The Government of the People’s of Bangladesh

Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education

Introduction:

The Government of Bangladesh places great importance on education and in this regard the Government has been trying to transform its huge population into human resource. Education for All (EFA) is the constitutional responsibility of the government. The constitution affirms equal rights in education for all. Considering this, the government has emphasised on providing education to the backward population and its female citizens. The government is providing free education upto HSC (Class- 12) for the female along with stipend. It is expected that this will contribute to enhancing the enrollment rate of the female students, decreasing the rate of dropouts and enriching the country with an educated mass.

The present education system of Bangladesh may be broadly divided into three major stages, viz. primary, secondary and higher education. Primary education is imparted basically by primary level institutions. Secondary education is imparted by junior secondary and higher secondary level institutions. Higher education is imparted by degree pass (3 years), degree honors (4 years), masters (1 & 2 years) and other higher level institutions of equivalent section of other related institutions.

The education system of Bangladesh is being managed and administered by two Ministries in association with the attached Departments and Directorates as well as a number of autonomous bodies. The two streams of education are: Primary education (Grade I-V) and Secondary and Higher Education (Grade VI and above). Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MOPME) under a Secretary manages the primary education sector while the other stream i.e. from secondary to higher education is managed by Ministry of Education (MOE) headed by Secretary of its own. At the top a Minister and a State Minister is responsible for controlling the overall activities of both the Ministries. The post-primary stream of education is further classified into four types in terms of curriculum: general education, madrashah education, technical-vocational education and professional education.

History of Secondary and Higher Education in Bangladesh: From ancient times to the middle ages indigenous education was in vogue in this sub-continent. Primary education was home-centered followed by Madrasha and "Toll" (Higher education) education. Parsi, Sanskrit and pali languages were used as the medium of education. Education was based on practical needs along with religious education. With the coming of the British rule, the current education system based on practical needs developed.

During the British rule, The East India Company through its missionaries began to influence the education system and The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) was formed. Later in 1824, the General Committee of Public Instruction (GCPI) was established with the objective to initiate a developed and essential education incorporating moral values for the Indians. In 1854, the Woods Education Dispatch proposed for the establishment of a Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) at each province. Following the necessity of amending the Indian University in 1904, the Indian University Commission was formed. This commission proposed a 03(three) year Bachelor degree course. It also put an end to the planning of establishing new universities and brought about fundamental changes by abolishing 2^nd graded colleges.

The Direct Role of the British Government in the Education System: The 1^st Indian Education Commission that is the Hunter Commission proposed the introduction of "A" Course (Literature) and "B" Course (Technical Education). It also proposed motivating higher education through private initiative and bring the government colleges under divisional control.

In 1917 the Sadler Commission proposed the first two years of university education to be incorporated within colleges as Higher Secondary Education. The Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board was entrusted with the responsibility of conducting examinations. Under the concept of Calcutta University, the Aligarh University, the Dhaka University and the Lucknow University were established in 1920 and 1921 consecutively. Through the Sergent Plan in 1944, the secondary education for children aged between 11-17 years was proposed. This followed the establishment of University Grants Commission (UGC).

Education System during Pakistan Rule: In 1947 the Akram Khan Committee and in 1957 the Ataur Rahman Khan Commission were established to deal with the education system. East Pakistan Secondary Education Board took charge of the affiliation and examination of secondary level institutions. This step was followed by the creation of a School Textbook Board in 1954. Later one Board was split into 6 on the principle of one Board for each administrative division of the country. These 6 Boards shared between them the responsibilities of granting recognition to the schools, supply of textbooks, inspection and above all holding two public examinations, one at the end of the year of schooling (Secondary) and the other at the end of the twelfth year (Higher Secondary). Breaking the traditional one stream secondary education in 1959, separate streams were introduced after Class-8 namely Arts, Science and Commerce.

