the secondary level education in 1957. However, the Sharif Commission on Secondary education in 1958 articulated a modern scientific education that proposed three different streams of secondary education, thus bringing in the subject based concentrations in our educational system for the first time. This period also saw the bureaucratisation of the education system. 3.2 The legacy of the Current Educational Structure and Streams of Education in Bangladesh: Since independence, the State was focused on realizing the RTE for its people. A large part of Government’s renewed commitment was a direct result of the 1990 World Conference on Education for All (WCEFA), which encouraged all participating nations to expand their vision to meet goals in the education sector, especially the goal of making primary education universal. Following this conference, donors in Bangladesh invested in the education sector much more heavily and NGOs increased their involvement in assisting the Bangladeshi government in meeting its primary education goals. Bangladesh’s present system of education is more or less a legacy from the British (Ali, 1986). It is characterised by co-existence of three separate streams running parallel to each other.73 These streams have been categorised on the basis of institutional arrangements: these are popularly known as the General/Board Education, the Madrassa Education and the English medium Education. These may be called the Institutional streams. The Institutional Streams The General Education is the mainstream (secular) education: it follows the curriculum designed by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), and thus is also known as the Board Education. This stream can be further subdivided on the basis of medium of instruction: Bangla version and English version (commonly known as the ‘English Version’ of the Board curriculum). The Madrassa education is a religious-education based system run separately by the Madrasa Board, whilst the English medium education is a system modeled after the British education system.74 This streamlining was obviated by various government initiatives from time to time, as well as civil society initiative. The Language act 1987 made Bengali the medium of instruction in the M. Mustafizur Rahman (n 46) 73 74 ibid Page | 28