Enrolment of the children aged between six and 10 in the primary education providing institutions declined in 2024 across the country.
Among the children, enrolment of the boys was alarmingly lower than the girls.
The net enrolment rate dropped to 94.55 per cent in 2024 from 97.76 per cent in 2023, according to the Annual Primary School Statistics 2024, published by the Directorate of Primary Education.
The past year marks a sharp decline in the net enrolment rate for boys at 90.53 per cent, while girls continued to maintain a high rate at 98.69 per cent.
Education rights campaigners and activists blamed poverty, dropout of boys, child marriage and learning loss for the decline.
The primary education directorate under the primary and mass education ministry published the report end of July on its website.
Net enrolment rates measure the percentage of children of official school age (six to 10 years in Bangladesh).
As per the report, total enrolment in primary education (Class I to V) reached 1,66,86,625 with 51.3 per cent girls in 2024.
In 2023, total enrolment in primary education was 1,62,17,406 with 51.4 per cent girls.
Considering gender-based insights, girls have consistently maintained higher enrolment rates than boys throughout the entire period.
Connecting the decline in enrolment with rising poverty, Campaign for Popular Education executive director Rasheda K Choudhury told 抖阴精品 that male students needed to start working to help their families.聽
鈥楥urrently, even girls of Class IV or V are becoming victims of child marriage,鈥� she said.
Rasheda also mentioned that Covid pandemic forced many students to drop out, while the learning losses suffered due to the pandemic and recent movements were not compensated either.
A trend analysis of the net enrolment rate of the period covering 2010鈥�2024 shows that between 2010 and 2017, the enrolment rate increased steadily, and by 2015 the enrolment rates of both boys and girls crossed 97 per cent.
The net enrolment rates remained more or less stable between 2018 and 2023 around 97鈥�98 per cent for girls and 97 per cent for boys, indicating a strong enrolment system.
The gender gap was the highest in 2010, where girls had a 5.4 percentage point advantage over boys (97.60 per cent versus 92.20 per cent).
Nearly a decade and a half later, the gap widened significantly in 2024 again, with girls鈥� enrolment remaining high (98.69 per cent), while that of the boys saw a sharp drop to an alarming 90.53 per cent.
The country鈥檚 school-age population (5鈥�14 years) in the recent years varied between somewhat over 18 per cent and slightly over 20 per cent of the total demographic鈥�18.56 per cent in 2023; 18.63 per cent in 2022; 18.82 per cent in 2021; 19.7 per cent in 2020 and 20.12 per cent in 2019, as per the Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics 2023.
The poverty rate rose to 27.93 per cent in May 2025 compared with that of 18.7 per cent in 2022, showed findings of a survey titled 鈥楾he state of the real economy: household realities and policy options towards strengthening economic democracy鈥�, published this August by the Power and Participation Research Centre, a Bangladeshi research organisation.
With income inequality widening, food costs eat up more than 50 per cent of a household鈥檚 monthly expenditure, the survey finds, inevitably reducing its ability to spend for children鈥檚 education.
According to the UNICEF, there are 34.5 million child brides in Bangladesh, 13.4 million of whom were married before the age of 15.
Currently, the prevalence of child marriage among girls (marriage before the age of 18) is 51 per cent, putting Bangladesh among the world鈥檚 top 10 countries regarding child marriage.
As per the Annual Primary School Statistics 2024, the net enrolment rate was 97.76 per cent in 2023; 97.56 per cent in 2022; 97.42 per cent in 2021; 97.81 per cent in 2020; 97.74 per cent in 2019; 97.85 per cent in 2018; 97.97 per cent in 2017; 97.96 per cent in 2016; 97.94 per cent in 2015; 97.7 per cent in 2014; 97.3 per cent in 2013; 96.7 per cent in 2012; 94.9 per cent in 2011; and 94.8 per cent in 2010.
Nationwide 1,18,607 primary education providing schools were covered by the report.
In 2024, the enrolment in pre-primary to Class V was 2,01,83,048鈥�98,53,962 boys and 1,03,29,086 girls.