Walking into any classroom in Bangladesh today, one will find students poring over textbooks conceived more than a decade ago.
The nation’s education system is still anchored to the “creative curriculum” introduced in 2010, a system that was supposed to revolutionise learning by encouraging critical thinking and creativity. Sixteen years later, however, the promise has faded.
Despite being declared “ineffective” and “unimplementable” in 2020, the curriculum continues to dominate classrooms. Roughly 50 million students, the so-called alpha generation, are studying under rules and textbooks that belong to another era. In a world where technology, digital literacy, and modern pedagogy have transformed education, Bangladesh’s classrooms remain frozen in time.
The minister’s call for change
The urgency of reform has not gone unnoticed. Soon after the new BNP-led government assumed office, Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon announced plans to revise the curriculum. His message was clear: textbooks must be updated to reflect contemporary knowledge, skills, and the realities of a digital age.
Yet the minister’s directive has met resistance. The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), the body responsible for producing textbooks, appears reluctant to embrace full-scale revision. Insiders claim that officials – many aligned with the previous Awami League government – are focusing on superficial corrections such as spelling errors and printing mistakes, rather than substantive content changes.
This reluctance has sparked fears that by 2027, students will still be studying from textbooks written in 2010, a scenario experts describe as “absurd.”
A curriculum that never took flight
The creative curriculum was ambitious in design. It aimed to move away from rote memorisation and nurture analytical skills, creativity, and talent. Implemented in 2012 for grades 6 to 12, it quickly faltered.
Teachers struggled to understand its methodology, students leaned heavily on guidebooks, and guardians complained of confusion. A 2018 study revealed that 42 per cent of teachers did not understand the creative system, while 92 per cent of students relied on guidebooks to survive exams.
By 2020, the curriculum was officially scrapped. But political turbulence kept classrooms swinging between failed experiments and outdated systems. In 2022, the Awami League government introduced a new exam free curriculum, which triggered massive protests. Following the fall of the Awami League in August 2024, the interim government reinstated the 2010 creative curriculum, plunging schools back into a cycle of outdated education.
Expert voices of alarm
Education specialists are united in their warnings.
Dr Mohammad Moninur Rashid, professor at the Institute of Education and Research, University of Dhaka, cautions: “You cannot teach children in 2027 using a 15-year-old curriculum. If textbooks ignore the technology they’ve grown up with, students will lose interest. Revision is essential.”
Rasheda K Chowdhury, executive director of the Mass Literacy Campaign, highlights the lack of teacher training: “The creative method collapsed because teachers were unprepared. Even today, more than 80 per cent rely on notes and guides. How can the education system progress like this?”
An unnamed NCTB official was blunt: “Textbooks for classes 6 to 10 need a 100 per cent revision. Teaching in 2027 with books from 2010 is absurd.”
These voices underscore a growing consensus: without decisive reform, Bangladesh risks leaving its students behind in a rapidly changing world.
NCTB’s “reluctance”
Officially, the NCTB insists that revision work is underway. Chairman (additional charge) Mahbubul Haque Patwari denies allegations of negligence, asserting: “Revision work is underway under the Education Minister’s direction. There is no room for reluctance.”
Yet sources inside the process paint a different picture. Senior officers reportedly resist full-scale revision due to political affiliations, slowing progress despite ministerial directives. Instead of rewriting textbooks to reflect modern realities, they are said to be tinkering with minor textual corrections.
This disconnect between official assurances and insider accounts has fueled skepticism. Critics argue that unless the NCTB embraces genuine reform, the promise of updated textbooks will remain hollow.
Committees and the politics of delay
To accelerate reform, the NCTB has announced plans to form a 200 member expert committee tasked with revising textbooks for the 2027 academic year. On paper, the move looks promising. But history offers reasons for caution.
Committees have been formed before, only to see their recommendations sidelined. Dr Manzur Ahmed, emeritus professor at BRAC University, warns: “Committees alone are insufficient unless their recommendations are implemented in practice. Experts with real experience must be empowered to ensure meaningful revisions.”
The politics of delay – where bureaucratic inertia and partisan interests stall reform – remains a formidable obstacle.
The human cost of outdated lessons
Behind the policy debates lies a stark reality: millions of students are being denied an education that prepares them for the future.
In classrooms across the country, children are taught from textbooks that fail to mention the digital tools they use daily. Lessons ignore the technological, social, and cultural shifts that define their generation. Teachers, undertrained and overburdened, fall back on guidebooks and notes, perpetuating rote learning.
The result is a widening gap between Bangladesh’s students and their global peers. While children elsewhere learn coding, digital literacy, and critical thinking, Bangladeshi students remain stuck memorising outdated content. The risk is not just academic stagnation but economic disadvantage in a world driven by knowledge and innovation.
Government’s pledge
Despite the challenges, Education Minister Milon remains firm. He has pledged that revisions will be completed and made public, with a fully updated curriculum to be launched by 2028.
“There is no room for reluctance,” he told Jago News. “The committee will be formed, revisions will be completed, and everything will be public. We aim to launch a fully updated curriculum from 2028, ensuring maximum use of technology and modern teaching methods. Bangladesh will not lag behind.”
The minister’s words offer hope. But the path from promise to practice is fraught with obstacles – bureaucratic resistance, political affiliations, and the sheer scale of reform required.
A crossroads for education
Bangladesh’s education system stands at a crossroads. One path leads to continued stagnation, where outdated textbooks and reluctant reforms keep students trapped in the past. The other path demands bold action: comprehensive revision, teacher training, and a curriculum that embraces technology and modern pedagogy.
The stakes could not be higher. For the alpha generation, the difference between these paths is the difference between opportunity and exclusion, between a future shaped by innovation and one constrained by obsolescence.
As the nation debates its curriculum, one truth remains clear: education is not just about textbooks – it is about preparing a generation for the world they will inherit. Unless Bangladesh acts decisively, its students risk being left behind in a race they cannot afford to lose.