Bangladesh has made substantial economic returns with a GDP of six per cent. This would have increased further had the country not suffered from crippling hartals or strikes by political parties. This increase is mainly due to private enterprise. Bangladesh grows significant quantities of rice, tea and mustard. Although two-thirds of Bangladeshis are farmers, more than three quarters of Bangladesh’s export earnings come from the garment industry, which began attracting foreign investors in the 1980s due to cheap labour and low conversion cost. In 2002, the industry exported USD five billion worth of products. The industry now employs more than three million workers, 90 per cent of whom are women. A large part of foreign currency earnings also comes from the remittances sent by expatriates living in other countries.
Obstacles to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, mismanaged port facilities, a growth in the labour force that has outpaced jobs, inefficient use of energy resources (such as natural gas), insufficient power supplies, slow implementation of economic reforms, political infighting and corruption. According to the World Bank's July 2005 Country Brief: "Among Bangladesh’s most significant obstacles to growth are poor governance and weak public institutions."
Since 1990, the country has achieved an average annual growth rate of five per cent according to the World Bank, despite the hurdles. The middle class and the consumer industry have seen some growth. In December 2005, four years after its report on the emerging "BRIC" economies (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), Goldman Sachs named Bangladesh one of the "Next Eleven," along with Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and several other countries. Bangladesh has seen a sharp increase in foreign direct investment. A number of multinational corporations, including Unocal Corporation and Tata, have made major investments, the natural gas sector being a priority. In December 2005, the Central Bank of Bangladesh projected GDP growth around 6.5 per cent.
In order to enhance economic growth the government set up several export processing zones to attract foreign investment. These are managed by the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA). Here, companies can expect several benefits such as cheap land rent, no unions, tax free holidays. Countries like Korea, Taiwan, Sri Lanka have already established plants and factory outlets here.
The population is relatively young, with the 0–25 age group comprising 60 per cent, while three per cent are 65 or older. Life expectancy is 63 years for both males and females.
Inflation 10.1 per cent, and economic growth dropped to 6.7 per cent. Extreme flooding and two serious floods have affected rice harvest production which will impact on food prices. This also causes affects in other economic areas in term of pricing. Currently a State of Emergency is existing since January 2007. There is an interim Caretaker Government which has promised election in mid 2008 but the political situation is uncertain especially with the arrest of two political leaders (Ex Prime Ministers). There is also a campaign by the government of an anti corruption drive, formalising the separation of the judiciary and the executive and the establishment of taxes. This is causing a lot of uproar in the media but welcomed by the donor community and ordinary people. Business is being supported and encouraged, so private entrepreneurship will be on the increase. The country will settle down after the elections. Already a voter list is being introduced and piloted in many areas with the full backing of local administration and foreign donors.
Currently since January 2007 Bangladesh is undergoing a State of Emergency with fresh elections due to be held in December 2008. The political situation is more stable with lot more regulation of activities.
In Bangladesh, the school structure is broadly divided into two types, the Bangla medium and the English Medium Schools. In the Bangla schools, Bangla is the medium of instruction, and students follow the national curriculum, whereas the English Medium schools use English as their medium of instruction, and they follow either the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) for IGCSE or EDEXCEL's GCE O- and A-levels. These exams are conducted by the British Council.
Bangladesh sees itself as a secular state with a moderate Muslim majority [90 per cent], Bangladesh is the 7th most highly populated state in the world with the highest density, 90 per cent of its citizens are Muslim. The Nobel Peace Prize of 2006 was recently awarded to Dr. Muhammed Yunus, and Grameen Bank for its microcredit programme. Currently, Bangladesh is being governed by a neutral caretaker government headed by the President. Elections are due in January 2007. This will be a tough time politically. Bangladesh needs to be vigilant against the risk of international terrorists exploiting its territory. The underlying causes remain - poverty, institutional weaknesses, widespread abuse of human rights and a pervasive culture of corruption. Transparency International ratings indicate a slight improvement with it ruling number three from being number one, three years in a row.
Religious schools [madrasahs] are the fastest developing part of the education sector, making up for the long-term lack of Government provision. The informal sector [unregulated] now counts for 50 per cent of student numbers, though only 15 per cent of these are religious schools. Recently, the previous BNP government awarded official status and recognition to the madrasah sector. There are now 52 private University institutions and 21 public ones and lately some have had to come off the list.
