The government and development partners have emphasized the need for stronger collaboration between government agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to successfully implement the Fifth Primary Education Development Program (PEDP-5) and improve learning outcomes across Bangladesh.
The call came at the "GO–NGO Collaboration Dialogue: Strengthening Partnerships and Coordination for Transformative Primary Education under PEDP-5," jointly organized by the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) and Brac at the Brac Centre in Dhaka on Monday.
Participants identified key priorities for the 2026-2031 period under PEDP-5, including developing a structured government-NGO collaboration framework, improving foundational literacy and numeracy, expanding inclusive, climate-resilient and digital learning, strengthening education services in hard-to-reach areas, integrating NGO data into national systems, and enhancing disaster preparedness, health, nutrition and WASH initiatives in primary schools.
State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj attended the event as chief guest, while Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education Shahina Ferdousi chaired the programme.
Director General of the National Academy for Primary Education (NAPE) Farid Ahmed and Additional Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education Md Abdur Rahim attended as special guests.
Mohammad Atiqur Rahaman, additional director general (PEDP-4) of the Directorate of Primary Education, presented the keynote paper. KAM Morshed, senior director of Advocacy, Communications and Engagement at Brac, moderated the discussion, while Safi Rahman Khan, director of Education, Skills Development and Migration at Brac, delivered the welcome address.
Addressing the program, Bobby Hajjaj reaffirmed the government's commitment to improving learning outcomes through stronger collaboration with NGOs and other stakeholders.
He identified curriculum development, teacher capacity, administration, infrastructure and technology as five priority areas under PEDP-5, adding that the programme would be implemented through a series of targeted projects.
Although Bangladesh has made significant progress in primary education, he said, more work is needed to ensure quality education for every child.
He stressed that learning outcomes must remain at the centre of reform efforts and said NGOs play an important complementary role through their flexibility and strong community engagement.
Shahina Ferdousi described NGOs as key partners in extending education services to the grassroots and said collaboration is essential in policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Farid Ahmed said stronger government-NGO cooperation would facilitate greater sharing of knowledge, experience and best practices across the education sector, adding that the ultimate measure of success is improved classroom learning.
Md Abdur Rahim said every parent hopes their child will successfully complete primary education and progress to secondary school, calling for continued cooperation among all stakeholders to achieve that goal.
Senior Economist at the World Bank Syed Rashed Al-Zayed and Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) Deputy Director Dr Mostafizur Rahman also spoke at the event.
The vote of thanks was delivered by Md Ataur Rahman, deputy project director (PEDP-4) of the Directorate of Primary Education.
A collaborative planning and consensus-building session, moderated by Md Moazzem Hossain, program head (Development) of the Brac Education Program, was attended by representatives from Dhaka Ahsania Mission, B-SCAN, Educo Bangladesh, ActionAid Bangladesh, World Vision, Save the Children, BIED and several other organizations.