How to expand private-sector participation in public healthcare

The importance of adopting Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Strategic Purchasing (SP) has been discussed in Bangladesh's health sector for many years.
15 July 2026

The real cost of an absent information commission

It may sound like a broken gramophone record for us to continue lamenting the absence of the chief information commissioner and two information commissioners in Bangladesh since September 2024, following the political transition after the July uprising.
15 July 2026

Our universities need a broader curricular vision before any restructuring

It was interesting to follow recent discussions surrounding the proposed or likely developments in merging some departments at Dhaka University as well as making traditional humanities departments like Bangla, History, and Philosophy redundant in honours programmes under the National University.
15 July 2026

A roadmap to aligning the skills system with industry reality

On a recent visit to Chattogram, I met a young man who had completed a four-year diploma in mechanical technology.
15 July 2026

We must adapt to the changing rules of global trade and development

The global trading system has been experiencing significant transformation since the World Trade Organization (WTO) was created in 1995.
15 July 2026

A congestion charge alone will not untangle Dhaka’s traffic

Over the years, Dhaka has gained notoriety for the severe gridlock affecting the lives of commuters.
14 July 2026

For the agriculture sector, the challenge is not just money but where it goes

The FY2026-27 national budget identifies agriculture as one of its 10 strategic priorities.
14 July 2026

Without timely labour data, how will we know if jobs are being created?

In 2026, the latest labour force data available on the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) website is from 2024.
14 July 2026

Why must our streets flood even after so much investment?

As heavy monsoon rains once again leave large parts of Bangladesh underwater, the familiar scenes of waterlogging have left many wondering why our cities continue to fail despite massive investments in drainage infrastructure.
14 July 2026

Nigel Farage is facing his biggest test of credibility

A political outsider only a decade ago, Farage transformed British politics through his relentless focus on immigration
13 July 2026

11 dead over the World Cup: The real problem is not football

On the night when Argentina played Egypt last week, 38-year-old auto-rickshaw driver Shariful Islam was watching the match at a roadside tea stall in Cumilla as Lionel Messi missed a penalty.
13 July 2026

How long must we ask the same questions about education?

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.
13 July 2026

Bangladesh's measles outbreak is a warning against the complacency of success

There is a peculiar danger in public-health success: the better a system works, the easier it becomes to take it for granted. Bangladesh’s measles outbreak is demonstrating that paradox brutally.
13 July 2026

Our climate budget must prioritise the displaced

A record-breaking Tk 51,746 crore budget allocation for climate-relevant interventions, marking a 26 percent surge from the previous fiscal year, seems like an unmitigated triumph for a nation on the frontlines of environmental precarity, until one looks closely at where the money actually goes.
13 July 2026

Build physical spaces for children before banning virtual ones

Australia’s decision to ban social media for children under 16 has struck a chord with anxious parents around the world. The concerns of parents are real.
12 July 2026

To build like Shanghai, start with Dhaka's east

We live it every day, and Dhaka’s unliveability is simply undeniable.
12 July 2026

Bangladesh just passed a law against hill-cutting. Why does it skip the Chittagong Hill Tracts?

A law that exempts the region where that weapon is doing the most damage is not protecting the environment. It is choosing, deliberately, where the law’s protection will end.
12 July 2026

Why the International Crimes Tribunal’s mandate must be protected

The most dangerous misuse of a justice system begins with the filing of a complaint that should never have entered the system in the first place—a problem that now confronts the International Crimes Tribunal.
12 July 2026

Rohingya deaths in landslides call for a reckoning with systemic failures

This year’s monsoon season has already turned deadly.
11 July 2026

Time is running out for our demographic dividend

Bangladesh is now home to more than 17.5 crore people. Roughly one in four is 15-29 years of age, a cohort of around 4.7 crore, larger than the population of many countries.
11 July 2026