We must agree with Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhtar stressing the need to reduce education expenses so that students from all walks of life are able to continue their studies.

Indeed, this is a reminder of a reality too often overlooked: Rural families, particularly women, sacrifice immensely to finance their children’s education and often, they are simply unable to meet the financial needs to pursue education further, highlighting the inequities that persist in our education system.

If Bangladesh is to achieve genuine transformation, education cannot remain a privilege. It must be made accessible to every child, regardless of geography or income. Our future depends on the empowerment of those who have historically been excluded -- the rural poor, women, and marginalized communities. 

While reducing the cost of education will be a foundational step, it is also not enough. For education to create leaders of tomorrow, we must also ensure quality, inclusivity, and relevance. It is not just a matter of having access to education, but also having trained teachers, modern facilities, and curricula that prepare students for both higher education and meaningful employment. 

Our history is rich with figures who rose from humble beginnings to shape the nation, and many of today’s students are no different. However, to become reformers of tomorrow, they need the opportunities today; to deny them this is to deny Bangladesh itself.

Education has long been the most strategic investment any developing nation can make. If we are serious about transformation, it is time to get serious and dismantle the barriers that persist and build a system where every child in Bangladesh, regardless of class, can learn and lead.