Budget signals push to strengthen teacher training for quality education

A UNICEF analysis has found that quality education in Bangladesh is being undermined by a significant training gap among teachers at primary and secondary levels, including in madrasas.

It identified eight key challenges in the teaching sector including the absence of a comprehensive teacher policy, shortages in both the quantity and quality of teachers, and an inequitable teacher deployment strategy.

According to Bangladesh Education Statistics 2024, there are around one million teachers in primary and secondary schools, while one-third of secondary school teachers remain untrained.

The data further shows that only 3,547 out of 300,814 madrasa teachers received subject-specific training in the 2024-25 fiscal year from the country’s sole training institution for such education. 

Hamidur Rahman, a secondary school teacher, told Daily Sun, “In my career, I have received only one training, and it is reflected in my teaching strategy. However, in my school, due to a shortage of teachers, I have to take additional classes in other subjects for which I am not trained. I believe teachers need regular training after a certain period.”

Acknowledging the crisis, the government has allocated 2% of GDP in the 2026-27 fiscal year, focusing on improving teacher quality.

As part of the initiative, the government plans to introduce a curriculum on mental health development and training manuals for 50,000 teachers under a programme titled Learning with Happiness (Anandamoy Shiksha).

The initiative will also support the establishment of 8,000 libraries in educational institutions.

Additionally, climate resilience training will be provided to 26,000 local teachers and 100 foreign teachers, alongside recruitment of new teachers and the distribution of technical education books, manuals and learning materials.

Under a teacher skills enhancement project, 4,000 madrasa teachers will receive specialised training.

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj recently said the National Academy for Primary Education (NAPE) has been asked to submit a teacher training plan within the current month.

He said all teachers would be brought under training coverage within the next two years.

The Directorate of Primary Education will also work to finalise policies related to teachers’ salaries, status and service rules, he added.