The actual literacy rate in the country is below 50%, despite improvements in infrastructure and teacher standards, according to Bidhan Ranjan Roy, adviser for the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education.
He made the statement on Sunday morning while addressing a discussion meeting with field-level administrative officers on measures to improve primary education.
The event, organized by the Chittagong Divisional Commissioner’s Office and the Directorate of Primary Education, was held at Chittagong Circuit House in Kazir Dewri.
The adviser said: "Those who fail to achieve genuine literacy often struggle in high school and cannot excel in higher education. The role of primary education is to make individuals literate—not just in spoken and written language, but also in mathematical language.”
He added: “While different nations have various types of resources, our most valuable asset is human resources. If we fail to utilize this resource, we have no future."
In response to the issues raised at the meeting, Bidhan Ranjan Roy said: "We are working on registering all private schools. Some of their demands have been addressed to make the registration process easier.”
“We provide textbooks to all registered educational institutions, both public and private. This allows us to set conditions—for instance, no registration means no textbooks," he added.