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He called for an immediate taskforce to draft an education sector plan, which should eventually lead to a permanent education commission established through law to prevent policy shifts with changes in government.

Prof Manzoor said universal schooling cannot be achieved through partial measures such as extending compulsory education only up to Class VIII. Instead, the entire system -- particularly secondary education -- must be brought under a unified planning framework. He also said curriculum changes alone would not deliver results without addressing implementation failures.

“Before talking about new curricula, we must ask whether we can implement what we already have,” said Prof Manzoor, who also serves as an adviser to CAMPE.

Presenting the keynote paper, CAMPE Programme Manager Abdur Rauf said enrolment has increased, but learning outcomes remain poor due to poverty, child labour, child marriage, climate risks, infrastructure gaps and teacher shortages. These challenges continue to leave marginalised groups behind.

He urged the next government to allocate 4–6 percent of GDP to education, introduce a universal mid-day meal programme at primary and secondary levels, strengthen teacher capacity and status, and ensure foundational literacy and numeracy at the primary stage.

Fauzia Moslem, president of Bangladesh Mohila Parishad, said frequent curriculum changes in recent years have created confusion among students, teachers and parents, with learners becoming the most neglected stakeholders.

She warned that education policies often change with governments and called for safeguards against arbitrary shifts.

Fauzia also stressed the importance of cultural and physical education alongside technical learning and urged stronger action against violence against women and child marriage, which she identified as major causes of girls dropping out of school.

Mohammad Golam Kibria, co-chair of the Education Local Consultative Group, said the National Education Policy 2010 needs urgent review and alignment with skills development and non-formal education frameworks. He also highlighted the need for decentralisation, better use of education data and stronger budget execution.

Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said Bangladesh is lagging behind on SDG indicators despite gains in enrolment and lower dropout rates.

He warned that literacy levels hovering around 50 percent raise serious concerns about readiness for STEM education, and said planning must now move beyond SDGs given the limited time left to meet current targets.

From a humanitarian perspective, Gaza-returned physician and aid worker Nahrin Ahmed said education, health and protection must be addressed together through a multi-sector approach, particularly for women and children in crises.

Participants also stressed the need to protect educational institutions in disaster-prone areas, expand job-oriented and modern courses aligned with labour market needs, strengthen local-level decision-making, and bring madrasas, kindergartens and NGO-run schools under a mandatory registration framework.

Chairing the programme, CAMPE Executive Director Rasheda K Chowdhury said education policies are often imposed from the top without consulting students or parents, leaving learners most affected by frequent changes in textbooks and assessment systems.

She reiterated the demand for a unified education law, noting that the absence of mandatory registration has allowed many madrasas, kindergartens and English-medium schools to operate without effective oversight.

She also stressed that education and health must be treated as priority sectors to safeguard the country’s demographic dividend.