Year
2026
Reform Domain
Manifesto Watch
Education
Source of Reform Proposals
Election Manifesto of Bangladesh Nationalist Party - BNP
Reform Proposed
Reform Initiated
Legal and Policy Framework
Operationalisation
Action Implementation
Stage of Implementation
Reform Proposed
Last Update: 10-Sep-26
This pledge has been articulated in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s election manifesto for Bangladesh’s 13th national election. The manifesto states that "Special priority will be given to funding infrastructure and human-resource development in remote areas, including hill tracts, haor regions, and char areas so that no child is deprived of the light of education.”
Reform Initiated
Last Update: 10-Sep-26
On 15 March 2026, the Education and Primary and Mass Education Minister informed Parliament that several projects are being implemented to improve primary and mass education. These included infrastructure-related projects, the School Feeding Programme, pre-primary and primary education improvement in Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban and Bhasan Char, and non-formal education programmes for out-of-school children. 1
On 5 May 2026, the State Minister for Primary and Mass Education reportedly stated that initiatives have been taken to adopt 13 new development projects for the overall development and modernisation of primary education. These included solar electrification for government primary schools without electricity in hill districts, renovation of dilapidated schools, development of model schools, and infrastructure development of Primary Teachers’ Training Institutes. According to news reports published on 11 August 2026, the government was also considering installing solar panels at around 300 extremely remote primary schools in Rangamati. It was also reported that 389 schools in Rangamati have no electricity connection. On 30 August 2026, the State Minister reportedly also said that the government was planning a special allowance for teachers working in char and remote areas.
On 5 May 2026, the State Minister for Primary and Mass Education reportedly stated that initiatives have been taken to adopt 13 new development projects for the overall development and modernisation of primary education. These included solar electrification for government primary schools without electricity in hill districts, renovation of dilapidated schools, development of model schools, and infrastructure development of Primary Teachers’ Training Institutes. According to news reports published on 11 August 2026, the government was also considering installing solar panels at around 300 extremely remote primary schools in Rangamati. It was also reported that 389 schools in Rangamati have no electricity connection. On 30 August 2026, the State Minister reportedly also said that the government was planning a special allowance for teachers working in char and remote areas.
Observation
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The formal approval and implementation of the Fifth Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-5) will be important as it is expected to include initiatives aimed at preventing dropouts in remote areas. In the meantime, the government has taken discrete initiatives to address access to education challenges. For example, on 21 July 2026, 16 boats were handed over to 16 government primary schools in Madhyanagar upazila of Sunamganj to support students’ travel during the monsoon season. The boats were prepared with Tk 2.6 lakh allocated under the Rural Infrastructure Maintenance (TR) Programme for FY2025–26. Around 45 of the upazila’s 84 government primary schools reportedly require boat transport during the monsoon.