Advancing Rural Development through Quality Education under SDG-4: Evidence from Bangladesh

Abstract

Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG-4) requires not only expanding educational opportunities but also ensuring sustainable investment in teacher development, community support, and effective government intervention, particularly in rural areas where educational disparities remain extensive. This research studied stakeholders' perceptions of the elements that affect quality education in Bangladesh and the effect of these on rural development. Primary data is collected through a structured questionnaire from 500 respondents, including students, teachers, guardians, policymakers, and other representatives from Mymensingh Division. This study focused on the five core issues: community support for education, availability of trained teachers, professional development of teachers, priority for the development of education quality and the role of government intervention. For analysis of data, descriptive statistical techniques, such as statistical distribution, percentage and urban-rural comparative analysis, are used. In the research, a greater gap between urban and rural communities has been disclosed. The respondents from the rural areas expressed the lower level of community support, insufficient availability of trained teachers and limited opportunity for continuous professional development. For the development of quality education, government financial aid and increased teacher training are considered the maximum priority-based techniques; on the other side, maximum respondents expressed government intervention as mandatory for inclusive and equality-based education. The research argues that for the advancement of rural communities, quality education, enhancement of community support, expansion of initiatives of enhancement of teachers' capacity and establishment of goal-based government policy are very much important. This research provides empirical evidence for developing context-specific policies to accelerate the achievement of SDG-4 through effective educational and governmental interventions in Bangladesh.