Dhaka, Jan 20: Britain has pledged to give Bangladesh nearly 100 million pounds to provide free education for 17 million children a year, officials said.

Visiting British Minister for International Development Gareth Thomas signed a letter of intent today with the Bangladesh government to provide the aid money over six years.
``Education is the key to unlocking children and their families from the confinement of poverty,'' Thomas said after signing the accord in the capital, Dhaka.
In Bangladesh, an impoverished nation of 140 million people, primary education is free up to grade 5. While enrollment levels have reached 80 per cent, the dropout rate among primary school students is as high as 35 per cent, according to official figures.
The absentee rate among teachers is also high- nearly 74 per cent- because of poor pay, corruption and a lack of accountability, according to the world bank.
Bangladesh's latest primary education development programme aims to improve the quality of education by recruiting more teachers, improving training, providing more teaching materials, and increasing the number of classrooms.
Bureau Report