Poverty remains the biggest driver of school dropouts in Bangladesh, accounting for nearly two-thirds of cases among students enrolled in catch-up education programs, according to new Unicef-backed research that also revealed a deepening nationwide learning crisis.
The findings, presented at a research dissemination event in Dhaka on Thursday, painted a stark picture of an education system where millions of children continue to struggle with hunger, weak foundational skills and unequal access to learning despite years of reforms and investment.
The three-year study, conducted between 2023 and 2025 across 142 schools involving more than 15,000 students and over 800 teachers, found that around 64% of students in catch-up education programs dropped out primarily because of poverty.
Nearly 57% of participating households were living below the international poverty line, while almost half of fathers in the program reportedly earned Tk8,000 or less per month.
Researchers also found that around 11.7% of children enrolled in the program were involved in labour outside the household.
The study, conducted under Unicef’s Educating the Most Marginalized Children initiative, highlighted the severe vulnerability of children from disadvantaged families, particularly girls and students from low-literacy households.
Researchers said the crisis extends far beyond school attendance.
The report revealed that most students entering Grade 6 failed to meet even primary-level learning standards, particularly in mathematics.
Around 91% of surveyed students were categorized as “novice” learners in math, unable to correctly answer even half of the questions based on Grade 5 competencies.
In Bangla, 65% failed to reach expected levels.
“This is not simply a problem of a few struggling students. Entire classrooms are operating below curriculum expectations,” researchers said during the presentation.
The study also pointed to mounting pressure on teachers and schools struggling to adapt to repeated curriculum reforms and competency-based assessment systems.
Nearly 90% of teachers said syllabus pressure prevented them from helping weaker students properly, while more than 60% of headteachers reported that frequent curriculum changes were disrupting classroom learning.
Although Unicef piloted an “Accelerated Learning Enhancement Strategy” to help students recover learning gaps, researchers said improvements remained modest, with average gains of only 4 to 7 percentage points in Bangla and mathematics.
Education experts at the event warned that Bangladesh now faces a critical challenge: ensuring children gain meaningful skills rather than merely increasing enrollment numbers.
Primary and Mass Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon questioned why decades of investment in infrastructure and technology had failed to produce better outcomes.
“How can it be that after so many years and so much investment, our students are still failing to achieve foundational skills?” he asked.
Educationist and former adviser Rasheda K Choudhury warned that many marginalized children still remain outside both formal and non-formal education systems, particularly in urban poor communities vulnerable to crime, addiction and exploitation.
Unicef officials stressed that policy reforms alone would not solve the crisis without effective implementation, teacher support and stronger community engagement.