A degree of economic stability is envisaged in the medium term, although this is difficult to predict with any certainty. The economy appears to be well positioned - foreign exchange reserves and remittance trends are strengthening, a current economic growth rate of 5.4 per cent this financial year and an annual average rate of inflation of around 3-5 per cent. The outlook for food grain production however is unstable, with extreme hardship in the north, growing degradation of the environment and increasing pressures from population. The education of women is receiving the same impetus from this government as from the last, but there is a long way to go. Having invested in Bangla as the national language, standards of English and general education have fallen.
The development of IT is a stated priority of the government, but computer literacy in the country remains low, due to inadequate infrastructure even in the principal conurbations. An internet “backbone” may be sanctioned in the near future. The Government is placing great stress on IT courses, updating infrastructure, as it has realised that it needs to ‘catch up’ with the rest of the world.
Much of the growth was concentrated in export oriented industries particularly readymade garments and hosiery. Production in domestic industries also increased, mainly because of strong domestic demand for construction-related materials. Production in various sectors of industry changed as follows: Garments (+33 per cent).Cement (+ 32 per cent),Sugar (+23 per cent),Cotton textile (+9 per cent) Fertilizer (+9 per cent),Iron and steel (+8 per cent), Jute textile (+7 per cent), Natural gas (+7 per cent), Electricity (+5 per cent), Edible oil (-2 per cent), Leather products (-30 per cent), Newsprint (-75 per cent).
UK interest in Bangladesh - Bangladesh matters to Britain, as a development partner; for community links [there are some 400,000 British Bangladeshis] and as a middle-ranking commercial market.
Development assistance. - Bangladesh is a key focus for the UK and many development agencies in furthering Millennium development goals. DFID’s second largest programme is with Bangladesh. Our engagement aims to promote sustainable development and constructive networking between institutions and communities in the UK and Bangladesh. There are opportunities for project management and technical assistance for education and training, health and governance, where we have proven experience and where accountability is important. This work also offers opportunities for interaction on important social issues between young people and their influencers both in Bangladesh and in the UK.
Education exports - There has been an increase of 495 Bangladeshi students studying in the UK numbering 2225 in 2005-06. The biggest market is for first degree (1020 students) followed closely by the postgraduate taught at 835 students, other undergraduate being 120 and 245 for postgraduate research. There are also 645 students studying in UK at FE 05 (HESA report 2004-05).
British Council Bangladesh conducted 13780 IELTS exams in 2006-07 with over 55919 educational enquiries (web based and non web based) and 211235 number of students and young professionals attending British Council events (2006-07). GCE O and A Level examinations numbered 4581 candidates registering for January 2006 and in May-June 2006 there were 6458 candidates sitting for examinations, an increase of 21.32 per cent compared to May-June exams in 2005.
Competitors - Australia still attracts a high percentage of Bangladeshi students. In 2006-07, 4000 Bangladeshi students went to Australia (onshore programmes, full degree). IDP arranges small, low profiles counselling sessions twice a year. Canada holds an education fair biannually. US has virtually faded away from the scene due to stringent visa restrictions. India would be the biggest competitor especially for the schools sector. Malaysia and Singapore are also competitors though it is difficult to gauge how many Bangladeshi students attend educational institutions there.
The British Council has four offices in Bangladesh, a main office and a teaching centre in Dhaka the capital and two exams offices in Sylhet and Chittagong.
Our website www.britishcouncil.org/bangladesh attracted unique visitors while our regular presentations attracted over 3,000 students. British Council Bangladesh welcomed 42 promotional visits by UK institutions in 2005/06. With our Education UK activities overall, we reached 15,031 people (12000 in 2005/06 this is excluding visitors to the Education UK Fair). The British Council’s PASS (Professional Advisory Service for Students) placement service has taken precedence and the number of students that British Council has processed has increased from 228 in 2005 to 309 in 2006. With PASS, there is no interview for students, and they can use the fast track visa service. British Council has also trained ECOs about the Bangladeshi Education System and the UK Education System. Working relations are even closer between the Immigration service and the British Council, with the British Council holding monthly meetings and the ECOs regularly visiting the British Council's offices. Our Education staff attended a training session arranged by British High Commission on biometrics which is going to be introduced from April 2007.
The Education UK Exhibition 2008 will be the ninth education promotion event and the highest profile event organised by British Council Bangladesh. It receives substantive media interest both electronic and print. This leads to increased hits on the website and a tripling of educational enquiries.
Our Education UK Exhibition 2007 in Dhaka had 28 UK institutions participating (26 the previous year) while Chittagong had 16 (18 the previous year). They attracted 16,649 visitors (22,000 in 2004 and 40,000 in 2003, 12000 in 2006) and a lot of media interest. Please note that the decrease in fair visitors is actually due to the charge of a fee and does not in any way represent a decrease in the interest in UK education.
| 
