A high-level delegation from the Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), led by Rasheda K. Choudhury, met with the Hon’ble Education Minister and Secretary of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME) on 04 March 2026 at the Bureau of Non-Formal Education (BNFE), Dhaka, to present evidence-based reflections and recommendations on the Government’s 12-Point Education Reform Agenda.

The delegation included Professor Emeritus Manzoor Ahmed (BRAC University), Dr. Ahmed Mushtaque Raza Chowdhury (Convener, Education Watch), Tapon Kumar Das, Dr. Mostafizur Rahaman, Deputy Directors, and Abdur Rouf, CAMPE.

Rasheda K. Choudhury emphasized that while the reform agenda addresses long-standing systemic challenges, its success will depend on strong legal, financial, and administrative foundations. She outlined the following priority actions:
• Recognizing education as a fundamental right and ensuring free and compulsory education up to Grade 8
• Expanding universal school nutrition programmes (mid-day meals) to improve retention and learning outcomes
• Increasing public investment in education to 4–6% of GDP or at least 20% of the national budget, prioritizing teachers, foundational learning recovery, safe infrastructure, and marginalized learners, alongside strengthened transparency, accountability, and innovative financing mechanisms
• Aligning education with skills, jobs, and youth employment through TVET reform and enhanced public-private partnerships
• Building safe, inclusive, and climate-resilient schools for all children
• Promoting inclusive, multilingual, and culturally responsive education, particularly for marginalized communities
• Reforming assessment systems by moving away from early-grade public examinations towards continuous, school-based evaluation
• Ensuring curriculum relevance, including language competencies and global skills
• Establishing a comprehensive legal framework to guarantee education as an enforceable right.

She cautioned that early-grade public examinations can undermine classroom learning and disproportionately disadvantage nearly 80% of students, stressing that curriculum reforms must be inclusive, participatory, and learner-centered.

Over the past 18 months, CAMPE conducted 372 local consultations and two national consultations, engaging teachers, researchers, civil society representatives, and communities across the country. The recommendations presented are grounded in field realities, broad stakeholder engagement, and evidence.

Professor Manzoor Ahmed underscored the importance of developing a 5-year sector plan and a 10-year perspective plan, backed by strong political commitment, transparency, and safeguards against undue influence.

The Hon’ble Minister welcomed the recommendations, took note of the key issues, and expressed commitment to ensuring free and compulsory education up to Grade 8. He also showed interest in collaborating with CAMPE to organize a national-level consultation to further deliberate on the reform agenda and its implementation.
CAMPE reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with the Government and relevant stakeholders to translate the reform agenda into inclusive, equitable, and sustainable education outcomes for all in Bangladesh.