Bangladesh literacy spending: what Tk 4,000 crore of programmes achieved
A reporting case study tracing three decades of adult and non-formal literacy programmes in Bangladesh, their spending and the persistence of illiteracy.
What the reporting set out to establish
Why has illiteracy persisted after decades of government literacy projects and substantial public spending?
How the story was reported
The report reconstructed the history of literacy initiatives from 1991 onwards using Bureau of Non-Formal Education information, government progress reports and Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division material. It then compared that project history with the national literacy rate and interviews on the limits of short-term, project-based approaches.
Key evidence used
- Nearly one in five Bangladeshis aged seven and above remained illiterate while the reported literacy rate stood at 77.9 percent.
- At least nine literacy and non-formal education projects had been implemented since 1991, with spending running into several thousand crore taka.
- The reporting traced programme starts, cancellations, successor projects and new proposals to show how literacy policy repeatedly returned to time-bound projects.
What this adds
Looking at one project in isolation can hide the institutional pattern. The longer timeline makes it possible to compare public spending, policy continuity and the outcomes that successive programmes were meant to improve.
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.