EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION OF BANGLADESH

Education Administration refers to the agencies concerned and government machineries

regulating the administration and management of the country's educational institutions and
supporting offices. At present, two organizations are mainly responsible for administration and
management of education in Bangladesh at the highest level: The Ministry of Education (MOE)
and The Primary and Mass Education Division (PMED). At the central level, there are three
types of bodies under the MOE and PMED: directorates, professional organizations, and semi-
autonomous bodies.

There are four directorates/departments under MOE: Directorate of Secondary and Higher
Education (DSHE); Directorate of Technical Education (DTE); Directorate of Inspection and
Audit (DIA); and Facilities Department (FD). Two directorates under the PMED are the
Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) and the Directorate of Non-formal Education (DNFE).
There are three professional organizations: National Academy for Educational Management;
Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics; and National Academy for
Primary Education.

The Ministry of Education is responsible for policy making, planning, directing, and controlling
the administration and management of secondary, higher and technical education in
Bangladesh. The implementing bodies are, however, different for secondary education, higher
education and technical education.

The chief executive of the MOE is the education minister. A secretary, an additional secretary,
and a number of joint secretaries, deputy secretaries, assistant secretaries and other
supporting staff assist him. MOE has a planning cell headed by a chief. The planning cell
finalizes and processes development project proposals submitted by the line organizations
under the ministry for approval by the government. In addition, the Bangladesh National
Commission for UNESCO is included in the organizational structure of the ministry. The BNCU is
a focal point of UNESCO. It implements programs undertaken by the UNESCO.

DSHE performs the overall responsibility of the administration and management of secondary
education, madrasah education and college education. Headed by a Director General. It has
four wings: college and administration wing; secondary education wing; planning and
development wing; and training wing, each headed by a director. There is also a physical
education wing headed by a deputy director.

The overall responsibility of implementing policies, plans and programs of the government in
respect of secondary, madrasah, and college education lies with the DSHE. The functions of the
DSHE include recruitment, posting, transfer, promotion of teachers and staff of government
schools, colleges and madrasahs; sanctioning their leave and pension; taking disciplinary
actions; disbursement of subventions and grants to non-government schools, colleges and
madrasahs; undertaking work regarding affiliation and managing committee formation of non-
government institutions; conducting teachers training programmes; preparing and
implementing development projects, etc. It is the central organisation responsible for overall
supervision, monitoring, and evaluation of secondary, college and madrasah education. At the
field level, supervision and monitoring of secondary level institutions are done by regional and
district offices. Higher level institutions are, however, directly under DSHE.

The directorate of technical education (DTE), responsible for the administration and
management of technical and vocational education in Bangladesh, was established in 1961.
Headed by a Director General it has five wings headed by a Director: an administrative wing; a
planning wing; a vocational training wing; a project implementation unit; and a programme
inspection wing. There are 10 assistant directors, and other supporting staff under the
directors. There are four regional offices located in the four old divisional cities of the country
Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Khulna. There are one regional inspector and one assistant
regional inspector in each regional office.

The National Curriculum and Textbook Board is entrusted with the responsibility of curriculum
development and textbook production. There are 53 primary training institutes (PTIs) in the
country for imparting training to primary teachers.

The Directorate of Inspection and Audit (DIA) was established in 1981 with a view to ensuring
proper utilization of the huge amount of government grants to non-government institutions in
the form of salary support to teachers and employees, improving the quality of education at the
school and college levels through academic supervision, and improving the financial
management of non-government institutions. The head of the DIA is a director who is assisted
by a joint director, four deputy directors, and a number of inspectors, auditors, and other
supporting staff. An inspection and audit team under each deputy director visits non-
government institutions on a routine basis and inspects and audits their accounts. They also
offer advice in respect of maintaining proper accounts. They report to MOE if any financial
irregularities are detected.

The Facilities Department (FD) is, in fact, the engineering department of the MOE. It was
established in 1986 to be responsible for the construction and repair of educational institutions
and other buildings under the MOE. The head of the FD is a chief engineer. Two superintendent
engineers, six executive engineers, and other supporting staff assist him at the center, including
assistant engineers and sub-assistant engineers. The organizational structure of the FD extends
up to the thana level from the center to zones to districts.

A chairman, with the rank and status of a State Minister, heads the University Grants Commission (UGC),
established in 1973. There are two full-time and nine part-time members. In addition, there is a
secretary, a number of directors, deputy directors, assistant directors, and supporting staff. The
government allocates fund to UGC through the MOE for the development and maintenance of
universities and for improvement of higher education and research. UGC re-allocates this fund among
universities according to their individual needs and demands. Other responsibilities performed by UGC
include assessment of educational needs at the university level, both public and private formulation of
specific plans for the improvement of higher education, collection of information in respect of higher
education, and offering advice to the government regarding establishment of new universities and
expansion of existing ones.

The Council of Bangladesh Institutes of Technology had to co-ordinate the functions of the new defunct
four engineering colleges of the country. In 1986, those colleges were renamed as Bangladesh Institute
of Technology (BIT) and made degree-awarding institutions. The council under the leadership of a
chairman performed the responsibilities of coordination among the BITs, preparing curriculum, and
conducting examinations. But the BITs later turned into autonomous Engineering and Technology
Universities and went under the jurisdiction of UGC.

At the institution level, the heads of the institution play the key role in administration and management.
For a non-government institution, however, the head of the institution is to work under a managing
committee, which is known as a school managing committee in the case of secondary schools, and
governing body in the case of colleges. Respective boards of intermediate and secondary education in
case of schools, the NATIONAL UNIVERSITY in case of colleges, and the Madrasah Education Board in
case of madrasahs determine the constitution, power and responsibilities of these committees. There is
no managing committee for government institutions (schools, colleges, madrasahs). They are managed
directly by DSHE and its regional and district officers.
The educational administration and management system in Bangladesh is highly centralized with
virtually no power and authority delegated to field officers. Even directorates have limited authority. All
power is concentrated at the ministry. However, the decentralization of the educational administration
and management system with delegated power and authority to the field officers has recently been
made tentatively.