It is believed that education, in the midst of global advances and challenges, remains the critical vehicle of empowerment, and this holds true for countries like Bangladesh. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948 has recognised education as a core human right, and throughout human history, it has proven essential to personal and social development.

In Bangladesh, primary education up to Class 5 is compulsory, according to the Primary Education (Compulsory) Act, 1990. Article 17 (free and compulsory education) of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh enshrines compulsory education as a fundamental principle of state policies.

Along with that, the government adopted the National Education Policy 2010 to cultivate human values, groom them with leadership skills, and progress society. Accordingly, the government has taken a few initiatives, including providing textbooks and a monthly stipend to the students, which are commendable and have made significant contributions, particularly in enrolment in primary and secondary schools.

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The overall scenario of education in Bangladesh is not relevant to the aspirations of the youth, and much remains to be done in this regard. The looming challenges—lack of quality teaching, backdated curricula, large class sizes, lack of extracurricular activities, lack of education material, out-of-pocket expenditure, weak assessment systems, the gap in the introduction of technology, child marriage, and dropouts—are holding us back from achieving the objectives of education referred to in the constitution and National Education Policy.

According to the Bangladesh Education Statistics 2022, produced by the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS), the dropout rate from primary education is around 14 percent. For secondary education, the rate is 41 percent for girls, and 36 percent overall. Moreover, the most recent survey published by BANBEIS in 2023 revealed that the number of students in secondary education has decreased by 10 lakh from 2019 to 2023, and 55 percent of students who have dropped out are girls. The number of students in vocational education has increased slightly in this period, with just under 50,000 students being added. The teacher-student ratio is as high as 31 students per teacher. Along with this, the Unesco Global Education Monitoring Report 2022 found that average expenditure on education increased by a staggering 80 percent in real terms, and Bangladesh has the second highest rate of private secondary education globally. The same study informed us that households account for 71 percent of total education spending in Bangladesh, one of the highest in the world.

Moreover, in Bangladesh, 51 percent of girls are married off before the age of 18, and in rural areas it is 54 percent. Child marriage is a big setback for young girls looking to continue their education. The existing education system also reflects the poor status of decent employment generation among the younger generation, with 92.7 percent of the young people (aged 15-29) engaged in the informal sector, with the percentage rising to 98.5 among young women, according to the Labour Force Survey 2022. Moreover, the recently published Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics 2023 by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) revealed that 39.88 percent of youth in Bangladesh are neither studying nor working. This statistic has a gender dimension too, with 60.85 percent of young women falling under this category.

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The overall scenario shows that the existing education structure, including delivery methodology, is not able to bring the changes as expected in the overall socioeconomic condition. Data from the World Bank tells us that there are very few countries in the world that have five years or less of compulsory education. Compared to Bangladesh's five years, compulsory education in India is eight years; in Nepal, it is nine years; in Sri Lanka, it is 11 years; in Pakistan, it is 12 years; in Vietnam, it is 10 years; and in the Philippines, it is 13 years. Unicef says each additional year of schooling raises the average annual GDP by 0.4 percent, increases individual earnings by up to 10 percent, and reduces the poverty rate by nine percent. However, the outcome of education is not only limited to economic development. The recently published Human Development Report 2023 by UNDP refers to the relationship between education and addressing inequalities. According to the report, Bangladesh's mean years of schooling are only 7.4 years, which may be better than India's 6.6 years, but falls behind the Maldives' 7.8 years. Bangladesh's expected progress to the "high human development group" requires a much extended education period.

The government recently made a fresh move to extend primary education up to the Class 8. During a joint meeting among the education and primary and mass education ministries in May, Farid Ahmed, secretary of primary and mass education ministry, stated that the ministries would work together to make education up to Class 8 compulsory and free of cost, and that this extension was a recommendation of the National Education Policy.

This is an appreciable initiative, whose implementation must be ensured without failure. Alongside this, the enactment of the Education Act should be completed immediately to fulfil the objectives of the National Education Policy. To achieve all the policy commitments and overcome all the socioeconomic challenges, the most important things to do are to ensure the quality and relevancy of education and to extend compulsory education up to Class 8. This move will contribute to the younger generation being better prepared to face new challenges. On the other hand, education is a tool for social inclusion. Education is the most significant way to invest in women and girls, and to develop them into an active workforce, eventually helping them become a part of social transitions that are inclusive, just, and transformative.

Farah Kabir is country director at ActionAid Bangladesh.

Nazmul Ahsan is leader, young people at ActionAid Bangladesh.

Views expressed in this article are the authors' own. 

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