Speakers at a discussion expressed disappointment over the government's shifting focus, saying that despite high expectations, sectors like education and public health appear to have fallen off the priority list.
They said this at a dialogue session hosted by the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) to discuss Bangladesh’s Education and Public Health sectors on Monday at the CIRDAP (Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific) Auditorium.
Zillur Rahman, president of the Centre for Governance Studies, started the session by saying reform is currently a widely discussed topic in the country. However, there has been little discussion regarding the education and health sectors, he said.
He added that although various reform commissions have been formed in the country, there is no commission specifically focused on education reform.
Former Adviser to the Caretaker Government and Executive Director of Campaign for Popular Education (Campe), Rasheda K. Choudhury has said Bangladesh is going through an education crisis, our children are not learning, they are passing grades, but they are not being educated and learning.
"Why do we need two ministries for education? This creates bureaucratic barriers that create more problems than they solve," she added.
BNP Standing Committee member Dr AZM Zahid Hossain has said that in the past 13 months, there has been no discussion on education. “There has been no positive change, governance has been extremely poor, and we don’t know if things will improve from here,” he said.
He added, “We were very hopeful about this government in the beginning, but it has failed to meet our expectations.”
Dr Zahid further commented, “In a way, it's fortunate that an education commission hasn’t been formed, because if it had, they might have brought in non-resident Bangladeshis who have little understanding of the realities of this country and its people.”
Academician and Historian Dr. Syed Anwar Hussain has said, currently, the education and healthcare systems in our country are in a state of disarray. Establish education and health commissions, and implement the Kudrat-e-Khuda Commission. Every government demands an education commission, yet this government lacks one. This is an unconstitutional government; the Constitution does not mention any provision for an interim government.
Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of Ganosanhati Andolan, has said that universities must be brought to a standard level. The authoritarian administrative practices we’ve witnessed in universities, the way rulers exert control over these institutions, and how teachers are used in that process. “If these dynamics don’t change and a national consensus isn’t built, then we will never achieve true transformation, he added.
Dr Tasnim Jara, senior joint member secretary of the National Citizen Party, has said that Bangladesh’s healthcare system continues to be patched up with temporary fixes rather than lasting solutions.
“Every time there’s a crisis, the gaps in the healthcare system are exposed,” she said. “It’s not just about specialised care — if we had a strong foundation of primary healthcare, it could significantly improve the entire system.”
She also pointed out the absence of a centralised patient data system. “There’s currently no national database to store patients’ medical records that hospitals can access. A central system would allow for a complete timeline of a patient’s medical history, improving continuity and quality of care.”
Dr Jara stressed that Bangladesh needs a comprehensive and systemic overhaul of both its healthcare and education sectors.
Former State Minister for Education Golam Sarwar Milon has said there has not been any education commission in all of the reformations of the country.
In the education sector, we are focusing solely on higher education, but we want to prioritize technical education so that individuals can become skilled, he added.
He said that in the health sector, we aim to enhance the skills of nurses so they can also provide services abroad. Decentralization in education and health should not be limited to political aspects; this kind of functional decentralization is also necessary.
Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, Acting President of Gano Forum; Dr. Mohammad Mushtuq Husain, Advisor, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR); Dr. Shawkat Ara Husain, Academician; Dr. Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan, Vice Chancellor, Jahangirnagar University; Dr. Mamun Ahmed, Pro Vice Chancellor, University of Dhaka; Dr. Maudud Hossain Alamgir Pavel, Convener of the Media Cell, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP); Barrister Shameem Haider Patwary, Secretary General, Jatiya Party; Dr. A M Shamim, Managing Director, Labaid Group; Dr. Md. Rafiqul Islam, Health Affairs Secretary of BNP; Dr. Nizam Uddin Ahmed, Public Health Expert; Sardar A Nayeem, Chairman of Japan-Bangladesh Friendship Hospital; Dr. Mohammad Mainul Islam, Former Chairman of Population Sciences at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh; Dr. Shakhawat Hossain Sayantha, General Secretary, G9; Dr. D. K. Shil Arpon, Research Assistant, ENT-HNS, Anwar Khan Modern Medical College Hospital, also spoke.
