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Manzoor Ahmed

Dr Manzoor Ahmed is professor emeritus at Brac University, chair of Bangladesh ECD Network (BEN), adviser to CAMPE Council, and associate editor at the International Journal of Educational Development.

ED 1 - Setting education priorities The new governments challenges_856c.jpg

Education reform: Too little, too late under the interim regime

The tenure of the interim government (IG) since August 2024 has not been particularly comforting for the country's education community.
4 January 2026, 03:00 AM
4 January 2026, 03:00 AM
ED 1 - Our schools The legacy of neglect must end_b2a1.jpg

Are our schools inherently designed to fail?

School management suffers due to the absence of a headmaster or an assistant headmaster's leadership
1 December 2025, 02:00 AM
1 December 2025, 02:00 AM
Literacy in Bangladesh

Literacy in Bangladesh is still a distant dream

The history of literacy in Bangladesh suggests a confusion about what literacy skills mean and how these are taught.
18 September 2025, 03:00 AM
18 September 2025, 03:00 AM
Decentralisation of primary education

Can decentralisation improve primary school outcomes in Bangladesh?

Effective schools and learners through decentralised governance may make a difference in primary school education.
26 July 2025, 02:00 AM
26 July 2025, 02:00 AM
c145op_1_school_cuts_preetha_10062025_42d1_sbs.jpg

Education in FY2026 budget / Action fails to match rhetoric again

A clear sense of direction and strategy for the education system is lacking, as it has been under past political governments.
11 June 2025, 04:00 AM
11 June 2025, 04:00 AM
primary school teacher

Primary teachers’ strike: Is reform stumbling?

Primary school assistant teachers began an indefinite work abstention for higher entry-level pay.
28 May 2025, 02:00 AM
28 May 2025, 02:00 AM
op_1_-_have_reforms_lost_their_way_-_salman.jpeg

Has the reform drive lost its way?

The interim government need not be too apologetic for its record, but it would be a shame not to make the best of the opportunity history has bestowed it.
13 May 2025, 04:00 AM
13 May 2025, 04:00 AM
op_2visual_mahiya_tabassum_1_12032025_9465_myt.jpg

Priorities and challenges for the new education adviser

The primary and non-formal education sub-sector reform initiative is a positive but partial move that leaves major education sector concerns unaddressed.
13 March 2025, 02:00 AM
13 March 2025, 02:00 AM
Education needs resolute leadership of new ministers

Education needs resolute leadership of new ministers

The education that a child can acquire is currently a matter of how much his/her family can pay.
14 January 2024, 14:00 PM
politicians

Could 2024 mark the end of crony economy and captive politics?

Politics has been captured by the nexus of an oligopoly of business interests and the willingly colluding political class.
1 January 2024, 13:53 PM
education promises.jpg

Has Awami League delivered on its promise of quality education for all?

In 2008, the party promised to achieve ambitious goals. So, what have we achieved after over a decade?
25 December 2023, 14:00 PM
examinees_studying_for_exam.jpeg

What the HSC results mean for our youngsters

The HSC milestone is more a source of anxiety and premonition for the large majority of young people.
29 November 2023, 14:00 PM
New school curriculum

New school curriculum: A great opportunity or a looming disaster?

We may be witnessing a deja vu with the new curriculum.
6 November 2023, 02:26 AM
An education manifesto.jpg

What may an education manifesto for 2024 look like?

It needs to recognise both the challenges and the opportunities.
11 October 2023, 02:00 AM
Literacy rates.jpg

The true purpose of literacy

The credibility and significance of literacy rates become questionable when seen in the light of primary education outcomes and the character of the literacy projects undertaken so far.
14 September 2023, 02:00 AM
visual_-_star.jpg

The culture war in education

The debate about control of education has become more intense across the globe, manifesting in varying ways in different historical and socio-political contexts.
31 August 2023, 14:00 PM
SSC results 2024

SSC Exam Results: What do the numbers mean?

To what extent do the top scorers’ performance represent the performance of their schools and teachers?
7 August 2023, 02:00 AM
Teachers' protest

What good will nationalising all secondary schools do?

Teachers have been carrying out sit-ins in front of the National Press Club and being subjected to coercion by police to restrain them.
23 July 2023, 00:00 AM
Education in Bangladesh

Education in national budget: A dialogue of the deaf

Our education decision-makers have a narrative that largely denies any serious deficiency in the system.
23 June 2023, 18:15 PM
Education allocation in Bangladesh budget for FY 2023-24

Education lags again in funding and action

The new budget has not displayed cognisance of the need for post-pandemic recovery and remedial actions.
2 June 2023, 17:00 PM
The problem is not with coaching centres or ChatGPT

The problem is not with coaching centres or ChatGPT. It's with our education system.

AI and edtech can be helpful for our students in an inclusive manner when the plans and programmes in this respect recognise the basic and long-standing weaknesses in the system.
21 May 2023, 13:00 PM
anti-bullying policy

Is a policy directive enough to stop school bullying?

This isn't the first time that regulations and directives have been issued by education authorities regarding bullying. The question is if and how the new directive can make a difference.
8 May 2023, 16:00 PM
India is Broken

Are there any lessons for Bangladesh in Ashoka Mody's ‘India Is Broken’?

Both countries have had a single-minded focus on GDP growth, with not enough attention to jobs, climate, the distribution effects and the destructive impact of crony capitalism.
25 April 2023, 14:00 PM
importance_of_research_in_universities.jpg

Is research university an oxymoron?

Cultivating research mindset and critical thinking among students is important, but does this require foregoing the necessary academic routine of “teaching a course, administering tests, and grading students”?
10 April 2023, 16:00 PM
Protecting a generation in danger

Protecting a generation in danger

Two recent studies under government auspices have confirmed the warnings given by Education Watch.
25 March 2023, 19:30 PM
The need for good textbooks for students

The textbook debate: Managing the politics

Curriculum and textbook renewal is not and should not be something that has to start from scratch.
12 February 2023, 17:59 PM
education-and-growth.jpg

Education and growth: Are we asking the right questions?

Economists and policymakers, influenced by economists, tend to look at education as a homogeneous and highly aggregated category.
10 February 2023, 18:00 PM
graduate enemployment

Graduate unemployment: Who's to blame?

The populist remedies for youth and educated unemployment will not work without a coherent and coordinated plan from the government.
12 January 2023, 18:00 PM

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