Rafiq, a typical 12-year-old boy from a rural village in Bangladesh, starts his day with the familiar way to his school: a small, overcrowded classroom with one teacher managing over 50 students. Despite his eagerness to learn, Rafiq often struggles to keep up. His teacher, burdened with administrative tasks and the challenge of addressing diverse learning paces, rarely has time to offer him personalised guidance. Stories like Rafiq’s are all too familiar in many parts of Bangladesh, where the student-teacher ratio averages around 31:1, and resources are disproportionately distributed between urban and rural schools.
Now imagine if Rafiq logs into a tablet provided through a school program powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), where he learns at his own pace. A Natural Language Processing (NLP) tool explains the complex concepts in Bangla. His teacher uses AI-driven tools to track student progress and focus on facilitating deeper understanding rather than juggling administrative work. This vision may seem futuristic, but it is within reach with the responsible integration of AI into Bangladesh’s education landscape.
As technological advancements accelerate, education systems globally adapt to leverage the opportunities Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents. For Bangladesh, AI also offers a transformative path to tackle inherent critical issues like the high student-teacher ratio, which is, on average, approximately 31:1, disparities in access to quality education, and under-resourced schools in rural and underprivileged areas. Integrating AI into the education landscape in Bangladesh is necessary to ensure equitable and future-ready learning for all students.
Globally, education is transitioning toward Education 4.0, a concept introduced by the World Economic Forum that advocates for digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. These aspirations face hurdles for Bangladesh due to inadequate infrastructure, a lack of skilled teachers, and a digital divide. According to a UNESCO report, many rural schools in Bangladesh lack essential technological resources like internet access and computers, let alone advanced AI tools.
AI can bridge these gaps by offering solutions like virtual classrooms, intelligent tutoring systems, and adaptive learning platforms. These technologies can personalize education, catering to the individual needs of students. They are particularly crucial for rural and underprivileged areas, where access to qualified teachers and resources is limited. However, for AI integration to succeed, it must complement—not replace—teachers. Educators are the backbone of any education system, and AI must support their work while enhancing learning outcomes.
In Bangladesh, we have seen positive baby steps in integrating AI in the industry and edtech sector, with 10-minute schools and Shikho introducing AI-driven analytics to tailor educational content to individual learners’ needs, enhancing student performance and engagement. A focused, multi-tiered approach is essential for Bangladesh to fully capitalise on AI’s potential in education. Below are some key strategies tailored to the unique challenges of Bangladesh:
1. Addressing Infrastructure Gaps. The foundation of any AI-driven education system lies in robust infrastructure. Many schools in Bangladesh lack internet connectivity and digital tools, creating a significant barrier to AI adoption. The government and private sector, primarily the technology, internet and telecom companies, must collaborate to expand broadband access to underserved rural areas, equip schools with affordable digital devices, such as tablets or laptops, and activate the Digital learning centres into tech-enabled learning hubs.
2. Teacher Training and Empowerment. AI tools will only be practical if educators are equipped to use them. Tailored training programs must be prepared for teachers to integrate AI into their classrooms, focusing on technical functionality, ethical concerns and teaching pedagogy to incorporate AI-enabled personalisation.
Moreover, AI can support teachers by automating administrative tasks like grading and attendance tracking, freeing time for teaching and mentoring. Continuous professional development workshops will ensure educators stay updated on evolving AI technologies.
3. Developing Culturally Relevant AI Tools. For AI to resonate with Bangladeshi learners, it must align with local cultural and linguistic contexts. Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems can ensure AI tools are accessible in Bangla and other regional dialects. Furthermore, diverse datasets representing the country’s socio-economic and cultural realities must be developed to reduce bias and improve relevance.
4. Reforming the Curriculum. AI integration should not stop at using technology as a teaching tool. It must extend to educating students about AI itself. Schools, colleges, and universities must design courses on AI concepts, coding, machine learning, deep learning, and practical and ethical lessons related to AI in solving real-world problems. Collaborations with industry leaders can help design a curriculum that prepares students for the demands of AI-driven industries. Internship opportunities and project-based learning can further enhance practical understanding. While discussing this with the managing director and chairman of Unilever Bangladesh Limited, Zaved Akhtar underscores this collaboration: “Industry leaders must work closely with educators and academia to co-create practical, scalable, and culturally relevant solutions. By pooling resources and expertise, we can focus on joint research initiatives and internship programs with hands-on AI experience”
To effectively integrate AI into the education landscape in Bangladesh, the policymakers and government should allocate resources in the national budget for investments in infrastructure, invest in multilingual AI systems for local relevance, encourage private sector funding for AI research and development, nationwide training and capacity building for educators and students.
END NOTE: Integrating AI into Bangladesh’s education system is more than a technological shift: it is a reimagining of how education can be delivered. The journey from chalkboard to chatbot may be challenging, but it offers an unprecedented opportunity to empower every Bangladeshi learner like Rafiq with the tools they need to thrive in the age of technology and a gateway to a future defined by learning, innovation, and opportunity. By investing in AI strategically and embracing innovation responsibly, Bangladesh can build an education system that is inclusive, adaptive, and future-ready.
The author is a Professor at IBA, University of Dhaka.
She can be reached at [email protected]
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