The Ministry of Education has decided to return to admission tests for student enrolment, moving away from the lottery system introduced in 2019 to curb admission and coaching-related commerce in the capital’s reputed educational institutions.
Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon announced the decision at a press conference at the Secretariat on Monday, triggering concern among education stakeholders that coaching and admission trade may resurge.
“To begin with, where admissions take place at the start of the year, we are going to introduce examinations instead of the lottery system. I am informing in advance so that everyone gets the opportunity. We have withdrawn the lottery system, that’s it,” the minister said.
The move comes a day after Comilla-4 lawmaker Hasnat Abdullah opposed the lottery system during a session of the National Parliament on March 15.
“Will we change the admission process for primary schools, or continue with the lottery? Or will we keep suppressing merit all the time?” he asked the minister.
Following the demand, the ministry announced the decision the next day. The minister also said admission tests would be introduced from next year.
Later on Monday, the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the ministry issued a notification directing that from 2027, the lottery-based admission system for students from Class 1 to Class 9 in both government and private secondary schools will be abolished. It also said future admission processes would be conducted based on stakeholders’ opinions.
Concerns over return of admission trade
The decision has drawn mixed reactions, with stakeholders warning that reinstating admission tests could revive student-related commerce.
They fear parents seeking admission to Class 1 will spend large sums on coaching, while wealthy families may secure admission through payments in reputed institutions such as Viqarunnisa Noon School and College and Ideal School and College in Motijheel.
Poor students, they say, may again be deprived of access to reputed schools, while coaching centers could become active to revive their declining business.
According to sources, on December 5, 2018, then education minister Nurul Islam Nahid, while presenting the report of an investigation committee into the suicide of Arpita Adhikari, a Class 9 student of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, said: “It costs Tk10 lakh for admission to Class 1.”
He also said at the time, “No guardian lodges complaints. Students are admitted in exchange for Tk10 lakh. To stop that, we introduced the lottery system. But now it is seen that institutions admit far more students than their approved capacity, which explains why they take extra students.”
Education stakeholders said that before the lottery system, advertisements for coaching—often listing teachers’ names and phone numbers—were widespread. These declined after the lottery was introduced, and teachers no longer engaged in coaching indiscriminately.
Parents also did not have to rush to coaching centers for primary admissions. While coaching businesses suffered, it reduced unnecessary expenditure for guardians, they said.
Ziaul Kabir Dulu, president of the Guardians’ Unity Forum and a valiant freedom fighter, said the decision had already triggered a rush for coaching.
“Admission activities begin in November and December. Yet in mid-March, with the minister’s announcement, there has already been a rush for admission coaching, and admission trade will resume, which had previously been curbed. The ministry will not be able to stop admission trade in reputed schools,” he said.
Experts call for review, equity-focused solutions
Education experts and researchers questioned the decision, urging a review based on field realities.
Rasheda K Chowdhury, former adviser to the caretaker government and executive director of Campaign for Popular Education, said the lottery system had been introduced mainly to manage admission pressure in reputed schools in the capital, not for rural institutions.
“Before withdrawing the lottery system, the ground reality should have been assessed. Coaching advertisements for admissions were once everywhere, but disappeared after the lottery was introduced,” she told Dhaka Tribune.
She said children from low-income families had little chance of securing admission to reputed schools through coaching.
“The lottery at least created an opportunity for them. There are also allegations of admission trade against school managing committees,” she said, questioning how authorities would prevent such practices under a test-based system.
As a solution, she emphasized enforcing a catchment area-based admission system, making enrolment in local schools mandatory. According to her, a fully implemented catchment system would eliminate the need for both lottery and admission tests while curbing coaching businesses.
Prof Dr Manzoor Ahmed, emeritus professor at BRAC University and chairman of an advisory committee on reforms in primary and non-formal education, termed the decision “not well-considered.”
“If a child has a lower IQ, will we not admit that child to school? Or will we deprive them of the right to education?” he said.
“In our unequal education system, the lottery was a ‘better among the bad’ solution, giving underprivileged but meritorious children a chance to study in good schools,” he added.
He said the long-term solution lies in ensuring quality primary and secondary schools in every area.
“Without that, removing the lottery will bring back old inequalities—where children of affluent and educated parents get advantages, while poorer children fall behind,” he said, expressing hope the decision would be reconsidered.
Education researcher KM Enamul Haque also opposed the move, calling admission tests in Class 1 “undesirable.”
“It is natural that children within a school’s catchment area should be admitted there. A child’s education should begin under a trained and motivated teacher, and distance from school directly affects physical and mental well-being,” he said.
He warned that differences in education quality had previously enabled unethical practices, including coaching businesses under the guise of admission tests, admissions in exchange for donations, and forgery of birth certificates.
“The lottery system helped curb such commercialization to some extent. Reintroducing tests will negatively affect middle-class and marginalized groups,” he said, urging authorities to suspend the decision pending proper review.
