The education sytem of Bangladesh has to be seen in the context of poverty, low per capita incomes (around $100 per year), illiteracy rates of about 65 per cent male and 85 per cent female, poor physical infrastructure, unemployment even for many of the educated and an ever increasing population putting intense pressure on land, food and resources. The education system remains largely academic and examination orientated, the legacy of Pakistan and before that of British India. It is a rigid system which has failed to cope with the problems arising from the universalisation of primary education, making secondary education more relevant by the wider introduction of science and technology, and the raising of standards at tertiary levels.