executed through the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED). The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) is responsible for the development of curriculum and production of textbooks. According to the National Curriculum and Textbook Board, this year (2022), 34,70,16,277 textbooks have been distributed among 4,17,26,856 pre-primary, primary, secondary, Ebtedayee, Dakhil, vocational, SSC vocational, ethnic minority groups and visually challenged students across the country. Of the total textbooks, 24,71,63,256 are for secondary and 9,98,53,021 for primary level students.
While the Ministry of Education (MOE) is responsible for formulation of policies, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) under the Ministry of Education is responsible for implementing the same at secondary and higher education levels. The NCTB is responsible for developing curriculum and publishing standard textbooks.
The Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) are responsible for conducting the two public examinations: Primary Education Certificate (PEC) (5th grade) Junior School Certificate (JSC) (8th grade) The recent update on the PEC and JSC examinations are that "There will be no Primary Education Completion (PEC) and Junior School Certificate (JSC) examinations from 2023", disclosed Education Minister Dipu Moni at a Secretariat Press Conference in September 2021.
Secondary education
The secondary level of education is controlled by the ten general education boards: Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board for Alia Madrasah