History of Education System in Bangladesh:

After the independence of Bangladesh many changes and development took place at the secondary level of education system. The Government took the responsibility of secondary and higher secondary education by nationalising a good number of schools and colleges throughout the country. In 1983 the government formed a cadre named BCS (General Education) and the government college teachers came under the cadre service. In 1981 the office of the Director of Public Instruction (DPI) was upgraded as the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE).

To promote higher education in Bangladesh, The National University was established in 1992 and all colleges offering Bachelors and Masters degree came under it. The National University became an affiliating university conducting examinations at the different level of higher education.

The government has been trying to boost up female education by introducing stipend program and providing other facilities like free studentship. Consecutively, the government introduced a pay scale for the teachers of non-government schools and colleges and providing 100% salary to them from the government fund. The government also established an authority to provide retirement and other benefits to the teachers and employees of the non-government schools, colleges and madrashas.

The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE): Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Secondary and Higher education system of Bangladesh is being managed and administered by the Directorate of Secondary & Higher Education (DSHE).The Directorate is headed by a Director General who is responsible for administration, management and control of secondary and higher education including madrashas (institutions imparting religious education) and other special types of education. The Director General is assisted by 4 Directors who performs their duties through Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors and Research Officers at its head office and also by field level offices located at divisional, district and upazilla level. The Directorate controls approximately 29569 secondary, higher secondary & tertiary level institutions consisting of 412526 teachers and 13840164 students. DSHE has a total of 67 Class one, 11 Class two officials, 166 class three and 50 class four staff at its head office. It has 234 officers and staff at the 9 zonal offices and 684 officers and staff at 64 District Education Offices in addition to 2372 officers and staffs at the upazilla level.

The name and period of Directors of Public Instruction (DPI)
Sl. No	Name	Working Period
	Muhammad Kudrat -e-Khuda	15/08/1947 - 30/11/1949
	Khan Bahadur Fazlur Rahman	01/12/1949 - 24/02/1952
	Dr. Mamtaj Uddin Ahmed	04/03/1952 - 30/04/1956
	Khan Bahadur Abdul Hakim	01/05/1956 - 30/06/1959
	Muhammad Samsul Haque	09/07/1959 - 28/02/1964
	Muhammad Fazlur Rahman	01/03/1964 - 31/08/1964
	Muhammad Samsul Haque	01/09/1964 - 31/06/1965
	A. F. M. Abdul Haque	01/09/1965 - 17/10/1965
	Muhammad Ferdous Khan	18/10/1965 - 14/03/1972
	S. A. R. Matinuddin	07/04/1972 - 26/10/1972
	Dr. A. N. M. Mamtajuddin Chowdhury	27/10/1972 – 08/08/1974
	Mesbah-ul-bar Chowdhury	09/08/1974 – 30/01/1976
	Md. Nur-us Safa	11/02/1976 – 14/07/1977
	Dr. A. M. Sharfuddin	15/07/1977 – 05/04/1978
	Dr. Khalilur Rahman	06/04/1978 – 29/09/1978
	M. A. Razzak (In-charge)	30/09/1978 – 21/08/1979
	Dr. Hafez Ahmed	22/08/1979 – 21/08/1981

