THE failure to implement the National Education Policy 2010 stands as a stark reminder that education, the backbone of the nation, remains neglected. The policy was welcomed as a landmark for reform, promising to extend primary education up to Class VIII, secondary education up to Class XII, introduce a uniform curriculum, strengthen vocational training and create a permanent education commission. Yet, 15 years on, most of the measures remain confined to paper. The result is a sector adrift, with public schools lagging behind private institutions, vocational training being undervalued and research capacity being stunted. This neglect is striking when set against the ceremonial observation of Education Day, observed on September 17. The day recalls the sacrifices of students in 1962 who resisted the pro-Pakistani Sharif Commission鈥檚 elitist, exclusionary prescriptions. Their struggle was not only against one report but against the denial of education as a right of all. Six decades later, the demand for an inclusive, scientific and secular education system remains unanswered. Persistently low budgetary allocation for education also shows the neglect that successive governments have showed.
Despite modest increases in absolute terms, education spending has hovered between 1.7 and 2 per cent of gross domestic product in recent years, among the lowest even by least developed country standards. A 2022 UNESCO report ranked Bangladesh fifth from the bottom in education expenditure among 41 comparable nations. The repeated call for the allocation of 15 per cent of the budget and at least 3 per cent of gross domestic product for education has consistently gone unheeded. The consequences are visible everywhere. Teachers remain underpaid and demoralised, deprived of meaningful opportunities for professional development. Infrastructure gaps persist. The quality of teaching is uneven and the system is ill-equipped to prepare students for a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and technological innovation. Policy documents continue to pile up without clear strategies for execution, financing or accountability. It is, therefore, not surprising that educationists describe the sector as the 鈥榤ost neglected鈥� in national policy. The interim government has formed 11 reform commissions, yet none on education. Only now, under public and expert pressure, has it begun preliminary work towards revising the 2010 policy. Such an initiative is welcome, but scepticism is inevitable. Unless reform is coupled with a clear strategy for execution, accountability and financing, this, too, risks joining the list of unimplemented policies.
An education system that continues to fail students undermines not only economic development but also the democratic and secular ideals for which Bangladesh was founded. The government should, therefore, significantly increase public investment, empower teachers, establish a permanent education commission and build a single, equitable stream of education. Anything less would betray both the vision of the 1962 martyrs and the aspirations of a nation still waiting for its educational backbone to be strengthened.
