(c) removing illiteracy within such time as may be determined by law. In pursuance to this guarantee the State has enacted a number of legislations and policy frameworks along with Plan of Actions for realizing the RTE for the people of Bangladesh. Right after the independence of Bangladesh, the government formed an education commission headed by the famous scientist Dr. Kudrate-e-Khuda, which was followed by five commissions42 till 2010. 2.5.1 The Compulsory Primary Education Act 199043 The most remarkable legislation on point is the Compulsory Primary Education Act 1990 (implemented from 1993), which makes primary education free and compulsory for all children in Bangladesh. The 1990s saw a rekindled dedication to the expansion of primary education, and as a consequence the Bangladeshi primary education system experienced significant enhancement during this period.44 The Compulsory Primary Education Act 1993 made the five-year primary education program free in all government schools and declared education for girls in rural areas free through grade eight. It also demand-side interventions such as the Female Stipend program, the Food for Education (FFE) program; and most recently the Primary Education Development Program (PEDP II), a sixyear program beginning in the year 2000 which aims to increase access, quality and efficiency across the board in the primary education sector.45 2.5.2 The The 1979 Interim Education Policy This policy document emphasized increased literacy so that people could take part in the development of the country. The document established the current educational framework with secondary education consisting of three sub-stages; namely, junior secondary (3 years), secondary (2 years), and higher secondary (2 years). In addition, the document stipulated the following: “(a) terminal examination will be conducted by the District Education Authorities for all stages of secondary education; (b) vocational, technical, agricultural and medical education will be included 42 Mofiz Uddin Education Commission 1988, Shamsul Haque Education Commission 1997, Dr. M.A. Bari Commission 2002, Mohammad Moniruzzaman Mia Commission 2003 and the National Education Committee 2010. Act No. 27 of 1990 BANBEIS and MWCA, ‘Report on Primary Education in Bangladesh: Challenges and Successes’ (To be delivered at the third Summit on South Asian Development hosted by: South Asian Society for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) 4 <http://ih.stanford.edu/rosenfield/resources/Primary%20Education%20in%20Bangladesh.pdf > accessed 3 June 2014 ibid, 4 43 44 45 Page | 21