Farah Zahir
Editor, Oniket Research Group
Bangladesh’s private school sector educates a substantial portion of the country’s children, from English-medium institutions catering to urban elites to thousands of small private establishments serving communities where government schools are overcrowded or underperforming. Yet this sector operates in a regulatory environment where the qualifications of those doing the teaching and managing often receive far less scrutiny than the fee structures or building permits of the institutions themselves. The absence of mandatory, enforceable educational certification requirements for private school teachers and administrators is not a minor administrative gap. It is a structural failure with direct consequences for learning quality, child welfare, and the long-term credibility of Bangladesh’s education system.
The issue extends beyond teacher qualifications alone. Bangladesh has witnessed the rapid growth of private and English-medium schools that frequently advertise themselves as providers of “international curricula.” However, an important public policy question remains largely unanswered: to what extent are these curricula independently reviewed, accredited, or monitored by the government? While many institutions claim to follow internationally recognised educational frameworks, there is often little public discussion about whether those programmes align with national educational priorities, language competencies, civic education requirements, or minimum learning standards expected of Bangla-medium students. A modern education system cannot rely solely on institutional claims; it requires transparent regulatory oversight and clear accountability mechanisms.
The Qualification Gap and Its Consequences
Bangladesh ranks among the lowest-performing countries in the region when teacher qualification is measured against basic professional benchmarks. Research indicates that only around 55 percent of secondary-level teachers in the country meet minimum qualification standards, a figure that places Bangladesh at the bottom of comparable national rankings. In private schools, where regulatory oversight is historically lighter than in government institutions, the proportion of uncertified and inadequately trained educators is likely to be even higher.
This reality raises a difficult but necessary question. What qualifications are required to teach in many private and English-medium schools? In government schools, teachers are generally expected to meet specific academic and professional training requirements. Yet in parts of the private sector, recruitment standards can vary considerably from one institution to another. Proficiency in English, while valuable, is not the same as possessing professional teaching competence. The ability to speak English fluently does not automatically equip an individual to teach mathematics, science, history, literature, or child development effectively. Teaching is a profession that requires specialised training, pedagogical knowledge, classroom management skills, and age-appropriate instructional techniques.
The consequences show up directly in student outcomes. A 2024 baseline study found that between 10 and 22 percent of Grade V students in assessed districts were achieving expected learning outcomes in core subjects. While system-wide factors contribute to this result, the quality of classroom instruction is a primary determinant. Teachers who lack formal pedagogical training may possess subject knowledge but are frequently unable to translate that knowledge into effective instruction, diagnose learning difficulties, or adapt their methods to the diverse needs of students in a single classroom.
An equally concerning indicator is the growing dependence on private coaching and supplementary tuition. Many families whose children attend expensive private schools continue to spend substantial additional amounts on after-school tutoring. This raises legitimate questions about instructional effectiveness within the classroom itself. If teachers are adequately qualified and schools are delivering the educational services for which parents pay significant fees, why do so many students require extensive private coaching to meet academic expectations? While tutoring may serve as enrichment in some cases, its widespread dependence suggests that classroom teaching alone is often failing to meet students’ needs.
The Case for Certification
Educational certification serves functions that go well beyond credentialing. For teachers, it establishes a professional foundation that combines subject mastery with a structured understanding of how children learn, how to design lessons, how to assess progress formatively, and how to manage an inclusive classroom. Without this foundation, instruction defaults to rote memorisation and examination coaching, the two approaches most associated with poor long-term learning outcomes in Bangladeshi schools.
A certified teaching workforce would also establish a consistent professional standard across all educational streams. Whether a student studies in a government school, a private Bangla-medium institution, or an English-medium school, parents should be able to expect that every teacher has met a nationally recognised threshold of competence. The language of instruction may differ, but the professional standards required to teach children should not.
For administrators, the argument is equally compelling. A private school principal or director who has never received formal training in school leadership, curriculum governance, staff appraisal, or safeguarding is not equipped to create the institutional conditions under which good teaching thrives. In Bangladesh, many private school administrators are appointed based on seniority, ownership affiliation, or personal connection rather than demonstrated professional competence. The resulting management culture frequently prioritises fee collection and enrolment numbers over pedagogical quality and teacher development.
The curriculum question is equally important. Schools that claim to follow international programmes should be required to demonstrate the accreditation status of those programmes and explain how they correspond to national educational objectives. Government authorities should have the capacity to review, monitor, and evaluate curriculum implementation across all educational sectors. Parents deserve transparency regarding what is being taught, who designed it, under what educational framework it operates, and how student achievement is measured against recognised benchmarks.
Certification creates accountability structures that currently do not exist. When a teacher holds a recognised professional qualification, there is a basis on which performance can be evaluated, improvement can be measured, and, in cases of sustained failure, professional standing can be reviewed. Without certification, private schools operate as largely closed systems in which standards are set by individual proprietors and student welfare has no independent professional protection.
The issue also extends to private tutoring practices. Policymakers should consider whether teachers employed in private schools should be permitted to provide paid tutoring to their own students without clear regulatory safeguards. If classroom instruction is effective, transparent, and professionally delivered, the need for mandatory supplementary coaching should be significantly reduced. The relationship between school teaching and private tutoring deserves closer examination as part of broader educational reform.
A Framework for Progress
Bangladesh’s National Education Policy recognises the importance of certificate programmes for teacher professional development, and government initiatives have brought training to hundreds of thousands of public-sector educators. The private school sector must be brought within this framework through regulatory reform that makes baseline teacher certification a condition of employment and school registration renewal. Administrators should be required to hold recognised qualifications in educational leadership or management within a defined transitional period.
More importantly, Bangladesh should move toward a unified system of educational oversight. Government schools, private Bangla-medium schools, English-medium schools, and other educational streams should operate under a common regulatory umbrella that establishes minimum standards for curriculum quality, teacher certification, student safeguarding, assessment practices, and institutional governance. Such a framework would not require identical educational content in every classroom, but it would ensure that all students receive education that meets nationally recognised quality standards. The primary difference between schools should be the language of instruction and specialised programme offerings, not the level of professional accountability.
Professional certification is not a bureaucratic burden. It is the minimum threshold of competence that every child in a private school in Bangladesh deserves from the adults responsible for their education. A school system that demands certificates from its students but not from its teachers has its priorities precisely inverted. Equally, a country that rigorously regulates student examinations while leaving significant questions about curriculum oversight, teacher qualifications, and educational accountability unanswered risks undermining the very foundation upon which educational excellence depends.
