Good Governance in Government Primary Schools: Data-Driven Analysis and Recommendations from Community Monitoring

Ensuring good governance in the primary education sector and subsequent development of Bangladesh, alongside monitoring and improving the quality of education, is critically dependent not only on government initiatives but also on the active participation of local communities. One of the key objectives of Transparency International Bangladesh’s (TIB) ongoing Participatory Action Against Corruption: Towards Transparency and Accountability (PACTA) project is to identify existing problems in key service-providing institutions through community monitoring by local citizens, and to promote citizen-led initiatives for solving these problems in collaboration with the relevant authorities.

Under the PACTA project, between January 2023 and December 2024, a total of 130 primary schools in 45 regions of the country have been selected for community monitoring. This initiative is being implemented under the guidance of the Committees of Concerned Citizens (CCC) formed with TIB’s inspiration, with the support of Youth Engagement and Support (YES) groups, and under the leadership of the Active Citizens Groups (ACG), using a specialised mobile application, PACTApp.

For each of these schools, an ACG has been formed involving local service recipients, women, youth, professionals from various sectors, and marginalized groups. These groups have been regularly monitoring the selected schools. Through this process, ACG members have not only identified problems and their underlying causes in the schools but also ensured citizen participation via community action meetings. Based on their collective experiences, they have engaged in advocacy with the institutions concerned and local authorities to address the identified issues.

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