20/04/2026
Bangladesh's secondary education system is facing a deepening crisis, with tens of thousands of teaching posts vacant, chronically underqualified teachers in core subjects and student learning outcomes that remain stubbornly poor despite billions of dollars in government and international funding over the past two decades.
Education Minister Ehsanul Haque Milon recently told parliament that 60,295 teaching positions are currently vacant across approximately 26,000 government grant-receiving secondary schools and colleges nationwide β a figure that experts say reflects a systemic failure years in the making.
According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Bangladesh ranks last among South Asian nations in the proportion of qualified secondary school teachers. Only 55 percent of secondary teachers in Bangladesh meet qualification standards β compared to 98 percent in the Maldives, 97 percent in Nepal, 92 percent in India, 80 percent in Sri Lanka and 68 percent in Pakistan.
The shortage is especially acute in core subjects. A 2024 report by the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS) found that a quarter of designated English teachers had not studied the subject beyond the 12th grade, and only 17 percent held an honours or master's degree in English. The situation in mathematics is worse: 57 percent of mathematics teachers had never studied the subject at the college level, with just 17 percent holding advanced qualifications. Educators and analysts say this directly contributes to the country's persistently low public examination pass rates.
Classroom conditions compound the problem. The average teacher-to-student ratio in Bangladesh's secondary schools stands at approximately 1:35 β more than double the 1:15 benchmark considered standard in well-performing systems. In many schools, a single class routinely contains 60 to 70 or more students.
Under current government rules, a new class section may only be opened once enrollment surpasses 55 students. Budget constraints mean even this threshold is frequently ignored and remote schools face additional barriers in navigating the bureaucratic requirements for hiring new staff.
A consultation committee appointed by the Ministry of Education in #2025 has identified eight major obstacles undermining teacher performance across the country.
The committee found that there is no defined framework for measuring teacher responsibility or performance. Teaching post allocations are fundamentally insufficient for the number of enrolled students, and the hiring, promotion and transfer processes are plagued by delays, corruption and nepotism.
Pre-service training is weak, in-service professional development is rare and largely ineffective, and there is no structured mentorship culture within schools. Career progression is virtually nonexistent β most teachers appointed as assistant teachers retire in the same role. Salaries remain the lowest in South Asia, with teachers in neighboring countries earning two to three times more on average.
Teacher organizations meanwhile are fragmented and largely driven by political interests rather than professional concerns. Perhaps most strikingly, a study cited by the committee found that two-thirds of high school students do not view their teachers as role models β and half of teachers do not consider themselves role models either.
The government and international partners have poured significant resources into teacher quality improvement over the past two decades. Major initiatives have included the Teacher Quality Improvement in Secondary Education Projects, the Secondary Education Quality and Access Enhancement Project and the ongoing Learning Acceleration in Secondary Education program.
At the primary level, four consecutive phases of the Primary Education Development Program have been implemented since #1998, with a fifth phase expected to launch in July this year.
Multilateral institutions including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO and the Global Partnership for Education have all been involved. Yet analysts and the committee itself acknowledge that the return on this investment β measured by student learning outcomes β has been far below expectations.
The consultation committee is urging the government to move beyond piecemeal fixes and adopt a holistic, long-term strategy for transforming the country's entire school education system, from pre-primary through -university level.
Central to their recommendations is the establishment of a dedicated task force of experts, backed by strong political will, to drive reform across the system as a whole. The committee has warned that existing institutional structures β risk-averse and resistant to change β are unlikely to deliver the transformation the system urgently needs.
"The system is now failing both students and teachers," the committee's report states. Experts stress that attracting the best and brightest into the teaching profession, building genuine career pathways, and adopting systems-level thinking β rather than isolated remedies β are essential to turning the tide.
With a newly elected government having pledged to improve education outcomes and development partners expressing readiness to help, observers say the moment for decisive action has arrived.
The question, as the committee's report bluntly puts it, is whether Bangladesh can finally "move away from the rut of unfulfilled promises and unrealized expectations."
