THE call that government officials, development partners and rights activists have put out for a comprehensive social protection system covering all marginalised groups to build an equitable society is what the government should heed, especially at a time when Bangladesh, now a lower middle-income country, is set to graduate out of the bloc of least developed...
IN RECENT years, Bangladesh has witnessed a significant reform in higher education policy with the introduction of outcome-based education across both public and private universities. This approach, long embraced in advanced education systems around the world, marks a shift from traditional content-heavy curricula to a more learner-centric framework that...
Chief election commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Saturday dismissed the possibility of holding the next national parliamentary polls under a proportional representation system, saying that the Election Commission was bound by the constitution and the existing laws...
Mongla Port authority has introduced the long-awaited Less-than-Container Load (LCL) cargo handling system, opening new opportunities for both small and large-scale importers and exporters...
Bangladesh Bank has relaxed its Internal Credit Risk Rating System (ICRRS) guidelines for banks, allowing them to approve, renew, or adjust loans for borrowers with an 鈥榰nacceptable鈥� credit rating...
IT IS reassuring that the government has taken steps to investigate the police action against a rickshaw puller, who was arrested on August 15 after being physically assaulted by a 鈥榤ob鈥� for trying to place flowers and pay his respects to the founding president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibar Rahman, at Dhanmondi 32 in Dhaka. The beaten and injured rickshaw puller was taken...
The government borrowed Tk 7,438 crore from the banking system in July, the first month of the 2025鈥�26 financial year, to meet budgetary expenditure, according to Bangladesh Bank data...
WATER runs through the veins of Bangladesh 鈥� shaping our land, feeding our people and sustaining our economy. With more than 700 rivers and a maze of wetlands, ponds, canals and coastal ecosystems, the country is blessed with extraordinary freshwater and marine wealth. Yet this abundance is underappreciated, undervalued and increasingly under threat. As...
IN TODAY鈥橲 interconnected trade system, the smallest tremor in distant economies can send out disruptive waves through developing nations such as Bangladesh. As the country navigates the turbulent aftermath of the Covid pandemic, the combined impact of geopolitical tension, fractured supply chains and persistent inflationary pressures continues to...
The council of advisers in a meeting on Thursday identified 367 urgent and actionable recommendations from 10 reform commissions, with 37 measures already implemented...
TEACHERS of colleges and secondary schools under the monthly pay order scheme once again pushing for their demands for a salary increase and the introduction of a general transfer system highlights the delay in government response to a crisis that has persisted for far too long. The teachers on August 13 gave the government an ultimatum until September 13 to meet...
IN MANY educational systems today, well-meaning efforts to ensure teacher accountability have become narrowly preoccupied with measurable indicators 鈥� attendance, lesson delivery, syllabus coverage. While structure and discipline have their place, such emphasis on compliance risks diverting attention from the real objective: student learning. A teacher might adhere...
IN HIS seminal work Parties and Party Systems, political theorist Giovanni Sartori astutely observed that electoral systems are far from neutral tools. They do more than count votes; they shape outcomes, entrench hierarchies, and define the political playing field. Nowhere is this truer than in Bangladesh, where the first-past-the-post system has entrenched duopolistic...
PUBLIC health system stands at a crossroads. For a country that has made significant strides in maternal and child health and lowered infectious disease burdens, a deep contradiction now threatens to jeopardise further progress: the paradox of low public financing coupled with low budget utilisation. In plain terms, not only is Bangladesh spending too little on health...
The housing and public works ministry has abolished the classifying of contractors into categories during their enlistment to expedite public procurement more transparently and efficiently...
The Japan International Cooperation Agency, in partnership with Bangladesh鈥檚 law and justice division and Judicial Administration Training Institute, successfully concluded a two-day basic mediation training programme under its Access to Justice Project...
WATER has long been a source of both hardship and nourishment in Bangladesh鈥檚 coastal deltas and riverine plains. With more than 700 rivers, this low-lying country has long relied on its plentiful water supplies for human use, agriculture and fishing. However, the same water systems that formerly supported development are currently under attack from institutional...
PROPORTIONAL representation is often praised for making electoral systems fairer. It can ensure more accurate vote-to-seat ratios, greater inclusion of small parties, better minority representation, and coalition-based governance that reflects diverse voices. However, it also comes with serious risks 鈥� policy gridlock, coalition instability, empowerment of extreme factions, and weakened accountability...
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on Monday expressed its support for holding the next general election under a proportional representation system to ensure a free, fair, and credible voting process...
DEMOCRACY is not a one-time achievement secured through the ballot box; it is an ongoing process of institutional development, civic engagement and the constant renegotiation of power and accountability. In Bangladesh, the democratic journey has been both inspiring and turbulent. While the country has made notable strides in economic development and social...
The crash of the F-7 aircraft over Dia Bari is not merely a tragic accident; it is the tragic symptom of a deeper and chronic institutional pathology. What we are witnessing is not the result of a single point of failure, but rather the slow-motion collapse of an organisational logic that tolerates decay, rewards negligence and defers accountability 鈥� until the cost is measured in human lives...
Scientists present at the latest effort to hash out international rules for deep-sea mining say it鈥檚 unclear if it is possible to restore damaged sea floor ecosystems 鈥� or how long it would take...
Cash held outside the banking system in Bangladesh rose significantly in May, driven by Eid-related spending and deepening distrust in banks...
Microsoft said Friday it is making sure that personnel based in China are not providing technical support for US Defense Department systems, after investigative news site ProPublica revealed the practice earlier this week...
President Donald Trump on Sunday said the United States would send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine to help it fight off a Russian invasion, as his relations with Russian president Vladimir Putin soured...
Grameenphone, the country鈥檚 leading telecommunications services provider, has launched 鈥楪rameenphone One鈥�, an ecosystem for the digital experiences of the customers on Thursday...
Janata Bank PLC has recently secured first place in implementation of E-Credit Management System Innovation Action Plan 2025, said a press release...
FIVE commissions, out of the 11 that the interim government has instituted to effect reforms in state governance, appear to have largely been sidelined whilst the government appears busy with the six commissions. The six commissions on electoral system reforms, police administrative reforms, judiciary reforms, anti-corruption reforms, public administration reforms and...
THE statement of the Bangladesh Bank governor that no efforts for reforms in the banking sector will be effective unless political interference is completely eliminated entails a couple of points to ponder. Although the statement is something that many experts have repeatedly made, still the statement coming from the governor once again, especially in the changed...
Bangladesh Food Safety Authority held a seminar titled Modern Food Safety System in Bangladesh at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka in the capital on Monday...