Education and Primary and Mass Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon on Sunday told Parliament that the government has undertaken initiatives to gradually integrate the country's existing multi-stream education system, including Bangla medium, English medium, madrasa and Qawmi streams, under a more coordinated national framework.
Speaking during the question and answer session in the Jatiya Sangsad on March 15, the minister acknowledged that harmonising the diverse education streams remains a complex policy and administrative challenge. "Initiatives are being taken to gradually bring coordination between these different streams so that the education system becomes more integrated in the future," he said.
Responding to a supplementary question from opposition MP Hasnat Abdullah of Comilla 4 constituency, Milon addressed the issue of admission pressure in primary schools, noting that the problem is mainly concentrated in urban areas. He said the pressure on admission is significantly higher in cities, particularly in Dhaka, while rural schools generally experience lower competition due to comparatively smaller student populations.
The minister said that a lottery based admission system had earlier been introduced to manage excessive demand in urban primary schools. However, he expressed reservations regarding its effectiveness. "I personally think that this is not a very logical system," he said. Milon added that before finalising the admission process for the 2027 academic year, the government would organise seminars and consultations with stakeholders including parents in order to build public opinion and ensure a more rational and transparent framework.
On the broader issue of educational coordination, the minister informed the House that the government has already formed a committee to bring English medium institutions under a regulatory framework aligned with national education policies. At the same time, work has begun on reforming the Ebtedayi primary madrasa education system and examining possible mechanisms to incorporate Qawmi education into the broader national education structure.
"Work has already begun to bring English medium schools under a policy framework and to reform Ebtedayi education, while initiatives are also being taken on how Qawmi education may be included within the larger national education structure," he said.
Replying to a starred question from ruling party MP SM Jahangir Hossain, the minister said that five major development projects are currently being implemented under the Directorate of Primary Education to strengthen the country's primary education sector.