The name and period of Director Generals
Sl. No	Name	Working Period
1.	Dr. Hafez Ahmed	22/08/1981 - 22/08/1982
2.	Brig A. K. M. Samsul Islam	23/08/1982 - 01/09/1984
3.	Dr. A. H. M. Karim	03/09/1984 - 30/12/1989
4.	Abdur Rashid Chowdhury	30/12/1989 - 29/01/1991
5.	Dr. Md. Abdul Jabbar Miah	18/03/1991 - 30/04/1991
6.	Dr. Md. Mozammel Haque	30/04/1991 - 16/02/1992
7.	Md. Yunus Mia	10/03/1992 - 28/09/1995
8.	Prof. Md. Serajul Islam	18/10/1995 - 03/12/1995
9.	Prof. Rashida Begum	12/12/1995 - 21/10/1996
10.	Prof. Dr. Hamida Banu	20/11/1996 - 29/06/1996
11.	Prof. Nayyar Sultana	30/06/1998 - 08/02/2000
12.	Dr. Ayesha Khatun	09/02/2000 - 05/08/2001
13.	Dr. A. T. M. Sharifullah (In-charge)	06/08/2001 - 13/08/2001
14.	Dr. A. T. M. Sharifullah	14/08/2001 - 05/01/2002
15.	Abdur Rashid	05/01/2002 - 30/01/2003
16.	Prof. A. S. M. Salahuddin Ahmed (In-charge)	31/01/2003 - 17/02/2003
17.	Kabir Uddin Ahmed	18/02/2003 - 23/02/2003
18.	Prof. A. S. M. Salahuddin Ahmed (In-charge)	23/02/2003 - 22/04/2003
19.	Prof. Md. Junaid	22/04/2003 - 16/01/2005
20.	Prof. Dilara Hafez	02/02/2005 - 02/01/2007
21.	Prof. Md. Nazim Uddin	07/01/2007 - 25/10/2007
22.	Prof. K.M. Aurangzeb	31/10/2007 -10/08/2008
23.	Prof. Khan Habibur Rahman (Additional In-charge)	11/08/2008-24/02/2009
24.	Prof. Dr. Md. Liaquat Ali Khan (Additional In-charge)	24/02/2009-12/04/2009
25.	Prof. Md. Noman Ur Rashid	12/04/2009-01/01/2013
26.	Prof. Fahima Khatun	07/01/2013- Till

Vision and Mission of DSHE: DSHE is working towards providing educational facilities available to all to produce enlightened people who can contribute to the development of Bangladesh vis-a-vis poverty alleviation and attain the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) by 2015. In order to address the issues at the secondary and higher levels, DSHE is focusing on quality improvements and specific actions to raising the quality of service delivery and improving equity of access in secondary and higher education.

The Role & Responsibilities of DSHE: The role and responsibilities of DSHE includes the following:

To implement the education policy of the Government in respect to secondary (Class 6-Class 10), higher secondary (Class 11-12) and higher education (Bachelors and Masters).
To assist the Ministry of Education in formulating policies concerning secondary, higher secondary & higher education of the country.
To promote and maintain quantitative and qualitative standard of education.
To help evaluate and assess the need for changes in curriculum at different levels of education .
To prepare revenue and development budgets and maintain accounts of all the institutions and making arrangements for auditing.
To co-ordinate and provide support to all types of educational institutions.
To administer recruitment, posting, transfer, promotion, retirement, disciplinary cases of the officers and employees working under the administrative control of the Directorate.
To make proposals of development projects and monitor and supervise the activities under the development projects.
To arrange training programs both at home and abroad for the teachers and officials working in different educational institutions (DSHE, colleges, schools, training institutes and projects etc.).
To provide information on educational matters to the related agencies and organizations.
To liaise with different departments and organizations of the government.

Administrative structure of the Directorate

Under the supervision of the Director General, the Directorate controls the secondary and higher education management of the whole country. There are 4 Wings in the Directorate. Each Wing/Division headed by a Director performs its assigned tasks through its subordinate officers both at the Directorate as well as the field level (Divisional and Zonal) offices. Details are provided in the diagram shown below:

General

Administration

Engineering

Wing

The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education

College & General Administrative Wing

Secondary Education Wing

Training Wing

Planning & Development Wing

Government College

Govt. College Wing

Government College

Non-govt. College Wing

Govt. Secondary Wing

Non Govt. Secondary Wing

Special Education Wing (Madrasha)

Physical Education Wing

TTC

HSTTI

Planning Wing

BMTTI

EMIS

cell

First Class Officers of DSHE (Head Office)

