Manzoor Ahmed

Dr Manzoor Ahmed is professor emeritus at Brac University, chair of Bangladesh ECD Network (BEN), adviser to CAMPE Council, and associate editor at the International Journal of Educational Development.

Priorities and challenges for the new education adviser

The primary and non-formal education sub-sector reform initiative is a positive but partial move that leaves major education sector concerns unaddressed.

1m ago

Are myths and misperceptions influencing policymaking?

Are policies and actions regarding preparing young people for work and livelihood influenced by myths and misperceptions about the problems and their workable solutions?

1m ago

Can we bridge the generational gap and reform our democracy?

Now, the youngsters have embarked on a campaign to reach out to the people in preparation for forming a new political party.

2m ago

Education deserves a reform commission

Public and media discourse overwhelmingly favours the idea of a reform commission for education.

3m ago

A school curriculum to nurture thoughtful learners

The education authorities under the interim government have decided to revert to the curriculum introduced in 2012.

3m ago

Politics, patience and people’s mandate

The interim government must prioritise reforms to elections.

4m ago

Why is there no education commission yet?

An education commission, chosen with care, can advise the interim government and serve the nation by identifying key areas that need reforms.

5m ago

What does banning campus politics mean?

A ban on campus politics seems to be an easy answer. But what does it mean and how will it work?

7m ago
August 4, 2024
August 4, 2024

We must step back from the precipice

If the ruling party leaders don’t understand or pretend not to understand why students are not staying back at home (their campuses and dormitories remain shuttered), we are in much deeper trouble than one could imagine

July 24, 2024
July 24, 2024

When a quick buck reigns supreme

The cloud of dystopia thickens as public perception connects the dotted line between pervasive corruption, greed, inefficiency and ineptitude.

July 1, 2024
July 1, 2024

Can the latest school census data help curb dropout?

We cannot continue to keep primary and secondary education in discrete boxes and try to plan and manage these separately.

June 11, 2024
June 11, 2024

Education budget: A futile debate achieving little

The new budget can be described as a “crisis response”

May 26, 2024
May 26, 2024

We need a universal school education programme

Two observations are pertinent here. Primary education up to class VIII as a compulsory and universal stage of education is a 50-year-old idea broached first in 1974 Qudrat-e-Khuda Commission report and reiterated in Education Policy 2010.

May 8, 2024
May 8, 2024

Why student evaluation in the new curriculum is most challenging

The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has proposed a new evaluation method for secondary and higher secondary students that will require students to sit for five hours of testing for each subject: four hours of “practical” group work and an hour of “theoretical” written test. Three s

April 17, 2024
April 17, 2024

How much you can pay decides what education your child gets

After three decades since the primary education pledge was made, the cost of a child’s education remains a heavy burden for some 80 lakh households.

March 31, 2024
March 31, 2024

How do we deal with Covid-induced school dropout?

The new Education Watch study provides new insights on how to recover the education sector from the pandemic's impact.

March 17, 2024
March 17, 2024

Are schools up to the task?

What can schools and the education system do to help the next generation grow up with a moral compass?

February 28, 2024
February 28, 2024

Transforming education: Five tasks

Which five tasks should be on top of the list of someone appointed as the education tsar of Bangladesh? The question was posed by Dr. Binayak Sen, Director General of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies in a public discussion about this writer’s recent book  Ekush Shotoke Bangladesh -- Shikkhar Rupantor (Bangladesh in the 21st Century – Transformation of Education, published by Prothoma).