Over the past decade, Bangladesh has undergone a remarkable transformation in its education sector through the integration of digital technologies. What began as a short-term response to pandemic-related disruptions has evolved into a long-term movement towards digitally enabled, inclusive education. The rise of educational technology has introduced new forms of engagement, accessibility and innovation, fundamentally reshaping how learning takes place. The fusion of education and technology is creating a more interactive, data-driven and personalised learning environment that extends well beyond the traditional classroom. This shift also aligns with the national aspiration to build a knowledge-based economy, where digital infrastructure underpins human capital development. In this context, educational technology has become a key instrument in redefining how students learn and how teachers deliver, assess and sustain the learning process.

The collaboration between education and technology in Bangladesh represents both progress and challenge. The domestic market for digital education is expanding rapidly, driven by a young population, entrepreneurial energy and a growing acceptance of online and blended learning. Improved internet connectivity and widespread access to mobile devices have enabled educators to reach learners across social and geographic divides, enhancing both equity and efficiency. Yet, significant barriers persist – from unreliable connectivity and high costs to the slow adaptation of teaching methods for digital environments. Despite these obstacles, the sector shows strong growth potential and long-term promise. As Bangladesh moves further towards an integrated digital ecosystem, the partnership between technology and education is set to play a defining role in shaping the country’s future learning landscape and wider development path.

While progress has been rapid, the integration of technology in Bangladesh’s education system remains constrained by deep-rooted weaknesses in learning outcomes, particularly at the primary level. Many students complete early schooling without mastering basic cognitive, comprehension and problem-solving skills. Assessments across several districts reveal that pupils in upper primary grades often struggle with simple arithmetic, sentence construction and logical reasoning – the very foundations of higher learning. This reflects not a mere problem of access, but a broader “learning crisis”. The expansion of digital tools, though promising, cannot by itself address this gap unless deficiencies in pedagogy, curriculum design and teacher capacity are urgently resolved. At present, technology is operating on an uneven cognitive foundation, amplifying disparities rather than closing them.

Recent evidence on child cognitive development in Bangladesh suggests that these learning shortfalls begin long before formal schooling. Studies tracking children from infancy to middle childhood show a steady decline in expected cognitive scores between six months and four years, particularly among those living below the poverty line. Factors such as poor nutrition, limited maternal education and environmental stress play key roles, with research showing that maternal education and food security offer the most significant protection. This points to a systemic challenge: educational underachievement is not simply a school-based issue but a reflection of deeper socio-economic inequality. In this context, even the most advanced digital solutions risk becoming cosmetic fixes if the cognitive and developmental foundations of learning remain weak.

At the tertiary level, Bangladesh’s higher education system faces its own set of persistent structural challenges. Chief among them is the misalignment between university curricula and labour-market needs. Many graduates emerge without the critical thinking, adaptability or technical skills demanded by employers. Enrolment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines remains among the lowest in the world, while teaching methods continue to rely heavily on rote, lecture-based instruction rather than problem-solving and experiential learning.

The research and innovation ecosystem, meanwhile, remains underdeveloped. Expenditure on research and development is minimal, curriculum reform is slow, and institutional accreditation systems remain weak. Although large numbers of research papers are published each year by Bangladeshi academics – including in international journals – their relevance to the nation’s economic and technological needs is often limited. Research agendas tend to cater to international metrics rather than local challenges, resulting in a disconnect between academia and industry. Without stronger collaboration between universities and the private sector, much of this scholarly work remains abstract, detached and underutilised.

A further obstacle to knowledge democratisation in Bangladesh lies in the very language and form of academic communication. Academic writing is often overly technical and inaccessible, written in a style that excludes those outside the academy. This creates an intellectual distance between researchers and the communities their work should benefit. Moreover, many local academics publish in international journals behind paywalls, effectively locking out domestic readers. The absence of high-quality national journals capable of publishing rigorous yet accessible work has deepened the problem. As a result, Bangladesh’s academic ecosystem has grown dependent on foreign validation, equating international visibility with national impact. This dependence discourages regional collaboration and stifles the emergence of an autonomous, locally grounded academic culture.

Bangladesh’s university curriculum remains overwhelmingly theoretical, disconnected from the realities of industry and the future of work. Pedagogical practices continue to prioritise memorisation over practical learning, leaving graduates ill-prepared to apply their knowledge in real-world settings. The consequence is a costly gap between academic preparation and employability. Employers must invest heavily in retraining new recruits, while industries struggle with reduced productivity and efficiency.

Entrepreneurship education illustrates this problem vividly. Despite a growing policy focus on start-ups and self-employment, most university programmes remain theoretical, built around Western business models that often ignore local market dynamics. Graduates leave university with limited understanding of the informal or semi-formal business environments that dominate Bangladesh’s economy. The result is a mismatch between training and reality – a curriculum that circulates global theory but produces little domestic innovation.

The disconnect between academia and industry is further compounded by the weak integration between Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and higher education. These systems operate in isolation, with little coordination or flexibility. University programmes remain overly theoretical, while vocational education is outdated and stigmatised. This division has left the country short of mid-level managers and skilled technicians, forcing many industries to rely on foreign expertise.

Despite policy commitments through the BNQF, the Skills Development Policy 2022 and the 8th Five-Year Plan, neither TVET nor higher education has effectively embedded digital literacy or automation-linked competencies in its curriculum. Partnerships with industry are scarce, and digital teaching methods remain exceptions. Without bridging this technological gap, Bangladesh risks producing graduates unprepared for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, trapped in low-value employment while the global economy moves ahead.

Technology holds transformative potential to redefine Bangladesh’s education landscape – bridging divides between access and quality, theory and practice, academia and industry. Digital tools, AI and adaptive learning platforms can make teaching more interactive, personalised and evidence-based. They can dismantle traditional barriers to education and align the learning process with the demands of an innovation-driven economy. But this promise can only be realised if systemic weaknesses are addressed first.

The persistent learning crisis, weak teacher training, misaligned curricula and governance fragmentation must be tackled head-on. Without resolving these structural issues, digitalisation risks becoming a superficial fix – a glossy façade masking deep inefficiencies. Technology should be viewed not as an end in itself but as part of a broader reform agenda. Only through coherent policy, institutional coordination and investment in capacity-building can Bangladesh ensure that technology becomes a genuine catalyst for meaningful learning, employability and industrial advancement – not merely a digital illusion of progress.