Transforming Secondary Education for Results Operation

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The objective of the Transforming Secondary Education for Results Operation Project for Bangladesh is to improve student outcomes in secondary education and the effectiveness of the secondary education system. Bangladesh is one of the world’s most populous countries with an estimated 160 million people living in a geographical area of about 144,415 km2. With a per capita income of US$1,409 in 2016, it is well above the lower-middle-income country category threshold which it crossed in FY14. During recent years, economic conditions improved in the country with headline inflation declining to 5.9 percent in FY16 from 7.3 percent in FY14, while the fiscal deficit was contained at around 3.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in FY16. The FY17 budget targets 5 percent deficit with 28.7 percent growth in expenditures. The current account surplus rose to 1.7 percent of GDP in FY16. The GDP grew well above the average for developing countries in recent years, averaging 6.5 percent since 2010, with an officially reported growth of 7.1 percent in in FY16, driven by manufacturing and services. As Bangladesh aspires to move up the value chain and become an MIC, there must be significant gains in quality and relevance of skills imparted by the secondary education system (both for higher level of education and better jobs in an expanding workforce). Each year, 1.3 million youth join the labor market, but in the face of what is required for the country to reach MIC status, the current composition of the labor force is inadequate. It is undereducated, less than 25 percent of the 57 million workers in the domestic labor market have secondary education, and 89 percent of workers are in the informal market. To foster skills-led economic growth via diversification of economic activities, increasing the pool of medium- to high-skilled workforce is critical. In the rapidly changing economy, the challenge is to move up the value chain in areas of compliance, quality, and reliability, all of which are important for attracting foreign investment. Investing in quality secondary education is key to successfully unleashing the true potential of Bangladesh’s young people and benefiting from the current demographic dividend. Secondary education is recognized in the Seventh Five-year Plan as a critical education cycle to equip youths with foundational skills and noncognitive, socioemotional skills that will enhance productivity at work and accelerate adoption of improved technologies. Improved secondary education increases access to higher-level skills for youths through further skills training and higher education. The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) is planning to invest significantly in the secondary education sector, as outlined in the National Education Policy (NEP 2010), in the Seventh Five-year Plan (2016-2020 Accelerating Growth Empowering Citizens) and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Accordingly, the Government is preparing to implement a five-year secondary education development program (SEDP) focused on results and enhanced quality.