DHAKA, Sep 12, 2026 (BSS) – Bangladesh is set to take a significant step toward strengthening women's participation in higher education by expanding free education opportunities for female students, a move aimed at narrowing the persistent gap in tertiary education and creating pathways to professional excellence.
 
The initiative comes as the country builds on its achievements in ensuring near gender parity in primary and secondary education and seeks to increase women's participation in universities, technical education and professional careers.
 
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury also reaffirmed the government's commitment to expanding educational opportunities for women in his National Budget Speech Fiscal Year 2026-27 (FY27).
 
"Every citizen has the rights to education. As part of this, free education for girls has been extended up to the graduate level," he said.
 
The finance minister also emphasized the broader role of education in national development, saying the government "believes that education is not merely a matter of acquiring knowledge; it is the most powerful instrument for shaping people and society".
 
According to the Gender Budget Report FY27, female enrollment at the tertiary level currently stands at 20.81 percent, significantly below the 80 percent target set under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030.
 
The report shows that female enrollment maintained a strong upward trajectory until 2021. Since then, progress has stagnated and declined slightly, widening the gender gap at the tertiary level to around eight percentage points in 2024.
 
The slowdown has also been reflected in Bangladesh's position in global educational attainment, where the country currently ranks 115th, compared with Sri Lanka at 48th and Malaysia at 59th.
 
The report identifies a number of socio-economic barriers that continue to affect female participation in higher education.
 
Among them, early marriage remains one of the most significant challenges. Around 50 percent of young women aged between 20 and 24 were married before the age of 18, according to the report.
 
Safety and security concerns, early motherhood, gender-based violence and persistent stereotypes regarding girls' abilities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects also continue to hinder educational advancement.
 
Addressing such challenges has emerged as a policy priority. Referring to social protection initiatives, the finance minister said that "efforts are also being strengthened to support social protection and prevent child marriage" while initiatives have been taken to address the existing challenges in this area.
 
The government's Election Manifesto 2026 places women's empowerment at the centre of its development agenda and proposes a range of interventions to help female students continue their education beyond the secondary level.
 
These include extending tuition-free educational opportunities for women upto the postgraduate level, establishing sufficient girls' hostels to ensure safe accommodation, installing sanitary vending machines in educational institutions and expanding female stipend programmes.
 
The proposed measures also include specialized scholarship opportunities for meritorious students from rural and suburban areas.
 
The Secondary and Higher Education Division (SHED) is focusing on increasing female participation in STEM and technical fields through vocational training and digital learning facilities.
 
Highlighting the government's broader policy direction, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said that in allocating resources, "special priority has been accorded to ... skills-based employment, the creative economy, social protection, agriculture and food security, women's empowerment, energy security, [and] infrastructure development".
 
To facilitate advanced learning and specialized skills development, he also announced that the government has introduced a loan facility of Tk 10 lakh for students wishing to pursue higher education abroad to support third-language learning.
 
The combined measures reflect a growing focus on removing financial, social and institutional barriers that restrict women's access to higher education and professional opportunities.
 
As Bangladesh seeks to build a creative, skilled and globally competitive workforce, policymakers view greater female participation in tertiary education as a key component of the country's long-term development strategy, enabling women to play an equal role in the nation's journey toward prosperity.