Families bear 71% of the total education expenditure in Bangladesh.
In India, 20% of families spend almost four times more on schools across all categories – government, private-aided and unaided, according to Global Education Monitoring Report-2022.
The report was revealed at an event on Tuesday.
The report is based on Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Maldives, Iran, Pakistan, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka in South Asia. A total of nine organizations including Brac, Unesco were involved in the preparation of the report.
The report also states that families take loans to meet education expenses. About 12% of households in South Asia save and 6% borrow to pay school fees.
About one-third of families in Bangladesh take loans to cover the cost of studying at private polytechnics.
Bhutan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have government student loan programs to provide low-interest loans to students studying at private institutions, according to the report.
The report also found that government teachers in Bangladesh received job security along with their salary during Covid-19, while non-government teachers received 60% to 80% of their salary.
The latest Unesco Global Education Monitoring Report has found that the separate responsibilities of primary and secondary education in Bangladesh have had an impact on curriculum, teachers, quality of education and other criteria of education which is hindering an integrated approach to education.
Referring to the madrasa education system, the report said that the management of faith-based schools is in many cases delegated to authorities separate from the Ministry of Education, which poses challenges in issues such as child protection and curriculum.
The report also Cited the example that Sri Lanka's international school system is not under the purview of the Ministry of Education.