Education Achievements and School Efficiency in Rural Bangladesh.

Bangladesh spends only 2 percent of its GNP on education, compared to 3.2 percent in an average low-income country. Low investment in education results in low literacy (only 35 percent), which in turn results in low productivity, low incomes, poor health and, above all, high population growth. To counter these trends, Bangladesh has invested substantially in the education sector in recent years, with the help of the World Bank and other donor agencies. This paper assesses whether these interventions can improve the literacy, school participation and educational attainment.