Sl. No.	Name of Post	Number
	Director General	01
	Director	04
	Deputy Director	9
	Assistant Director	15
	Library Development Officer	01
	Education Officer	07
	Research Officer	05
	Programmer	01
	Assistant Programmer	01
Total		44

Statistical information of DSHE

	Name of Offices/Institutions.	Number

·	Zonal Offices	09
·	District Education Offices	64
·	Upazilla Secondary Education Office	480
·	Govt. Secondary Schools	317
·	Non-govt. Secondary schools	16113
·	Govt. Colleges	253
·	Non-govt Colleges	2371
·	Govt. Madrashas	04
·	Non-govt. Madrashas	7597
·	Teachers Training Colleges	14
·	Government Commercial Institute	16
·	Higher Secondary Teachers Training Institute (HSTTI)	05
·	Bangladesh Madrasha Teachers Training Institute(BMTTI)	01

(A) 9 Zonal Offices of DSHE

Number of officers and office staffs in zonal offices

Sl. No.	Name of Posts	Number
	Deputy Director	09
	School Inspector	09
	Female School Inspector	09
	Assistant Inspector of School	09
	Assistant Female Inspector of School	09
	Accounts Officer	09
	Stenographer	08
	Steno typist	16
9.	Accountant	09
10.	Accounts Assistant	09
11.	Driver	09
12.	Despatch Rider	09
13.	Guard/MLSS/Sweeper	54
Total		168

Class wise Summary of Officers and Stuff at 09 Zonal Offices

First class	54	Third class	33
Second class	0	Fourth class	81
Total			168

(B) 64 District Education Offices

Number of officers and office staffs in 64 District Education Offices

Sl. No.	Name of Posts	Number
1.	District Education Officer	64
2.	Assistant District Education Officer	64
3.	Accountant	64
4.	Office Assistant cum Data Entry Operator	128
5.	Cashier/ Store Keeper	64
6.	Driver	64
7.	MLSS	128
Total		576

Tasks of the Divisions of DSHE (at central and field level)

1. Central Level

(i) College & Administration Division : This division is divided into four wings, viz. (a) General Administration ; (b) Government College (c) Non-Government College and (d) EMIS cell. The General Administration wings deals with general administration and personnel administration of the head office and field offices. It also deals with the budget, finance and accounts of the Directorate, its subordinate offices and institutions.

The Government college subdivision deals with the recruitment, postings, transfers and personal matters of the cadre officers of Bangladesh Civil Service (General Education). It also provides information, data and statistics to the Ministry of Education. Sometimes it assists the Ministry in providing draft policies.

The Non-government College sub-division deals mainly with Monthly Pay Order (MPO) of non-government colleges. Inclusion and exclusion of the teachers and employees in the MPO, providing promotion scale and time scale to the teachers and employees are its main functions. In addition to that it deals with appointing the Director General's (DGs) representative in the college governing body and college recruitment committee. It provides data and information's to the Ministry according to their needs.

Management information in secondary and higher education level have been managed by EMIS cell. There are several database for Educational management including Non Govt. School, College and Madrasha Database (MPO), Govt. College Teachers Database, Ebtedayee Madrasha Database, 3^rd class and 4^th class employees Database under this directorate. The present activity of EMIS cell are (a) Non Govt. School, College and Madrasha teachers/employee monthly payment management. (b) Provide statistics for management. (c) Ebtedayee Madrasha Teacher's monthly payment management. (d) Promotion, selection grade, confirmation, departmental exam of Govt. college teachers. (e) Support for budget preparation of the directorate. (g) Secondary level teacher's recruitment. (h) Support Projects of the directorate and (i) Web site maintenance.

(ii) Secondary Education Division: This division is responsible for the administration of government and private secondary schools through the field offices situated in the zones and districts. This division is divided into three sub-divisions viz. (a) Secondary Section -1 which deals with government secondary schools; (b) Secondary Section -2 which deals with non-government secondary schools and (c) Special Education Section which deals with Religious education and (d) Physical Education Division administers and monitors the physical and extra-curricular activities related to secondary and higher secondary level institutions.

