That, as per a recent Dhaka Tribune investigation, 684 government primary schools across Bandarban, Rangamati, and Khagrachhari lack electricity and access to safe drinking water is not only shocking and unacceptable, but must also trigger difficult conversations about progress and development.
The most salient questions are evident: How can Bangladesh speak of progress when its children are left to study in darkness? How can we claim to have developed when children still lack access to safe drinking water?
Development is not measured by megaprojects or GDP figures alone. It must primarily be measured by whether every citizen, regardless of geography, has access to the basics of modern life.
Electricity and safe water are necessities. We simply cannot expect children and classrooms to function effectively when they are deprived of them.
Not only does this affect learning, but teachers are forced to work under conditions that perpetuate inequality. This is not just an infrastructural gap but a denial of opportunity.
Bangladesh must confront the reality that equitable access to electricity, safe water, and sanitation is the foundation of true progress.
While government officers have spoken of prioritizing extending the grid, we need to see steps being taken instead of being offered just words.
Our leaders have a responsibility to ensure that no child is left behind simply because of where they live. The Chittagong Hill Tracts deserve the same attention as Dhaka or Chittagong.
Development cannot be selective. If Bangladesh is serious about building a future of inclusive growth, then ensuring electricity and safe drinking water in every school must be treated as urgent, not optional.
Bangladesh must deliver equity, not just expansion, if it is to claim genuine development.
