Minister for Education and Primary and Mass Education A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milo made his speech at national parliament 2026. Photo: Video Screenshot

SANGSAD BHABAN, March 15 (BSS) - Minister for Education and Primary and Mass 
Education ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon today said the government is reviewing the 
current primary school admission process and will decide on the system for 
2027 after consulting with the concerned stakeholders.

Responding to a supplementary question from Md. Abul Hasnat from Cumilla-4 
constituency in the Jatiya Sangsad (JS), the minister said pressure on 
admission is mainly seen in urban areas, particularly in Dhaka, while rural 
schools usually do not face such competition due to relatively lower student 
numbers.

"The lottery system was introduced earlier to address the admission pressure 
in the city schools, but I personally do not think it is a very logical 
system," Milon told the House.

He said the government will hold seminars and discussions with stakeholders, 
including parents, to build public opinion before finalising the admission 
system for January 2027.

Hasnat Abdullah, in his question, raised concerns about the shift from merit-
based admission to a lottery system at the primary level.

He argued that the change has weakened the quality of feeder institutions, 
which ultimately affects the quality of students entering universities.

In response, the education minister acknowledged that Bangladesh currently 
has multiple streams of education, including Bangla medium, English medium, 
madrasa and Qawmi systems, and said integrating those is a complex challenge.

However, Milon said the government has already formed a committee to bring 
English-medium schools under a regulatory framework aligned with national 
policies.

He said that work has also begun to reform the Ebtedayee (primary madrasa) 
system and explore ways to incorporate the Qawmi based education within a 
broader national education framework.

"We are taking initiatives to gradually coordinate these different streams so 
that the education system becomes more unified in the future," he added.