For Bangladesh to advance to the next stage of economic development, it needs to move beyond labour intensive businesses into high value industries. Historically, industries like garments manufacturing have succeeded because of the relatively low labour cost in Bangladesh. As the economy has grown, and Bangladesh looks to graduate from Least Developed Country status, the over-dependence on this one industry has become a significant liability.
In the past, Bangladesh has struggled to compete in the high value industries, especially because the workforce lacked the basic education level of many of the competing countries. In order to become globally competitive, Bangladesh needs to dramatically rethink its education system because it is simply not producing graduates with the right kind of globally competitive skills, whether at the elementary school level or at the university level.
Bangladesh spent 2.1% of its GDP on education in 2023. On a global scale, that is alarmingly low. India, in comparison, spent more than double that, at 4.6% of its GDP. Most developed countries such as the US and the UK, spend upwards of 5% of their GDP on education. Clearly, Bangladesh needs to invest a lot more in educating its people, especially as the world economy is increasingly driven by technology.
English for the global stage
More than just investing in education, though, we need to rethink what the education curriculum should be. For too many generations, our education system has focused on the wrong things. Early on, a decision was made to de-emphasize English from the curriculum.
I understand the patriotic sentiment. After all, my father was a language movement hero who, standing next to Abul Barakat in 1952, was very fortunate that the bullets missed him. This decision to de-emphasize English, however, has come at an enormous cost. For generations now, even university graduates have not had the level of English fluency that their counterparts in India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka have.
This has put our workforce at a tremendous disadvantage in the global economy. Bangladesh missed much of the service industry relocation to places like India because we do not have an English speaking workforce. Surely, it is possible to maintain our connection to Bangla while also maintaining English fluency? If West Bengal can do it, why can’t Bangladesh?
Changing the learning culture
The problems with our education system extend far beyond just language, though. From the moment children enter school, they are told to keep their heads down, focus on their work, stay out of trouble and not ask questions. The emphasis is on memorizing the contents of books, not on critical thinking or learning how to communicate.
The people who run the world’s largest companies and countries are not the people who are the most book smart. People who run organizations and countries are people who know how to communicate. When entrepreneurs build businesses, they have to communicate their ideas and sell their vision to investors. When we present Bangladesh to the world, we need people who can do this in a professional and polished manner.
The emphasis is on memorizing the contents of books, not on critical thinking or learning how to communicate
For decades now, the communication skills of all of our delegates and representatives have been truly lacking compared to the polished and refined presentations from India or Pakistan. In focusing only on book smarts, we are failing to produce leaders, entrepreneurs and visionaries. Without these, we cannot advance as a nation.
Utilizing all the tools
In Bangladesh, quality educational resources are not accessible to all. World class education has historically been restricted to only the privileged who could afford it.
With the advent of the internet and mobile technology, though, all that has suddenly changed. Anyone with a mobile device sitting anywhere in Bangladesh can now access the vast reservoir of educational resources available on the internet. The young generation in Bangladesh today is much more plugged in than previous generations. They are much more savvy when it comes to the latest developments in the world and understand even the latest English jargon.
This did not happen because of the education system, it happened in spite of it. Our education system needs to leverage this and prepare children for the new world.
Bangladeshis have always been resourceful and armed with the right tools, the middle class and working class kids will eagerly educate themselves by finding what they need on the internet. They need to be taught English early on and be taught how to access resources on the internet. Armed with this exposure, the young generation are already coming up with new ideas and startups are beginning to pop up. When these kids learn how to put together a pitch and can communicate effectively, they will be able to bring in venture capital from outside and we will start seeing many more Bkash or ShopUp-type ventures.
The Bangladeshi education system has a lot of catching up to do. In the meantime, non-profit organizations like the US based Computer Literacy Program are trying to fill the gap by providing the tools needed. To do so on a truly nation-wide scale that touches every child, however, the government will need to first recognize the problem, commit to make the necessary changes, and substantially increase investment in our youth. There cannot be progress in this day and age without educating and empowering our youth.
Dr Shakil Ahmed is a private investor and retired quant hedge fund manager.