Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that challenges remain for the country to sustain its newly accorded status as a 'developing country', and the government is committed to investing in the expansion of education and skilled workforce in the country.     

"Bangladesh today is a developing country. We've to maintain the recognition we've got, and for that, we need to expand our educational facilities, build a skilled workforce and worthy citizens," she was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.

Addressing an event to distribute government stipends for meritorious Bangladeshi students, She said on Sunday, “To make Bangladesh free from poverty, education is needed most. We think, like the Father of the Nation, that spending on the education sector is not an expense at all. We do consider it as an investment and that's the investment for the future generation."

Hasina also said there would be a need for skilled workers as the government has planned to set up around 100 special economic zones across the country where domestic and foreign investors are already looking to invest in. 

"We want to develop people as skilled manpower so that they can substantially contribute to the economic development of the country. We're taking steps keeping eyes on that," she said.

Bangladesh in recent years has consistently recorded impressive growth as the result of reforms introduced by the government. Significantly, the growth also helped to uplift the socio-economic status of a significant segment of its population.

Also, in the education section, it achieved a rare feat of enrolling more girls than boys - the only country to do so in the South Asian region. Its domestic industries now have a significant women workforce, thus helping it to achieve the goals of women empowerment.

In her address, Hasina also asked the country’s educators and teachers to find the reasons why boys are lagging behind in primary education enrollment.