Bangladesh needs life-centred education reform for students
Industrial revolutions have always shaped the evolution of education. As Bangladesh considers meaningful reforms in school education, we must look beyond exam scores and think deeply about both the skills the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) demands and the cultural foundations on which our learning system rests.
The 4IR is transforming the nature of work. Artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud computing are erasing the old boundaries between human and machine capabilities. Jobs are changing faster than curricula typically do. Even global experts hesitate to predict the shape of work beyond the next decade. The question is no longer if change will come, but how we prepare today's students and today's workers for the uncertain world they will enter.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. This leads to a crucial choice: do we replace the existing workforce with people trained in new skills, or do we upskill and reskill the people we already have? Sensible reform does both—while building a school system that equips every child with adaptable skills for life.
Bangladesh has made real progress in terms of access to education. Primary enrolment reached about 17.6 million in 2020, up from 17.2 million in 2017. Secondary School Certificate (SSC) participation nearly doubled from around 1.2 million in 2010 to over 2.2 million in 2021. Around 1.31 million students took the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exams in 2018, and roughly 1.33 million in 2024. Yet behind these numbers lie persistent concerns over quality, equity, and relevance.
Our school system remains fragmented into Bangla medium, English medium, and religious education streams—each with its own structure and strong societal support. This diversity reflects our pluralistic society. However, a future-ready framework must find balance. Students should aim to be fluent in both Bangla and English—the first as a cultural and intellectual foundation, the second as a global economic asset.
The World Economic Forum's 2025 report identifies ten adaptive skills for the future workforce. Creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving—three of the most important—can and should be nurtured from the earliest grades. But our current system remains dominated by rote memorisation and high-stakes board exams. Education must be more than a path to passing SSC and HSC—it must produce adaptable, ethical citizens with cultural awareness and real-life skills.
We must teach for competence, not just coverage. Active learning, moral education, teamwork, and community engagement should be embedded across all subjects. Policymakers should consider replacing some national exams with holistic, school-based assessments that emphasise competency, skill development, and digital integration. Classrooms must become spaces where students learn respect, collaboration, and responsibility alongside academic content.
Another persisting challenge is that rural–urban disparities remain stark in the country. Many rural schools face shortages of resources and teachers. Closing this divide with well-trained teachers and better infrastructure must be a priority. Blended learning can extend subject options where teachers are scarce.
Our academic calendar also needs review. The current two-term system and long summer break disrupt continuity. A three-term academic year with a shorter summer break can help maintain learning momentum.
Streaming into science, humanities, or business studies from ninth grade narrows students' horizons too early. In the 4IR era, every learner needs a broader foundation. We should delay specialisation until after SSC, ensuring all students build strong skills in languages, mathematics, science, digital literacy, and civics through tenth grade.
Educational system reform must be based on Bangladesh's own social, cultural, and economic realities. Imported models, however successful elsewhere, cannot simply be transplanted. We should learn from others and create solutions for our own classrooms, languages, and communities by applying that knowledge. This will require public investment, political will, and a cultural shift that values curiosity and creativity alongside exam success.
Bangladesh now stands at a crossroads. We can keep producing exam scorers, or we can nurture adaptable, ethical, and skilled citizens ready for a fast-changing world. Several Asian countries have shown that balanced, inclusive, life-centred education is possible. The real question is whether we will choose that path—and how quickly we will act.
Given our complex education landscape, the time has come to establish a National School Education Commission to review the existing system and recommend reforms that turn our quantitative gains into qualitative excellence. The goal should be clear: to prepare our children not just for knowledge acquisition, but for the challenges and opportunities life will place before them.
MM Shahidul Hassan is former professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and distinguished professor at Eastern University.
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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