(iii) Training Division: This division is responsible for dealing with training (both national and international) programs for the teachers and officials working under DSHE, Government Colleges, Teachers Training Colleges(TTC), Higher Secondary Teachers Training Institute (HSTTI), Bangladesh Madrasha Teachers Training Institute (BMTTI) and secondary schools.

(iv) Planning and Development Division: This division is responsible for formulating policy regarding the development of secondary and higher education. It prepares project proposals and monitors and evaluates the performances of the projects. It also liaises with donor agencies and prepares Annual Development Program (ADP) and Revised Annual Development Program (RADP) of the development projects.

2. Field Level Administration

The field level administrative task of the Directorate is conducted by its 9 Zonal and 64 District level offices. The upazilla level administration of DSHE is administered by Upazilla Secondary Education Offices.

(i) Zonal Education Office: The 09 zonal offices are headed by the Deputy Directors (Zonal) who report to the Director General/Director, Secondary Education (SE) regarding all the aspects of secondary education. They coordinate, supervise and monitor the field level activities related to secondary education. They also process affiliation and registration of non-government junior secondary schools and approve junior secondary scholarships.

(ii) District Education Office: The District Education Offices are headed by the District Education Officers (DEOs). The DEO’s administer the district level activities related to secondary education. They are also responsible for the overall academic supervision of secondary education. They inspect the schools and supervise the activities performed by the Upazilla Education Officers.

(iii) Upazilla Secondary Education Office : The Upazilla Secondary Education Offices located at Upazilla headquarters are headed by the Upazilla Secondary Education Officers. The main function of the upazilla Secondary Education Offices is to administer nationwide female stipend program and perform other activities related to secondary education.

(iv) Secondary & Higher Secondary level institutions : Secondary and Higher Secondary level institutions are the basic functional organization of the secondary education system in the country. Depending on the level such as junior secondary/ secondary/higher secondary, one Head Master with an Asstt. Headmaster/Senior Teachers/ Junior teachers or a Principal with Vice Principal/other teachers execute the school/college administration. About 98% of the institutions are privately managed under a School Management Committee (SMC)/GB.

(v) School Management Committee (SMC)/Governing Body (GB): Each of the secondary school or college in the private sector is managed by a School Management Committee (SMC)/Governing Body comprising of local dignitaries, teacher representatives, guardians and local officers of the DSHE. To ensure appointment of qualified and efficient teachers the SMC's need to recruit teachers registered under Non-Government Teachers Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA).

9.00 Key Initiatives in the Secondary Education Sector

The Government of Bangladesh places great importance on education and perhaps the greatest strength in this regard is the consistent high level national commitment and consensus on the priority of education. The Government through the Ministry of Education has always been confronted with numerous challenges brought about by the various developments taking place in the education sub-sector in particular and the whole education system in general. These challenges come in different dimensions and magnitude. However the Government has been trying its best to achieve impressive results in education sector although the educational development has not yet been adequately geared to meet its human needs. Therefore some reform initiatives have been taken for compensating with the global changes and demands.

(a) Decentralization of DSHE and strengthening it at Upazilla level by Upazilla Set Up for Secondary Education.

The government has formed the Upazilla setups at all the Upazillas under different project named SEQAEP, SESP and SESDP for strengthening the secondary education management at Upazilla level and decentralization of DSHE to the grass root level to ensure quality education.

(b) Teachers Training

The training for the teachers of Govt. and non-govt. schools and colleges is organized by the training division of DSHE. This training program is conducted by 14 Teachers Training Colleges, 05 Higher Secondary Teacher’s Training Institutes and 1 (One) Madrasha Teacher Training Institute. The Government has been trying to enhance development of efficient and competent teaching professionals and through a number of projects, subject- based and management training is being provided. It is to be mentioned that the TQI project has been providing training to 1.5 lakh untrained secondary teachers and offering a 3-month long B.Ed course for those who do not have a B.Ed degree.

