IID & Youth for Policy representatives were present in a high-level roundtable event hosted by CPD, NAEM, and UNESCO to present the findings of the ‘Price of Inaction’ report with regards to the quality of education, prevention of dropout, and reinforcement of policy activities in the primary and secondary education sectors in Bangladesh.
On Thursday, November 6, 2025, a roundtable meeting was organized at the Centre of Policy Dialogue (CPD) to create awareness on the report ‘The Price of Inaction’ in the Education Matters initiative. The initiative highlights the social and economic costs of failing to invest in quality education, warning that inaction leads to increased dropouts, learning gaps, inequality, and long-term setbacks in national development. This was a joint implementation between NAEM and UNESCO. The meeting involved government officials, policymakers and education professionals to deliberate on how to enhance the quality and accessibility of primary and secondary education.
Participants emphasized issues such as the need to fill learning gaps, decrease the number of dropouts, and enhance the effectiveness of teaching. The main issues were considered to be the capacity of teachers, their supervision, and learning materials, as well as the current effort to develop a teacher and improve the policies, digital integration, and teacher training.
The roundtable was distinguished with the presence of renowned experts, policymakers, and education leaders in national and international institutions. The participants included Mr. Mathias Eck (UNESCO, Paris) who stated “If investment in education does not increase, income inequality will rise” emphasizing that the costs of inaction are enormous in the long term since failure to resolve the learning crisis in Bangladesh would lower GDP growth, increase inequality, and leave a mostly unskilled labor force.
Additionally, Mr. Norihiko Furukawa, Head of Education, UNICEF Dhaka stated “Practical Steps Are Needed Alongside Discussion on Education” underscoring that while the Government of Bangladesh and UNICEF are actively supporting education reforms, real improvement depends on effective field-level implementation, strong collaboration, continuous monitoring, and turning policies into practical action rather than remaining at the discussion stage.
Moreover, Professor Dr. Manzoor Ahmed noted “Everyone knows the problem, but knowing is not enough; action is needed now” highlighting that despite rising enrollment in Bangladesh, poor learning outcomes persist due to fragmented education systems, urging experimental quality-improvement initiatives and strong political commitment.
Furthermore, Ms. Sunjida Rahman, Senior Joint Director (Research), IID stated “Forming and implementing committees to prevent sexual harassment in every educational institution is essential.” stressing that it is essential to provide women with safety in learning institutions, and sexual harassment prevention policies and active complaint departments should be properly introduced.
Alongside this, Mr. Probin Tripura, Senior Assistant Director, IID noted “Shortage of teachers and Indigenous languages is a big challenge in inclusive education” pointing out the fact that to have inclusive education it should not be enough to print books in local languages, but also to have trained educators and a curriculum that fits the local realities.
Final observations showed that quality education must be a collective venture that goes beyond government interventions, but includes political leaders, teachers, parents, civil society, and media. The main recommendations which were put forward by the speakers were the establishment of a teachers commission, a growth in technical and vocational education, and education should be given priority in the election agendas. The consensus illustrated that education is an investment in the future and political commitment needs to be continued to achieve that future. The discussion ended with a mutual agreement to work together with the stakeholders to improve the educational outcomes and make the education system a system of inclusion and effectiveness.