English-medium schools asked to get government registration

The English-medium schools in Bangladesh have been asked to get registered with the appropriate government offices.

Deputy education minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo on Wednesday.

The education ministry directed the Secondary and Higher Education Division, all education boards and nine regional offices of the Secondary and Higher Education Division to take up necessary measures in this regard.

The authorities have been asked to submit a list of registered and non-registered English medium schools to the ministry.

According to the education ministry directives, it is imperative for private schools run with foreign curriculum to take registration certificates from the respective authorities concerned (general education board). But, there is an allegation that most of the schools are being operated without registration.

It also said no accountability is there. That is why the authorities do not have accurate information about the students and the institutions.

As per the latest statistics of the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS), around 11,500 students have been studying at 145 English medium schools across the country. But, the actual number of the English medium schools is very high.

For the English medium schools, a set of registration guidelines was adopted in 2017. It has not been implemented yet.