(c) Female Stipend program:

In order to enhance educational opportunities, particularly for girls, the Government has undertaken the nationwide female stipend program for the secondary level girls and as result the gross enrollment rate of girls in the year 1994 at secondary level has risen to 53.43%. The Government has also recently expanded the stipend program for the girls upto higher secondary level throughout the country. The decision is expected to have far- reaching impact on education and empowerment of women and children as well as on overall socio-economic development of the country. Truly it can be said that Bangladesh has done much better than other countries in South Asia in enrolling girl students basically at Secondary level through implementing the nation wide female stipend programs. Now the government is targeting to address the very poor boys and girls for ensuring access to secondary education.

(d) Non-Government Teachers Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA)

To improve the overall educational system of the country, the Government has formulated “Non-Govt. Teacher’s Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA)” under the Teaching Quality Improvement in Secondary Education Project (TQI-SEP). NTRCA is creating a pool of qualified teachers by conducting exams throughout Bangladesh to appointing eligible and competent teachers in non-govt. institutions. This authority has been functioning from 20 March, 2005.

(e ) School Performance Based Management System (SPBMS)

The SPBMS has been introduced for assessing the performance of the schools. To assess the overall performance of the schools, some indicators have been selected. Through this system different steps have been taken to increase the leadership quality of the head teachers, efficiency of the school management committee, professional efficiency of the teachers, and attendance of the students and to reduce the rate of dropout. In future this intervention will be applicable to all secondary and higher secondary level institutions under MPO subvention. Through SESIP project, this intervention has been piloted in 40 schools at Mymensingh, Kishorgonj, Netrokona and Jamalpur under Mymensingh Zone.

(f) Exam Reforms: School Based Assessment System (SBA):

The Government has decided to implement /apply SBA system for the students (Grade 6-9) of the secondary schools of the country from the academic session 2005. In this system the performance of a student will be assessed throughout the year based on the following criteria:

Attendance and interest in learning
Evaluation (class based)
Assignment (individual/ in group)
Manners, values and honesty
Presentation/individual and group discussion
Leadership quality
Discipline
Participation in cultural activities
Competency in sports
Practical class in science

A student will be assessed on the basis of the above criteria and in this regard the allotted marks are 30 and the rest 70 marks will be given on the basis of semester examination. Considering these two types of assessments, the final assessment of a student will be made. It is hoped that if this system is applied properly, the quality of education will be increased.

(g) Strengthening Units for Planning and Development Wing of DSHE (PSPU/PMQAU & PMU Units)

To formulate policy and guidelines for the development of secondary and higher education, a new wing titled Policy Support & Strategic Planning (PSPU) within the Planning & Development Division of DSHE has been established which is now replaced by Project Monitoring and Quality Assurance Unit (PMQAU). PMQAU will monitor project activities and the quality of secondary & higher education. Program Monitoring Unit (PMU) has been established to monitor and evaluate the stipend programs. These two wings are playing an important role in developing the standard of the secondary institutions in particular and the quality of secondary and higher education in general.

(h) Other Reforms under SESDP:

1. Strengthening the capacity of curriculum development;

2. Privatization of textbook production;

3. Establishment of school improvement fund for schools in underserved areas

(i) Development of educational environment in secondary education:

1. Establishment of Girl’s hostels.

2. Infrastructure development of the educational institutions.

3. Improvement of water and sanitation condition especially for girl students.

Overview : The DSHE under the proper guidance of the Ministry of Education (MOE) has undertaken the above mentioned initiatives and reforms in the education sector for expanding educational facilities, improving its quality and establishing good governance. It is expected that these initiatives will help to ensure, enhance and promote the quality of secondary and higher education.