Here are SAT-style questions based on the passage:
1. According to the passage, which of the following is the most significant issue facing secondary education in Bangladesh?
A) High student enrollment rates
B) The lack of qualified teachers in key subjects like English and mathematics
C) Lack of interest from students in secondary education
D) Limited access to modern teaching technology
Answer: B) The lack of qualified teachers in key subjects like English and mathematics
2. What is the primary reason for the large number of vacant teaching positions in Bangladeshβs secondary schools?
A) Teachers are leaving to pursue higher education abroad
B) There is a shortage of teachers who are willing to work in remote areas due to bureaucratic challenges
C) The government is reducing the number of teaching positions to save costs
D) Many schools are transitioning to online teaching models
Answer: B) There is a shortage of teachers who are willing to work in remote areas due to bureaucratic challenges
3. The passage states that Bangladesh lags behind most South Asian countries in terms of the percentage of qualified teachers. Which of the following countries has the highest percentage of qualified teachers?
A) India
B) Sri Lanka
C) Maldives
D) Nepal
Answer: C) Maldives
4. The author suggests that one major factor contributing to the low performance of teachers is:
A) A lack of funding for school infrastructure
B) Insufficient teacher training and mentorship programs
C) Political interference in the education system
D) Overcrowded classrooms with more than 100 students
Answer: B) Insufficient teacher training and mentorship programs
5. What is one of the significant obstacles to good teacher performance identified by the consultation committee?
A) Lack of student interest in learning
B) Inadequate teacher salaries compared to other countries
C) Lack of a clear framework for teachersβ responsibility, effort, and performance standards
D) Excessive government funding for educational projects
Answer: C) Lack of a clear framework for teachersβ responsibility, effort, and performance standards
6. According to the passage, what is the impact of a low teacher salary on the teaching profession in Bangladesh?
A) It discourages teachers from leaving the profession
B) It leads to widespread corruption in hiring practices
C) It reduces the quality of teaching and undermines teacher professionalism
D) It makes teachers more likely to work in remote areas
Answer: C) It reduces the quality of teaching and undermines teacher professionalism
7. What does the consultation committee recommend as part of the solution to the education systemβs issues?
A) Establishing more private schools to reduce the burden on public institutions
B) Attracting top talent to the teaching profession and implementing long-term reforms
C) Increasing the teacher-student ratio to ensure more teachers are hired
D) Focusing on technological solutions to improve teaching outcomes
Answer: B) Attracting top talent to the teaching profession and implementing long-term reforms
8. According to the passage, which of the following is true about the teacher salary situation in Bangladesh?
A) Teachers in Bangladesh are paid more than their counterparts in South Asia
B) Teachers in Bangladesh are paid according to a uniform salary structure
C) Only a few government secondary school teachers receive the highest salary grade
D) Teachers in Bangladesh receive salaries comparable to those in Sri Lanka
Answer: C) Only a few government secondary school teachers receive the highest salary grade
9. The phrase βthe ball is in our courtβ in the passage implies:
A) The government should stop relying on external assistance
B) The responsibility for improving the education system now lies with the government
C) The education system needs to be completely overhauled
D) Teachers should be given more power to make decisions
Answer: B) The responsibility for improving the education system now lies with the government
10. Which of the following best summarizes the author's perspective on the reforms needed in Bangladeshβs education system?
A) Reforms should focus only on improving teacher salaries and benefits
B) Reforms need to be based on isolated remedies for specific issues
C) A holistic and long-term approach is necessary for transformative change
D) Reforms should focus primarily on increasing the number of teachers
Answer: C) A holistic and long-term approach is necessary for transformative change
11. According to the passage, what has been the result of the multibillion-dollar investment in improving teacher quality over the past two decades?
A) The investments have fully transformed the education system and dramatically improved student outcomes
B) Despite significant investment, the outcomes in terms of student learning have been much less than expected
C) The investments have created a uniform and highly skilled teaching workforce across the country
D) The investments have primarily been used for improving school infrastructure, not teacher quality
Answer: B) Despite significant investment, the outcomes in terms of student learning have been much less than expected
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