Exploring the Challenges of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in Education in Bangladesh

Inclusive education (IE) is an effective and popular global reform strategy that attempt to include all students in the mainstream schooling framework, acknowledging the rights of children with disability. Since Bangladesh achieved Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) in 2010, the country has been thriving to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by meeting all the development junctures proposed by the United Nations (UN). Ensuring a quality education for all citizens remains one of the critical goals. Bangladesh is also a signatory of major international declarations of inclusive education and promises to educate all citizens as the constitution holds the fundamental right to education. However, equality, diversity, and inclusion are crucial issues indicated in several studies that sought to identify the barriers and challenges to implementation in education. Besides, educating students with disabilities in mainstream schools is a moderately fresh concept within the education framework in Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh has an excellent opportunity to serve all students along with children with disability by addressing the challenges and barriers. This paper attempts to identify the gaps and challenges in the policies and implementation to ensure equality, diversity, and inclusion in education in Bangladesh. The data has been collected from published peer-reviewed journals, articles, and websites. The paper finds, that the divide and digital poverty create barriers to implementing inclusive education. It also finds gender disparity in teaching and salary-based discrimination. In addition, male teachers are less encouraged to get involved in primary/early age education, and teachers are less valued in remote/rural areas than in urban areas. The paper also advocates changing our mindset toward gender, and the teaching framework can change the scenario.