Interim government drives transformative reforms and advancements in primary education

The interim government has launched extensive reforms and development programmes in the primary education sector to ensure quality education for every child and promote sustainable national progress.

The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has prioritised infrastructure upgrades, teacher recruitment and training, digitalisation of promotion processes, timely textbook delivery, school feeding initiatives, and inclusive education. Significant investments are being made to enhance the overall learning environment in government primary schools.

This year, construction is underway for 16,247 additional classrooms, 15,144 wash blocks, 4,261 boundary walls, and 6,140 tube wells nationwide. In Dhaka Metropolitan and Purbachal, 30 new school buildings are nearing completion, while a 10-storey Leadership Training Centre has already been built in Cox’s Bazar.

Teacher recruitment and capacity-building remain a top priority. The 2025 recruitment policy has been finalised, with plans to appoint 16,027 assistant teachers across general, physical education, and music categories. Additionally, 2,382 head teachers will be recruited from the BCS (non-cadre) pool. A software-based gradation system is being introduced to ensure transparency in promotions, pending resolution of legal matters. This fiscal year, 7,115 teachers will receive professional training, and a baseline survey will assess student learning outcomes.

The Primary Scholarship Examination, reinstated from 2025, will award scholarships to 82,500 students — 33,000 in the talent pool and 49,500 in the general category — with annual stipends of Tk 7,700 and Tk 5,900 respectively.

For the 2025 academic year, 9.02 crore textbooks have been distributed, and for 2026, 8.20 crore books will be provided free to 1.86 crore students, with an allocation of Tk 622.76 crore. To improve attendance and nutrition, a school feeding programme will begin in 150 upazilas in September, with nationwide expansion planned.

Looking ahead, a five-year Primary Education Development Program (PEDP-5) is being prepared as a successor to PEDP-4, covering 13 projects such as school reconstruction, model school establishment, playground development, solar installations, child-friendly classrooms, and ICT infrastructure expansion, with special focus on tea garden areas.

The stipend programme will reach 1.14 crore students this fiscal year, backed by Tk 1,675.73 crore, with all payments made through EFT. Pre-service teacher training of one year will begin in 10 Primary Teacher Training Institutes. Steps are being taken to make education more inclusive through textbook review, assistive device policy development, training in Garo and Sadri languages, and inclusive education training for 27,000 teachers, including those teaching in ethnic mother tongues.

Pre-primary education is also being strengthened with classroom decoration initiatives and targeted teacher training. To maintain learning during emergencies, Tk 25 crore has been allocated for education-in-emergency programmes, alongside Tk 800 crore for school-based development plans across 65,357 schools.

In ICT, 3,000 interactive whiteboards will be distributed, and digital content studios, servers, and software will be upgraded. Training will be provided for both field-level officials and teachers, with staffing enhancements in the Information Management Division and upgrades to the IPMS software. Under PEDP-4, a five-phase IQ testing programme will be launched with Dhaka University’s Clinical Psychology Department, and Bengali pronunciation-based digital content will be developed for ethnic languages including Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Sadri, and Garo.

The e-Monitoring app for school supervision will also be upgraded for ease of use.

For the 2025–26 fiscal year, Tk 35,403 crore has been allocated to the primary and mass education sector.