section_path: Demographics/Education
section_name: Education
paragraph_text: Education
  
  The constitution states that all children shall receive free and compulsory education. Education in Bangladesh is overseen by the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education is responsible for implementing policy for primary education and state-funded schools at a local level. Primary and secondary education is compulsory, and is financed by the state and free of charge in public schools. Bangladesh has a literacy rate of 74.7% per cent as of 2019: 77.4% for males and 71.9% for females. The country's educational system is three-tiered and heavily subsidised, with the government operating many schools at the primary, secondary and higher secondary levels and subsidising many private schools. In the tertiary education sector, the Bangladeshi government funds over 45 state universities through the University Grants Commission (UGC), created by Presidential Order 10 in 1973.
  
  The education system is divided into five levels: primary (first to fifth grade), junior secondary (sixth to eighth grade), secondary (ninth and tenth grade), higher secondary (11th and 12th grade), and tertiary which is university level. According to Hossain 2016, the formal schooling of secondary education in Bangladesh is seven years. The first three years are called junior secondary and include grades six to eight. The next two years are called secondary and include grades nine and ten. The final two years are called higher secondary and include grade eleven and twelve. Based on the information from Hossain 2016 and Daily Star 2010, to pass the fifth grade the Bangladesh Education Ministry requires a public exam called Primary School Certificate (PSC). During the eighth grade students have to pass the Junior School Certificate (JSC) exam to get enrolled in ninth grade, while tenth-grade students have to pass the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam to proceed to eleventh grade. Lastly, students have to pass the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam at grade twelve to apply for university.
  
  Universities in Bangladesh are of three general types: public (government-owned and subsidised), private (privately owned universities) and international (operated and funded by international organisations). The country has 47 public, 105 private and two international universities; Bangladesh National University has the largest enrolment, and the University of Dhaka (established in 1921) is the oldest. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) is a premiere university for engineering education. University of Chittagong, established in 1966, has the largest campus. Dhaka College, established in 1841, is the oldest educational institution for higher education in Bangladesh. Medical education is provided by 29 government and private medical colleges. All medical colleges are affiliated with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  
  Bangladesh was ranked 105th in the Global Innovation Index in 2023.