Academicians and experts on Sunday identified deep structural weaknesses, outdated curricula and poor investment as the biggest challenges facing the country鈥檚 education system.
They urged urgent and comprehensive reform to align learning with the needs of a modern economy.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion titled 鈥楾he path forward for Bangladesh: democracy as the foundation of need-based and knowledge-based education鈥� academics said that democratic principles of participation, transparency and accountability were fundamental to achieving meaningful reforms in the education system.
At the roundtable organised by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party at Lakeshore Hotel in the capital, National University vice-chancellor Professor ASM Amanullah called for an overhaul of higher education to address the high unemployment rate among the bachelor degree holders.
He said that despite impressive gains in enrolment, Bangladesh continued to face a crisis in quality and relevance in education, also calling for the modernization of the system to meet international standards.
Amanullah further said that the national education budget remained among the lowest in the region鈥攁t around 1.7 per cent of GDP鈥攃ompared with regional averages of over 4 per cent.
Having warned that meaningful reforms were entirely impossible without substantial financial commitment, he recommended that education spending should be increased to at least 5 per cent of GDP.
Dhaka University pro-vice chancellor Professor Mamun Ahmed also expressed concern over the widening gap between education and employment, saying that the country鈥檚 40 per cent of the educated youths were not employed.
These youths were a ticking time bomb for the nation, he warned.
He also called for the inclusion of moral and ethical education in the national curriculum to address declining standards.
Professor Mamun urged political parties to increase their engagement with young people and address governance shortcomings that exacerbated social and economic inequalities.
Having cautioned against religion-based politics as something increasingly being seen as incompatible with a progressive and inclusive future, he emphasised that targeted policy interventions were essential to ensure a skilled, responsible and engaged youth population.
Jahangirnagar University Professor Nahreen I Khan outlined the BNP鈥檚 proposal for a mandatory third language as part of a broader education reform plan, positioning it as both an economic and cultural transformation strategy.
Highlighting that no Bangladeshi university currently ranked among the world鈥檚 top 500, she called for stronger global partnerships and the introduction of a third language in higher education to enhance international competitiveness.
Nahreen also urged universities to modernise their teaching methods and research priorities to meet global standards.
BRAC education programme director Safi Rahman Khan stressed that quality, not just access, must be prioritised, urging stronger foundations and community accountability to restore public trust in schools.
He said that Bangladesh had good laws and policies, but lacked consistent leadership and political will to implement them.
Democracy Dais Bangladesh chairman Abdullah-Al-Mamun emphasised that genuine reform must be rooted in democracy, transparency and increased investment and called for raising education spending to 5 per cent of GDP to build an equitable, skill-based system for the future.
He also proposed establishing a National Education Evaluation Authority to monitor performance and audit spending to ensure public funds reach classrooms rather than administrative tiers.聽
BNP international affairs secretary Nasir Uddin Ahmed Ashim, member of BNP sub-committee on international affairs Israfil Khosru, Bangladesh Football Federation president Tabith Mohammed Awal, among others, spoke at the event.