BANGLADESH faces many challenges like corruption, dysfunctional parliamentary government, a poor human rights record, communal conflict, periodic environmental disasters, and poverty and so on. But despite all these, it has some positive achievements in the social and economic areas. In 1970, our Gross National Income (GNI) was $ 6.2 billion and per capita income was $93. During the year 2012-13, our Gross Domestic Products (GDP) stood at $ 158.58 billion and per capita income rose to $ 1,044.

The current GDP comprises agriculture (30%), industry (18%), and services (52%), and is mainly driven by three major sectors: agriculture, remittance and export. We have successfully established globally competitive garments, pharmaceuticals, ship building, and leather industries. Thanks should go to our poor farmers, workers at home and abroad, entrepreneurs and all the hard working people, who are showing us the signs of hope, prosperity and stability, despite all odds.

But these achievements are also reminders of the fact that much more could have been done in the last 42 years since independence, if only we could have set our priorities right. For many, South Korea is a model of growth. In 1960, in the aftermath of a devastating war it was one of

the poorest countries in the world with only $79 per capita income. The country, which was heavily dependent on foreign aid and loan, is now richer than the European Union (EU), with average GDP (2012) per capita income of $32,272 compared with $32,021 for EU.

There are a number of factors responsible for this magical growth, such as edu-

cation, saving culture, good governance, well-directed export-oriented development strategies, low-interest bank loans, tax breaks and foreign- based funding. Bangladesh has also undertaken most of these strategies, if not all. But differences between us and Korea was that the then government of Korea, with the help of the country's economists and planners, established five-year economic development plans to address the economic issues. The plans were repeated for four consecutive periods that lasted from 1962 to 1981. Whereas, in Bangladesh, our plans and policies change every time that the government changes and, as such, there is no continuity in the development programmes.

Bangladesh now aims to become a middle-income country (MIC) by 2021 to mark its 50th year of independence. There are numerous challenges ahead in achieving the status. At this moment in time, our political paralysis is perhaps the most challenging of our problems. We need domestic peace and stability; clean and stable government with a strong economy; a vigorous private sector fully supported by the government; rule of law; zero tolerance for corruption; highly efficient civil administration based on meritocracy; and depoliticisation of all vital organs of the state and government.

Our main objective must be to end poverty, provide productive employment and satisfy the basic needs of all people. Basic development strategies assert that development is a process of self-reliant growth achieved through the participation of the people acting in their own interests as they see them, and under their own control. Other conditions necessary for long-term growth, social stability and economic prosperity include core infrastructure such as roads, electricity and telecommunications, a stable political environment, an educated and healthy workforce, access to finance, and integration with regional and global markets. Only when these positive factors exist together can the economy, and in particular the private sector, expand sufficiently to create job opportunities for people. People come out of poverty when they get a job, or get a better job—and these opportunities can come through strong private-sector growth.

One needs to understand that economic growth alone is not always enough to achieve higher levels of human development unless one invests in education, health and social protection. In the early years, Korea invested heavily in education. The country's share of adults with no formal schooling dropped from 36% in 1960 to 8% in 1990, whereas the percentage of adults who had received some secondary schooling soared from 20% in 1960 to 76% in 1990.

By the early 1960s, as a result of its early investment in education, Korea already had a substantial stock of human resources. In the decade following the shift to export promotion, per capita output doubled, and South Korea became an industrialised country: from 1960/62 to 1973/75 the share of agriculture in GDP fell from 45% to

25%, while the share of manufacturing rose from 9% to 27%.

Bangladesh spends only 2% of its GNP on education whereas an average income country spends about 3.2% and high-income countries spend 6% on education. Economists have stressed for a very long time that education has a significant role to play in poverty reduction in various ways. A study reveals that one year of schooling can increase a person's earnings by

10%; each additional year of schooling can lift average annual GDP by 0.37%. When education is broadly shared and reaches the poor, women and marginalised groups, it holds out the prospect that economic growth will be broadly shared.

From the present scenario, it seems like Bangladesh has made a tremendous mistake by not investing enough in education. Shortage of technically skilled human resources is a major impediment in the way towards becoming an industrialised nation. The government must shift its focus of attention from general education to science, technology and ICT-based education, and development of science and technology-based education should be given top priority. Quality education is the only permanent solution that we can give the poor so that they can help themselves climb out of poverty. For self-sustained development and poverty alleviation, the need for highly skilled manpowercan hardly be overemphasised.

We all make mistakes; the difference is that a wrong decision by a political leader entrusted to lead the nation, but who refuses to make amends, could have unpredictable consequences for the nation. We can only hope that both the ruling and the opposition parties will learn from the success of other nations and that once again they will join the difficult battle to take Bangladesh forward.

The writer Is a businessman.

E-mail: afsarulhaider@gmail.com