Secondary school enrolment falls by 400,000 in a year; madrasah, English-medium schools grow

The number of secondary-level students in Bangladesh has fallen by more than 400,000 in just one year. Enrolment has also declined at independent technical and vocational institutions.

In contrast, the number of students attending madrasahs and English-medium institutions has increased. This declining trend has raised fresh questions about education planning and quality.

A comparison between the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS) report Bangladesh Education Statistics 2025 and the previous year’s data reveals this picture.

Published in June, the report primarily presents information on educational institutions from secondary to higher education levels. BANBEIS has also published primary education statistics as supplementary information.

The report does not analyse the specific reasons for the decline in secondary school enrolment.

However, teachers and education specialists suggest that learning losses caused by the covid-19 pandemic, various recent developments, child labour, child marriage and financial hardship within families may have disrupted the education of some students.

Last year, the Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board attempted to investigate the reasons behind students’ absence from the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations.

After collecting information on 1,350 candidates who did not attend the examinations, the board found that nearly 41 per cent (549) had married. Of these candidates, 97 per cent were female students.

A BANBEIS official told Prothom Alo, “The education statistics report was prepared based on information collected from educational institutions. We have not analysed any specific reasons separately.”

According to BANBEIS data, Bangladesh currently has 19,211 government and private secondary schools, including junior schools. These schools have more than 7.439 million students.

In 2024, 19,117 secondary schools had 7,847,546 students. This means that the number of secondary schools increased by 94 in one year, while student enrolment fell by more than 408,000.

School-and-college institutions also offer secondary-level education, and the same trend is evident there. These institutions currently have more than 1.531 million students across all levels, including secondary education, compared with more than 1.564 million in the previous year.

However, their number increased from 1,514 to 1,556. Of the students attending school-and-college institutions, more than 1.128 million are enrolled at the secondary level alone.

In addition, 547 government primary schools offer education up to Class Eight. These schools have more than 70,000 students. Overall, Bangladesh had more than 8.638 million students at the secondary level in 2025, compared with more than 9.063 million in the previous year. This represents a decline of more than 400,000 students in one year.

Education specialists say the decline in student numbers is concerning despite the increase in the number of institutions. They argue that authorities need to examine whether local demand for education, population changes, institutional capacity and educational quality receive sufficient consideration when establishing new institutions or expanding existing ones.

Secondary school enrolment had also fallen significantly during the covid-19 pandemic. According to BANBEIS data, the number of secondary-level students in 2023 was approximately 950,000 lower than in 2019, the year before the pandemic began.

The government has set a target of increasing the proportion of students in technical and vocational education to 30 per cent by 2030. However, according to BANBEIS data, enrolment at independent technical and vocational educational institutions has fallen to 650,000. In 2024, the figure stood at more than 676,000.

Data from the Bangladesh Technical Education Board also indicate that a large number of seats remain vacant across technical and vocational education programmes.

According to BANBEIS data, Bangladesh has 9,296 madrasahs offering Dakhil, Alim, Fazil (Pass), Fazil (Honours) and Kamil programmes. These institutions had more than 2.84 million students in 2025. In 2024, 9,269 madrasahs had more than 2.796 million students.

This means that the number of madrasahs increased by 27 in one year, while student enrolment rose by more than 43,000. These figures exclude independent Ebtedayee madrasahs and Qawmi madrasahs.

Meanwhile, BANBEIS data show that Bangladesh has 143 English-medium schools, with a total enrolment of 29,672 students. In 2024, these schools had 29,077 students. This represents an increase of 595 students in one year.

Professor SM Hafizur Rahman of the Institute of Education and Research at the University of Dhaka told Prothom Alo, “The decline in secondary school enrolment may be linked to learning losses following the covid-19 pandemic, students falling behind in their studies, various recent developments, children entering the workforce and the impact of the curriculum.

However, in-depth research is needed to understand the reasons behind such a significant decline in secondary school enrolment, as well as the trends reflected in other statistics in the report. The authorities must take the necessary measures based on the findings of the research.”