Education Governance in Bangladesh: A Scenario of Inequality in Primary Education

Abstract

<p><em>Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in increasing education access in the last two decades. However, substantial inequalities in educational attainment remain even though equity in education is a central government objective. The article argues that weaknesses in education sector governance are crucial to understanding these persistent inequalities. At the level of the budget, anti-poor biases in allocation decisions are shown to be the result of the budget's role in political management and the lack of effective accountability mechanisms. The spearhead of government attempts to address education inequality at the primary level has been the conditional cash transfer program for poor children. The article shows that the program has failed to target the poor and suggests that this has been due to the weaknesses and contradictions in the governance of the program. Strengthening the links between policy and implementation through improvements in the governance of the sector are crucial if inequality is to be addressed and national education goals achieved.</em></p>

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