Bangladesh secures $98.85m GPE grant to strengthen teacher training, digital education
The funding will support nationwide teacher development, expand technology-enabled learning and complement ADB's $300 million education reform programme.
Bangladesh has secured $98.85 million in grants from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to improve teacher development and accelerate digital transformation across the country's education system.
The funding package, announced at the launch of the GPE System Transformation Grant (STG) and Multiplier Grant in Dhaka today (2 July), comprises a $48.85 million System Transformation Grant and a $50 million Multiplier Grant, reads a press release.
According to the release, the System Transformation Grant will finance a four-year programme beginning in September 2026 to strengthen the teaching profession from pre-primary to secondary level.
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The initiative is expected to benefit nearly 677,000 teachers by improving teacher recruitment, professional development, career progression, accountability and support systems.
The programme will also introduce a national teacher policy framework, pilot a pre-service teacher education model, modernise in-service training and strengthen mentoring and academic leadership.
Meanwhile, the $50 million Multiplier Grant will support the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) $300 million NextGen Education Program, which will run from 2026 to 2031.
The programme aims to expand technology-enabled and blended learning, benefiting around 700,000 teachers while advancing the digital transformation of Bangladesh's education sector.
The government has appointed Unicef and Unesco as co-grant agents for the System Transformation Grant, while ADB will serve as the grant agent for the Multiplier Grant.
The government said the investment underscores its commitment to improving education quality and developing human capital, while reaffirming its target of gradually increasing public spending on education from around 2% to 5% of GDP.
The latest funding builds on Bangladesh's long-standing partnership with GPE. In 2025, the country received a $2.6 million System Capacity Grant to support education sector reforms, policy development, education data systems, learning assessments and sector coordination.
