Reporting and analysis on public institutions, administration, policing, recruitment, rights and accountability in Bangladesh.
80 selected pieces
Last July, BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed said his party wanted the viva marks of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination reduced to 50 from 200 to limit scope for discrimination in Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC) recruitment.
Madrasa education in Bangladesh faces structural problems, with Alia institutions affected by unequal state support, curriculum changes and social prejudice, while Qawmi madrasas remain isolated from wider society and lack accountability, academics and researchers said yesterday.
Curriculum, infrastructure, teacher training and technology to be prioritised, he says
The draft Cyber Security (Amendment) Act, 2026 poses serious risks to fundamental human rights and freedom of speech and expression, Transparency International Bangladesh said yesterday.
BRAC University conclave highlights reforms, transparency and responsible technology use in higher education
The parliamentary standing committee seeks priority for eligible institutions denied MPO status
Bangladesh will lodge a strong protest with the Italian foreign ministry over the attack on actor Azmeri Haque Badhon in Venice, State Minister-1 for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir told parliament yesterday.
As the government aims to raise the country’s literacy rate to between 86 and 90 percent by 2030, nearly half of children aged seven to 14 still fail to read and understand a simple story.
New programmes target adults, out-of-school children and adolescents with literacy and skills training
Since the late 1980s, Bangladesh’s SSC pass rate has seen major fluctuations, reflecting not only student performance but also suggesting the influence of political realities, exam reforms, marking practices, and education policies.
Govt’s five-year plan sets targets for two key sectors
The Madrasah Education Board recorded its lowest pass rate in 23 years at 55.49 percent, while the Technical Education Board posted a 19-year low of 58.20 percent in this year’s SSC and equivalent examinations, according to education ministry data.
Government primary schools across Bangladesh are struggling to keep lessons on track as headteacher posts remain vacant in more than half of the institutions while thousands of assistant-teacher positions also remain unfilled, putting extra pressure on teachers and disrupting classes.
The government’s move to reintroduce written admission tests for class-1 from the next academic year has sparked concern among parents, with many turning to coaching centres and private tutors to help their children prepare for the exams.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) is preparing a research repository to track how university research funds were spent and what they produced over the past 15 years.
The primary and mass education ministry has prepared draft guidelines for updating the primary curriculum, suggesting an approach that defines what children should know and the skills and competencies they should attain by the end of class-5.
All government primary schools have been asked to keep three books -- two on late president Ziaur Rahman, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, and one written by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
The government plans to introduce minimum learning standards for students from class one to class five across government primary, private, and English-medium schools, while allowing each stream to retain its distinct identity.
All government primary schools have been asked to keep three books -- two on late president Ziaur Rahman, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, and one written by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
The government is set to place education and health at the centre of its spending plan for the next fiscal year, with the combined allocation for the two sectors likely to rise by nearly 63 percent from this fiscal year’s revised budget.
The BNP-led government flagged education as a priority in its first 100 days, unveiling plans for curriculum revision, compulsory sports from Class IV, free uniforms, midday meals and a commitment to raise education spending to 5 percent of GDP.
Ramisa’s murder must not become another passing outrage
Deputy commissioners yesterday warned that the growing availability of drugs among youth, despite regular enforcement drives, poses a grave threat to the nation, urging the government to adopt tougher measures to curb the menace.
Is involvement in politics a crime? Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon posed that question while defending the government’s decision to appoint vice-chancellors to seven universities and a new chairman of the University Grants Commission on Monday.
Former vice-chancellor Prof Mohammad Masud misused funds from a German-backed research project, made irregular appointments and withdrew salary after his removal from office at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (Kuet), according to a government-formed investigation report.
A government consultation committee has recommended limiting SSC exams to five core subjects -- Bangla, English, mathematics, science, and social science -- while keeping PSC and JSC exams in classes 5 and 8 scrapped.
Draft report urges universal schooling to Class 12, delayed stream division and academic calendar reform
Several public universities have lately been shaken by incidents in which teachers were harassed, confined to their offices, or even assaulted by student leaders over alleged links to the previous regime, with the authorities failing to prevent the recurrence of such untoward events.
The information and broadcasting ministry yesterday published drafts of ordinances of the national media and broadcast commissions and sought opinions by Saturday.
Young voters want citizens’ safety and security at core of their election manifestos, with special focus on safeguarding freedom of expression and protecting rights of minority communities
The government has finalised the draft ordinance to establish Dhaka Central University, which will primarily function as an affiliating and regulatory body for seven affiliated colleges.
Years of political hostility and the misuse of state agencies have kept political violence alive in Bangladesh, and only a newly elected government with the goodwill to act can break this cycle, said human rights activist Nur Khan Liton.
Bangladesh now needs a government prepared to confront long-standing issues such as custodial torture, extrajudicial killings, and border violence instead of repeating earlier patterns of inaction, rights activist ASM Nasiruddin Elan has said.
Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq’s politics of rights, agrarian reform, and electoral legitimacy remain crucial for post-July uprising Bangladesh, as the country struggles to redefine justice and democracy, said speakers at a seminar yesterday.
One year into its tenure, the interim government is struggling to bring stability to the country’s educational institutions, beset by campus unrest and disruptions to academic activities.
Rights groups say the state's failure to act swiftly and decisively has to some extent emboldened mobs and contributed to a climate where vigilante justice is becoming commonplace.
Despite pledging special attention to education and health, the government has proposed only slight increases in allocations for both sectors in the national budget for fiscal year (FY) 2025–26.
