THERE was a time when government-run primary schools in Bangladesh functioned with little more than the bare minimum. Dilapidated classrooms, broken benches, a severe shortage of trained teachers and scant learning materials were the norm. Yet, against these odds, the system produced learners who, at the very least, attained basic literacy and numeracy. Community involvement was high and public trust in the system remained largely intact. Parents from all socio-economic backgrounds, including educated and financially stable families, enrolled their children in these schools 鈥� not out of choice, perhaps, but out of necessity. Ironically, that very necessity helped to keep the system accountable. Active parental engagement and public scrutiny ensured that, despite structural deficiencies, the education imparted retained some measure of credibility and purpose.
Today, the circumstances are markedly different. The government has made massive investments in primary education infrastructure. Classrooms are now better built, often furnished with adequate seating and equipped with digital teaching aids. Teachers are routinely sent for subject-based and foundational training. Most schools have separate wash blocks for boys and girls, funding for recurring expenses and access to school meal and stipend programmes. The number of schools has increased, thereby expanding geographical access. Yet, this considerable improvement in physical and administrative support has failed to translate into improved learning outcomes. Most students still struggle to meet grade-wise minimum proficiency levels, particularly in reading comprehension and basic numeracy. English language skills remain especially poor.
What is more concerning is the erosion of public trust in the system. Despite infrastructural improvements, an increasing number of parents are opting out of government primary schools altogether. Many are transferring their children to kindergartens or Madrasahs. The trend is even more pronounced among educated, economically better-off families, who are now actively avoiding government-run schools. This disengagement of socially influential groups is not merely a shift in preference; it is a grave threat to the public education system. Their involvement once played a crucial role in maintaining standards. Teachers were more likely to perform their duties diligently when they knew their work was being scrutinised by aware and vocal parents.
The government must treat this situation with the urgency it deserves. The first step is to understand the causes of this exodus. A nationwide, large-scale survey should be conducted to gather data on why parents are losing faith in government schools. The survey should be simple, accessible and designed to encourage participation from all segments of society 鈥� particularly the educated and affluent. Data collection methods should include both online and offline approaches to maximise outreach. Mobile operators can assist in distributing the survey via SMS or email, especially targeting public and private service holders, members of civil society, teachers and researchers. Responses should be independently analysed by a third-party agency, with the resulting report directly informing policy. Without this diagnostic clarity, any reform is likely to be misdirected.
The next focus must be on overhauling the existing training framework for teachers. While a considerable number of training sessions are conducted each year, the actual classroom application of these trainings remains minimal. One major reason is the lack of any systematic follow-up or impact assessment. Training often becomes a one-off event, detached from the reality of day-to-day teaching. Supervisory officers, who are supposed to monitor classroom performance, are frequently unaware of what training modules teachers have undergone. As a result, they are ill-equipped to offer guidance or evaluate teaching practices. The current training ecosystem is overly centralised and rigid, often disrupting regular teaching schedules.
To correct this, instructors and officers from Primary Teachers鈥� Training Institutes and Upazila Resource Centres must be empowered to assign follow-up tasks that assess the application of training content in real classrooms. These tasks should not be seen as additional paperwork, but as practical indicators of whether the training has had any meaningful impact. Reports on classroom application should be submitted to higher authorities for review. Moreover, training content itself needs reform. Beyond technical and subject-based skills, training modules must include components on ethics, commitment, professional values and Social and Emotional Learning. Regular, hands-on practice in Social and Emotional Learning should become an integral part of teacher training, as these skills are essential to fostering a nurturing and effective learning environment.
In addition, the government must clearly define grade-wise Minimum Proficiency Levels for key competencies such as literacy and numeracy. These Minimum Proficiency Levels should be used to set annual learning targets for both teachers and students. Internationally recognised tools like the Early Grade Reading Assessment and Early Grade Mathematics Assessment can be used to measure progress. A digital platform may be developed for tracking student attainment of Minimum Proficiency Levels and teacher performance should be assessed accordingly. Incentives and disciplinary measures could then be fairly administered. However, to make such a system functional, non-academic duties must be removed from teachers鈥� plates. Teachers must be allowed to focus exclusively on teaching and learning. Head teachers, too, should not be burdened with administrative chores such as financial management or overseeing repair works. Every school should be assigned an office assistant to handle these tasks, ensuring that academic leadership remains the head teacher鈥檚 primary responsibility.
Addressing teacher shortages is also non-negotiable. In remote or hard-to-reach areas, local retired teachers, educated unemployed youth, or former service holders may be recruited on a part-time basis to fill gaps. Furthermore, as the government now shoulders responsibility for both primary and pre-primary education, NGOs and INGOs can be meaningfully engaged to run supplementary before- or after-school sessions, especially for underprivileged and differently-abled children. These programmes can provide crucial support in foundational literacy and numeracy, daily lesson preparation and even parental awareness training. NGOs may also be tasked with managing school meal initiatives, conducting community surveys and helping develop home-based learning practices.
Finally, none of these interventions will succeed unless teachers and supervisory officers are brought under a strict system of accountability 鈥� one that also acknowledges the challenges they face and compensates them fairly. Equity-based financial and logistical support must be extended to those working in disadvantaged regions or with particularly vulnerable student populations. Inclusive attainment of wise Minimum Proficiency Levels must become the cornerstone of the education system, not merely a box to tick in reports.
The crisis in primary education is not one of infrastructure, funding or even access 鈥� it is a crisis of efficacy and public confidence. If these trends are left unchecked, government primary schools may soon become institutions of last resort, devoid of meaningful learning or public legitimacy. Infrastructure, no matter how sophisticated, cannot substitute for an education system grounded in trust, accountability and authentic community participation. The time to act is now.
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Md Bayazid Khan is a primary education analyst.
