A recent decision by the Ministry of Public Administration to send 350 government officials to Thailand for intensive English language training has sparked widespread debate across national and social media in Bangladesh.
Scheduled to take place throughout April 2026 in Bangkok, the programme aims to strengthen communication skills for international diplomacy and administrative efficiency. Participants from various cadres will receive training at leading language institutes.
While the initiative is framed as part of a broader effort to modernise the civil service, reactions in Dhaka have been mixed.
The bureaucratic dilemma: Skill gap or integrity gap?
Critics have questioned the cost-effectiveness of sending officials abroad for language training when local alternatives exist. One such alternative often cited by reformers is FM Method, a research-based system specifically designed to bridge the gap between the Bengali thought process and English structure.
Originally presented to the government in 1991, this indigenous method argues that functional fluency can be achieved domestically by decoding the ‘linguistic pattern of the Bangla brain’ rather than through expensive international retreats.
Others, however, see the move as a pragmatic step toward making the administration more globally competitive. Former secretary of the Public Administration Training Centre, A.K.M. Abdul Awal Majumder, emphasised that without integrity and political will within both politics and bureaucracy, such initiatives alone cannot ensure meaningful reform.
Meanwhile, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh, has been more blunt, arguing that senior officials who still require English training abroad raise questions about merit and accountability.
In his view, such skills should have been acquired long before reaching high office, and any remaining gaps could be addressed domestically.
Ministry’s defence
The ministry, however, maintains that the programme is not designed for top officials but rather for mid-level officials, and that it extends beyond language training.
Implemented under a project aimed at strengthening institutional capacity, it includes modules on good governance, financial management, public procurement, negotiation skills, English proficiency, and e-governance.
While the ministry views this as a structured investment in human capital, the public remains sceptical: Why must officials cross borders for skills that should have been mastered during their academic careers? Why do Bangladeshi students, after 12 years of compulsory English education, often fail to achieve functional proficiency?
The root cause: 12 years of academic stagnation
At its core, this is not a single-point failure but a systemic one. Bangladesh’s national curriculum formally emphasises competency-based learning, including communicative English.
In theory, students are expected to develop four key skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In practice, however, only a small proportion of learners acquire effective communicative ability even after completing secondary education.
Where does the system falter?
- The ‘Grammar Trap’: Following a colonial-era pedagogical model, the curriculum forces ten-year-olds to memorise complex tenses and grammatical rules as if they were pursuing linguistics degrees. This transforms a medium of communication into a ‘national phobia’.
- Assessment vs. Acquisition: The evaluation system is almost entirely text-based and rote-heavy. Listening and speaking—the core pillars of language acquisition—are virtually absent from high-stakes examinations.
- The Rural-Urban Divide: While some urban schools possess language labs, rural institutions lack even basic audio devices. This prevents students from hearing diverse accents or practising real-world conversation.
- Teacher Preparedness: Many educators lack the confidence or training to conduct classes in English, often retreating to translation-based methods and rote memorisation.
Experts identify a combination of policy gaps, weak implementation, flawed assessment systems, inadequate teacher preparation, and socio-economic disparities as contributing factors. The disconnect between curriculum design and classroom reality remains stark.
While policies advocate interactive, skill-based learning, classrooms often lack the infrastructure, materials, and trained teachers needed to implement such approaches.
The problem is further compounded by outdated pedagogical traditions. The grammar-focused model, inherited from colonial education systems, forces young learners to memorise complex rules such as verb tenses at an early age, often without meaningful context.
Ironically, many Bangla speakers communicate fluently in their native language without formal knowledge of its grammatical intricacies. Yet, when it comes to English, learners are burdened with abstract rules instead of being encouraged to use the language naturally.
Teacher quality and professional development
While many countries have shifted toward continuous teacher development models, Bangladesh still relies largely on short-term training programmes that fail to produce lasting change. Moreover, many teachers lack confidence in their own English-speaking and pronunciation skills, which limits their ability to conduct interactive lessons.
Infrastructure gaps deepen the crisis
Most schools lack language labs, audio-visual tools, and digital resources necessary for modern language instruction. Urban institutions may have limited access, but rural schools are significantly disadvantaged, widening the educational divide. Without exposure to varied accents and real-life communication contexts, students struggle to develop practical language skills.
The way forward
Addressing this crisis requires more than isolated projects or curriculum revisions. What is needed is a comprehensive, evidence-based education reform initiative. Education experts have called for the formation of a national education reform commission comprising experienced local and international specialists. Such a body should conduct rigorous research to identify root causes, study successful global models, and propose targeted, actionable reforms.
Proposed strategic shifts
- Adopting Indigenous Research: Incorporating proven local methodologies like FM Method into the national curriculum. By utilising the ‘last word’ of the native language to determine English sentence structures, the system can move away from colonial-era rote memorisation toward a scientific, use-oriented framework that has been refined through forty years of local research.
- Competency-Based Learning: Moving away from grammar-heavy memorisation toward immersive, communicative practices.
- Continuous Teacher Development: Shifting from one-off workshops to sustained professional growth models used in the developed world.
- Infrastructure Investment: Equipping classrooms with audio-visual resources to bridge the gap between rural and urban competencies.
- Holistic Policy Alignment: Ensuring that the ‘ideal goals’ written in curriculum documents are actually reflected in classroom realities and assessment methods.
Professor Mohammed Feroz Mukul often raises a poignant question: “We rarely purchase a piece of clothing without several trials in a fitting room to ensure it suits us, yet we have integrated a massive, national education system without ever truly testing its compatibility with the Bengali mind.
The traditional English teaching system remains fundamentally impractical; it teaches the “know-how” of English—the abstract rules and definitions—but fails to deliver the language as a functional skill.”
Conclusion
The plan to send officials to Thailand is a symptom of a systemic ‘English weakness’ that begins in the first grade.
Until the national curriculum is overhauled to be functional and use-oriented, the state will continue to spend public funds on remedial international training for tasks that should have been second nature to its workforce. Without radical reform, English will remain an elite barrier rather than a tool for global competition.
