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The Bangladeshi government intends to gradually raise the salaries of primary and secondary school teachers while enhancing their professional standing through improved training, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman announced in parliament yesterday.

Responding to a supplementary question, the prime minister stated that his government is implementing programs to enable teachers to dedicate themselves fully to their profession, rather than taking on second jobs to supplement insufficient incomes. Abul Hasnat MP had raised concerns about current basic salaries, noting that primary school teachers earn Tk 11,000 and secondary school teachers Tk 16,000.

Prime Minister Tarique highlighted the government's commitment to education, noting that 2 percent of GDP has been allocated in the current budget, with a goal to increase this to 5 percent within five years. He recalled that during previous authoritarian regimes, educational development focused on infrastructure rather than human resources, emphasizing that quality education depends on well-trained teachers.

The prime minister acknowledged that many teachers, particularly at the primary and some secondary levels, are compelled to seek additional work due to inadequate salaries. He also mentioned that Tk 4,199 crore has been allocated to the Ministry of Education for the Secondary Education Development Programme (SEDP) in FY 2026–27. Furthermore, Tk 3,040.9 crore is designated for secondary school infrastructure, alongside five projects, including PEDP-5, aimed at enhancing primary-level facilities.

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During the authoritarian period, only buildings were constructed, but there was no improvement in human resources. If we cannot properly train our teachers, we cannot expect quality education.