The government has decided to form a search committee to recommend vice-chancellors, pro-VCs, and treasurers for public universities. But educationists are criticising the timing and intent of the move as most of these top positions in at least 47 universities have already been filled.
Polytechnic students across the country resumed protests on Saturday, demanding urgent reforms through a six-point charter to fix long-standing problems in recruitment policies, education standards, and job opportunities.
Both the previous government (Awami League) and opposition groups recruited, paid, and used children in violence during the July uprising, a United Nations Fact-Finding Mission has reported.
Instead of dismantling organised crime, the interim government appears to be using law enforcement as another tool for political persecution
The government’s advisory committee on primary education reform has proposed a new system for teacher recruitment.
Enforced disappearances have long been a dark stain on Bangladesh's history, with Aynaghar standing as one of the most harrowing symbols of this systemic abuse.
A government-appointed advisory committee yesterday recommended scrapping the Primary Education Completion Examination and similar tests.
The Public Administration Reform Commission has proposed the creation of a separate body for recruitment tests to appoint education cadre officers.
The Police Headquarters has recommended suspending the recruitment process for all 310 police cadre posts from the 44th to 47th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations.
For years, extrajudicial killings have almost been a hallmark of Bangladesh law enforcement practices
The University Grants Commission is considering a new public university named “July 36 University” for the seven government colleges that were under Dhaka University.
Despite assurances from police of a zero-tolerance policy, citizens have seen a surge in crime
Police arrest hospitals staffers and a doctor for the death of a protester shot by law enforcers
They risked everything for a better future, a better Bangladesh
Contradictory statements from govt officials erode public trust; failure to address foreseeable obstacles exposes weakness
The fate of cluster system admission test for next academic year still hangs in balance, as the education ministry did not make a decision yesterday in this regard following its meeting with university vice chancellors.
Session delays, irregularities, and lack of central planning cited as reasons
The government is set to incorporate content on the student-led uprising into school textbooks for the 2025 academic year.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police has launched a new data-driven initiative aimed at improving road safety by pinpointing accident hotspots and analysing underlying causes.
The government is racing against time to print the textbooks for free distribution among primary and secondary school students on January 1, 2025 – the first day of the upcoming academic year.
Around 76 job seekers qualified under the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA) were deprived of final recommendations despite meeting government qualifications, according to the applicants.
Education experts have urged the government not to concede to students’ demands for automatic passes and result re-evaluations, terming such demands illogical, unacceptable, and with far-reaching consequences.
The government has decided to remove any “exaggerated” historical information or “unnecessary” glorification of any individuals from textbooks for the upcoming academic year, officials of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) have said.
A new chairman was appointed at the University Grant Commission yesterday, while five public universities also got new vice chancellors.
Despite government directives to resume academic activities across all educational institutions, most public universities struggled to restart classes yesterday due to a significant administrative vacuum.
Public universities are set to reopen today amid a vacuum in the administrations after the resignation of at least 20 vice-chancellors, 10 pro-vice-chancellors, and many other officials.
Public university teachers will continue their work stoppage today as their meeting with the government representatives yesterday failed to yield any decision regarding the pension facilities.
Students from Comilla University were attacked by police during a quota reform demonstration yesterday. At least 10 students, including two journalists, were injured
Recent revelations of corruption within the PSC threaten to destroy the trust that generations have placed in this institution.
Despite government efforts to promote a new curriculum focusing on critical thinking, guide books aligned with the old memorisation-based approach continue to dominate book markets.
The University Grants Commission recently banned any recruitment at Chittagong Medical University (CMU) after finding out about violation of recruitment policies by the university’s administration while appointing six staffers.
The government yesterday instructed all secondary educational institutions to deposit the admission fees collected from students with the state coffer.
The government has made a fresh move to extend primary education up to class-VIII, six years after missing the original deadline set in the National Education Policy.
Women compartments in metro trains are safeguarded by female police officials to ensure a safe and comfortable commute in an otherwise unsafe city for women.
For two years the Department of Film and Television of Jagannath University protected a teacher accused of sexual harassment and went after the complainant.
A teacher at Patuakhali Science and Technology University (PSTU) has remained suspended for around 10 months for the “crime” of speaking out against the university authorities regarding irregularities in teachers’ appointments.
The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the government’s decision to keep the primary and secondary schools open for the first 10 and 15 days respectively during Ramadan.
Jagannath University (JnU) is in hot water after a University Grants Commission (UGC) report uncovered a number of financial irregularities.During a review of JnU's revised budget for the ongoing 2023-2024 fiscal year and the main budget for 2024-25, the University Grants Commission identified 25 areas of such irregularities
Uncertainty looms over holding the next edition of Amar Ekushey Boi Mela at Suhrawardy Udyan, as the government has decided to take over the ground for construction of a “cultural zone” called Sonar Bangla Sangskritik Boloy.
Despite repeated incidents of sexual harassment on Jahangirnagar University campus, the authorities are yet to take any effective steps to make the campus women-friendly, finds a UGC probe body.
University Grants Commission Member Professor Sazzad Hossain yesterday urged university teachers to work towards bringing “at least 80 percent voters” to polling stations for the 12th national election.
The commerce ministry’s price cap on onions, potatoes, and eggs barely made an impact on the runaway prices as shopkeepers in the capital have not complied with the order.
Law enforcers were seen confiscating the tables, chairs and microphones that BNP was supposed to use in the sit in