Dhaka: Since 2009, every Education Minister in Bangladesh has issued orders to shut down coaching centres. The count of those orders exceeds ten. The count of coaching centres permanently closed as a result is zero. The Education Act that could provide a legal basis for enforcement has been in draft for fifteen years. This article traces that record, corrects a widely circulated factual error, and identifies the structural reasons the policy has never worked.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the chronology of events highlights the persistent failure to enforce the policy. In 2009, Nurul Islam Nahid became Education Minister and initiated the drafting of a comprehensive Education Act under the National Education Policy. However, no progress was made during his first term. In June 2012, following a writ petition by the Ideal School Guardians’ Forum, the High Court directed the government to formulate guidelines, resulting in the Coaching Business Ban Policy-2012. Despite its provisions, the policy was largely ignored at the field level.
Between 2012 and 2018, various writ petitions challenged the policy, including those from teachers at Motijheel Govt Boys’ High School and Viqarunnisa Noon School. In 2016, a draft Education Act recognizing coaching as “shadow education” was sent to Cabinet but not enacted. Despite announcements and orders to shut coaching centres, including those made by Nahid in 2017 and 2018, closures did not occur, and question paper leaks persisted during exams.
In February 2019, the High Court upheld Policy-2012, ruling it constitutional, but enforcement remained lacking. A RAB mobile court’s temporary closure of six coaching centres in Dhaka was an isolated incident, and many centres continued to operate. Subsequent orders by Minister Dipu Moni for seasonal closures during exam periods also faced non-compliance with no enforcement actions.
Data provided by the BBS Private Educational Institutions Survey 2024 indicated the presence of 6,587 registered coaching centres employing 61,812 teachers. The market for coaching is substantial, with estimates ranging from ?25,000 crore to ?50,000 crore. The Education Household Survey 2014 highlighted that a significant portion of family education expenditure goes to coaching, driven by inadequate school quality and insufficient teacher salaries.
The regulatory mismatch is a key reason the policy has not been effective. Coaching centres register under local government bodies, leaving the Ministry of Education without direct authority. Teacher salaries are insufficient, making coaching income a necessary supplement. Moreover, closures justified by exam-leak concerns failed to address the root causes.
Despite various drafts of the Education Act proposing different stances on coaching, none have been enacted, leaving no legislative basis for permanent closures. The structural issues remain unchanged, and the current minister, who held the same post two decades ago, faces the same challenges.