External influence, policy transfer and national ownership: A case on primary education of Bangladesh

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This paper aims to explain ‘how the development partners have worked to transfer policies in primary education of Bangladesh’, followed by an assessment of national policy ownership in context of external policy influence in the sector. The external development partners’ mode and nature of the policy influence has taken the form of ‘emulation’ in primary education sector. Emulation entails making, by the development partners, the funds and policy ideas available for reforms in educational development projects and programmes. They have tried down various modalities and by the way they have consolidated their position in directing primary educational development by introducing sector-wide approach. Together with this, they have imported many reforms from the outside in the education system. Empowering schools to prepare school improvement plans within the second primary education development program is an example of external policy transfer. This raises questions about government's leadership in educational development policies. Lack of national policy ownership weakens ministerial accountability to the government or the parliament. National capacity constraints, uncertainty of national education policy, and resistance of the domestic interest groups to local reforms are some of key bottlenecks towards promoting national stewardship in policy domain.