Proposed Tk 6,058 Crore Education Project: Training for Nearly 500,000 Teachers and Over 15,000 Classrooms to Be Built or Renovated

The government has taken an initiative to train nearly 500,000 teachers at the secondary, madrasa, technical and primary levels to improve the quality of education. Plans have also been made to set up ICT and technology labs and supply modern teaching materials. Alongside this, more than 15,000 classrooms will be built and renovated.

These works will be carried out under the proposed 'NextGen Secondary Education Program' project. The initial cost of implementing this large plan to improve the quality of education has been estimated at Tk 6,058 crore 49 lakh. Of this, a little over Tk 3,397 crore has been proposed for the secondary level, Tk 2,373 crore for the madrasa and technical levels, and Tk 288 crore for the primary level.

The information comes from separate preliminary draft project proposals of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), the Directorate of Technical Education and the Directorate of Primary Education. The respective directorates will implement the projects. However, the project proposals have not yet been finalised.

Officials concerned say that if the projects are approved, there will be major progress in improving the quality of education from the primary to the secondary level, as a huge number of teachers will be brought under technology-based training. Instead of constructing new buildings, existing classrooms will be vertically expanded and renovated into 'active' classrooms, which is a notable aspect of the project.

Asked about this, DSHE Director General Professor Dr Khan Moinuddin Al Mahmud Sohel said on Wednesday that the current government is taking multifaceted steps to improve the quality of education, and that teacher training, classroom renovation and the creation of active learning classrooms are being undertaken as part of that.

The director general added: "Science and technology-based education has been given importance in this project. Our aim is to ensure job-oriented education in the country, so that no one remains unemployed after completing their education."

According to the Annual Report 2025 of the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS), there are 439,068 teachers in 24,147 secondary institutions in the country, 138,675 teachers in 9,296 madrasas, and 32,864 teachers in 2,748 technical institutions — a total of 610,607 teachers across the three levels. Under the plan, about 82 percent of them will be trained.

The DSHE draft proposal says steps will be taken to raise the quality of secondary education and to develop a modern, inclusive and disaster-resilient teaching-learning environment. Various activities will also be undertaken for teachers' professional development and to strengthen education management capacity.

Asked about this, Additional Secretary (Planning) of the Secondary and Higher Education Division Dr Sardar Md Keramat Ali said: "The project proposals are currently at various stages of approval. It can be said that implementation of the projects is not yet final."

Under the DSHE draft proposal, domestic and foreign professional development training will be arranged for 369,643 teachers and education administrators at the secondary level, at an estimated cost of Tk 353 crore 60 lakh 28 thousand 400. At the madrasa and technical levels, there is a proposal to train at least 100,000 teachers, costing more than Tk 100 crore. Beyond this, the proposals speak of training another 30,000 teachers and education administrators at various levels in different phases.

The proposal plans the construction and conversion of a total of 2,085 classrooms in madrasa and technical institutions: 1,485 in 495 selected madrasas and 600 in 200 SSC (Vocational) schools. Alongside this, 695 smart classrooms and 695 ICT labs will be set up, science laboratories and teachers' common rooms with digital facilities will be built in every institution, and 576 digital education contents will be created for 14 technical trades.

It further says that at the secondary level, besides the vertical expansion of 3,000 classrooms, 5,250 classrooms will be converted into climate-resilient multimedia and active-learning classrooms. In addition, ICT labs, technology labs and laboratories will be set up, and furniture supplied, in 1,050 selected secondary schools each.

At the primary level, the proposal speaks of introducing an integrated primary education management system, through which digital teaching materials, competency-based assessment of students, teachers' professional development, and artificial intelligence (AI) and geographic information system (GIS)-based monitoring activities can be integrated.

Educationists view these planned initiatives for teacher training and infrastructure development positively, but they have stressed that the training must not be merely nominal and that all activities should be conducted under a clear policy framework. Asked about this, BRAC University Emeritus Professor Manzoor Ahmed said: "The initiative to train teachers is positive. But care must be taken so that this training is not just for show. And other development must also be planned — that is, all activities must be carried out under a clear policy."