Directorate of Primary Education
Profile
- Head
- Shahina Ferdousi
- Role
- Director General
- Annual budget
- —
- Staff
- —
- Established
- 1981
- Legal basis
- Primary Education (Taking Over) Act 1974 (nationalization of 36,165 primary schools); Primary Education (Compulsory) Act 1990; Rules of Business 1996; Government Primary School Teacher Recruitment Rules 2025
DPE is managing the PEDP4-to-PEDP5 transition (PEDP4 closes June 2026; PEDP5 worth Tk 45,000 crore -- Tk 30,000 crore GoB plus Tk 15,000 crore development partners -- starts July 2026 targeting 100% net enrollment and 90%+ completion rate), has completed recruitment of 14,385 primary assistant teachers (final merit list February 8, 2026), and is responding to a 16.25% dropout rate reversal through the newly approved Tk 5,452.42 crore school feeding programme and ongoing PESP stipend disbursements.
Recent activity
- 2026-04-23 appointment Shahina Ferdousi, formerly Executive Director of Bangladesh Dairy Development Board, appointed Director General of DPE on deputation via Ministry of Public Administration gazette -- first woman to head the directorate in its 45-year history. ↗↗↗
- 2026-02-08 regulation DPE published final merit list for 14,385 primary assistant teacher posts; recruitment cycle closed after written examination (January 9, 2026, 1.08 million applicants across 61 districts, 90-MCQ format) and viva voce (January 28 to February 3, 2026) conducted under Government Primary School Teacher Recruitment Rules 2025. ↗↗↗
- 2026-02-01 policy DPE APSS 2024 figures confirmed primary school dropout rate rose to 16.25% in 2024 from 13.15% in 2023 -- ending 14 years of consecutive decline -- with boys at 19.02% and girls at 13.36%; attributed to inflation-induced financial strain and early labour market entry. ↗↗
- 2026-01-09 other Written examination for 14,385 primary assistant teacher vacancies held nationwide (61 districts, excluding three Chittagong Hill Tract districts); 1.08 million registered candidates sat the 90-minute MCQ test from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM. ↗↗
- 2026-01-01 circular DPE launched 2026 academic year at 118,607 government primary schools with NCTB-revised assessment structure for Grades 1-5 (written and oral components, updated mark distributions) while retaining the 2013-framework curriculum; approximately 20.5 million students enrolled. ↗↗
Provenance & notes
Established year 1981: Wikipedia and Grokipedia both cite 1981 as the year DPE was created to manage schools following the Primary Education (Taking Over) Act 1974 nationalization of 36,165 primary schools. Some sources cite 1980; Wikipedia is taken as authoritative. current_head Shahina Ferdousi confirmed by three independent sources (BSS gazette, Daily Star, Financial Express); she is the first woman DG in DPE's history, appointed on deputation from Executive Director of Bangladesh Dairy Development Board. staff_count omitted: DPE's own sanctioned post count is not publicly reported separately from the MoPME-wide teacher workforce; Wikipedia references ~540K teachers across all primary schools (including non-government). annual_budget_bdt omitted: DPE does not publish a standalone operating budget separate from the MoPME Tk 35,403 crore FY 2025-26 allocation; no independently verifiable DPE-only figure available. PEDP5 cost: The Finance Today reports Tk 45,000 crore per DPP (Tk 30,000 crore GoB + Tk 15,000 crore external); the parent ministry-of-primary-and-mass-education.json records Tk 51,000 crore citing TBS News and DPE notice -- a discrepancy between the DPP figure and a subsequent revised estimate. This record uses the Tk 45,000 crore DPP figure with sources cited; the Tk 51,000 crore figure should be re-verified against the final approved DPP when available. Dropout rate 16.25% (2024) is sourced directly from DPE APSS 2024 official report (primary source). 14,385 teacher exam date January 9, 2026 confirmed by Prothom Alo, Results BD, and multiple recruitment portals cross-referencing the official DPE circular.
Sources
- https://www.dpe.gov.bd/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directorate_of_Primary_Education
- https://www.bssnews.net/others/380730
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/governance/news/shahina-ferdousi-appointed-first-woman-dg-primary-education-directorate-4158601
- https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/education/shahina-ferdousi-appointed-dg-of-primary-education-directorate
- https://www.dpe.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/dpe.portal.gov.bd/publications/a4ec0dbe_7524_4fd8_95cd_9e0970b8fa81/Annual%20Primary%20School%20Statistics%20(APSS)%202024_Main%20Report_Final.pdf
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/education/news/primary-schools-dropouts-after-14-years-decline-3974541
- https://en.prothomalo.com/youth/employment/rvqs7ladse
- https://bdgovtjob.net/primary-job-circular/
- https://results.bd/primary-result/
- https://www.dpe.gov.bd/site/notices/53f9eb15-ed71-426a-9ed3-80e0e0eb4179/Preparation-of-the-Fifth-Primary-Education-Development-Program-PEDP5-Draft-Version
- https://www.thefinancetoday.net/article/economy/31100/Tk45000crs-Wasteful-project-in-primary-education
- https://www.bssnews.net/news-flash/257488
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/government-affairs/377051/ecnec-approves-tk-5-452.42-crore-school-feeding
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/399658/new-primary-evaluation-rules-draw-concern
- https://grokipedia.com/page/Directorate_of_Primary_Education