A large portion of the country’s secondary-level educational institutions are privately run. According to the latest data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS), out of 21,086 secondary schools in the country, 19,757 are private, accounting for approximately 93.7 percent of all institutions. The remaining schools include 691 government secondary schools and 638 upgraded government primary schools. However, on March 12, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education issued an order to halt student admissions at the lower secondary level in these upgraded government schools.
Education experts say the dominance of private institutions at the secondary level poses a significant barrier to ensuring quality education. Most of these schools lack the necessary infrastructure and facilities, and qualified teachers are scarce. Additionally, since the majority of government schools are located in urban areas, providing quality education to students in rural areas becomes more challenging and costly, contributing to educational inequality.
According to BANBEIS data, the total number of secondary-level students in the country currently stands at 9,405,785. Of these, a total of 2,926,849 students are in urban areas, while 6,478,936 are in rural areas. Despite the higher number of students in rural regions, most government institutions are located in cities. Out of 691 government secondary schools, only 52 are in rural areas, compared with 639 in urban areas.
Among the 94,05,785 students, a total of 8,741,480 attend private secondary schools, while 571,681 study in government secondary schools. Additionally, a total of 92,624 students are enrolled in upgraded primary schools. This means that 92.94 percent of secondary-level students are attending private institutions.
Dr. S M Hafizur Rahman, a Professor at the Institute of Education and Research (IER) at University of Dhaka (DU), told Bonik Barta, “Although there are policies to ensure a quality learning environment in the country’s private secondary schools, they are not followed. Many institutions exist in name only and lack a proper environment for education. There is a shortage of qualified teachers in private institutions. Even when teachers are appointed through the NTRCA, cases of corruption and irregularities occur, which negatively affect education at this level. Furthermore, there are insufficient government schools in rural areas, and quality private schools are also scarce. As a result, providing quality education in these regions has become expensive and challenging for students.”
He added, “If the quality of secondary education is to be improved, the government must nationalize a large portion of secondary institutions. It must ensure the presence of skilled and talented teachers and a proper learning environment. One challenge could be verifying the qualifications of teachers in the schools slated for nationalization. For this, the government could adopt a phased approach. Those who meet all the criteria could be nationalized first. Those who do not could be given a time frame. If they meet the conditions within that period, they will be nationalized; otherwise, they will not.”
Analysis of BANBEIS data shows that over the past 50 years, while the number of private secondary schools in the country has grown rapidly, there has been no significant growth in the number of government secondary schools. During this period, a total of 12,268 private institutions were established, whereas government institutions increased by only 496. Of these, 317 schools were nationalized under the tenure of the now ousted Awami League government (between 2011 and 2023). Despite nationalization, there was no initiative to appoint qualified teachers in these schools. Even where new nationalized schools faced staffing shortages due to administrative complexities, teacher appointments were not made. Education experts say that due to insufficient planning and a lack of skilled teachers, the quality of education in these institutions has not improved even after nationalization.
Rasheda K Choudhury, a former Adviser to the Caretaker Government, said, “If primary education is the foundation, secondary education is the next step. If that is not done properly, instead of progressing, we will stumble. Currently, most secondary-level institutions are privately managed. Some are unregulated, including Qawmi madrasahs. They are not under any governmental regulatory framework. Those that are registered as mainstream institutions are mostly either MPO-affiliated or privately funded. Fully government-funded schools are extremely few. Since there is no direct oversight, they lack the management structure to operate under a regulatory framework. We have seen disorder in governing bodies. From the moment they were approved, there has been a kind of chaos. In the previous government’s tenure, we also saw that under the influence of powerful individuals, many schools were established without following rules or regulations, in areas where there was no need.”
Commenting on potential political interference even after nationalization, she added, “Those in government will pursue their own agendas. All schools cannot be nationalized at once. There must be specific criteria, and it will take time. But if there is political will now, the government could make education free up to the eighth grade. That would make it easier to address many obstacles. Student dropouts would decrease. Education has become very costly, creating inequality. Those who can afford it continue to study, while others are left behind. This requires attention.”
On this issue, Professor Dr. Khan Moinuddin Al Mahmud Sohel, Director (Secondary Branch) of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, said, “Decisions on matters such as the nationalization of institutions are made at the highest levels, including the Ministry of Education. However, under various projects, infrastructural improvements and teacher training programs are ongoing in private secondary schools to ensure quality education. Additionally, we are consulting with teachers, students, parents, and other stakeholders on how to improve the quality of secondary education. We hope the government will incorporate these measures into its action plans.”