Manzoor Ahmed

The narrative of a success story about reaching near-universal enrolment and closing the gender gap in primary education in Bangladesh is quite justified, but the achievement itself is neither exceptional nor improbable, as is sometimes claimed.

Recently, The Daily Star published an article titled “Why Bangladesh’s children are in school but not learning”, written by John Richards and Shahidul Islam, who cited data showing a sharp decline in enrolment in government schools and evidence from national and international assessments that many children complete primary education without acquiring foundational literacy and numeracy skills.

The proposed budget, the BNP government’s first in two decades, promises a shift away from physical infrastructure to human capital development and a journey towards a democratic, humane and inclusive economy. Can these promises be delivered?

That schools do not prepare our young people well for the world of work is a frequent refrain.

To kick-start education reform, a high-level expert task force should be appointed.

Recently, Education Minister Ehsanul Haque Milon told the parliament that 60,295 teaching posts are currently vacant in about 26,000 MPO-listed (government grant-receiving) secondary schools and colleges in the country.

I am happy that Dr Shamsul Arifeen Khan Mamun has taken the time to read my op-ed piece on education reform (“We need education reforms that actually work,” The Daily Star, March 15) and wrote a rebuttal (“Evidence, not assumptions, should guide education reform,” The Daily Star, March 19).

People’s expectations about real reform in education have been raised by the busy round of meetings and expression of resolve seen in Minister of Education Dr Ehsanul Haque Milon and State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj.