Arafat Rahaman
Flagship reporting case study

Bangladesh curriculum reform: how repeated changes reached one student cohort

A reporting case study on curriculum instability in Bangladesh, following how one secondary-school cohort moved through successive systems and assessment rules.

Reporting question

What the reporting set out to establish

What happens to students when curriculum and assessment systems change faster than schools can prepare for them?

Approach

How the story was reported

The article used the experience of a single secondary-school cohort as a timeline: the 2012 curriculum, the 2022 curriculum and then a return to the older system. It paired that chronology with an NCTB survey of 2.53 lakh teachers and the policy changes affecting stream selection and assessment.

Evidence

Key evidence used

  • The same cohort moved from the 2012 curriculum to the 2022 curriculum and then back to the earlier framework within a short period.
  • An NCTB survey of 2.53 lakh teachers found that 37.6 percent only 'roughly' understood the new assessment system, while others reported difficulty applying it.
  • The reporting showed how grade-10 students had to compress stream-based study after spending grade 9 under a different framework.
Why it matters

What this adds

Policy change is usually described from the ministry level. Following one cohort makes the cumulative effect visible: altered subjects, assessment rules and preparation demands arrive in the same students' academic lives.

About this page

This is a portfolio case study, not a replacement publication of the original article. It adds reporting context and evidence notes while preserving a direct link to The Daily Star version.