An editorial from Amader Desh Online on February 15, 2026, argues that Bangladesh urgently needs an independent and permanent National Education Commission to ensure sustainable improvement in its education system. The article highlights that despite completing a political milestone through the 13th National Parliament election, the nation’s true progress depends on classroom outcomes. It notes that frequent policy changes, declining quality, and confusion over curricula have created instability, while low budget allocations—around 1.76% to 2% of GDP—fall far below UNESCO’s recommended 4% to 6%.

The piece stresses that most education spending goes to infrastructure and salaries, leaving little for research, teacher training, laboratories, or digital content. It calls for a commission composed of diverse experts, including educators, psychologists, and technologists, to design reforms that integrate coding, AI, and data science from early education. The Bangladesh Student Welfare Trust has also advocated for such a commission, emphasizing its potential to align national education with global standards.

The article concludes that political will is essential for implementing the commission’s recommendations, warning that indecision could cost future generations.

Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) has postponed the launch of the country’s first Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) SIM and its integrated triple-play package combining voice, data, and content services. The launch, initially scheduled for February 15, 2026, will now take place on March 1, 2026, according to an official announcement citing unavoidable reasons for the delay.

A press release stated that BTCL successfully completed call tests for key MVNO services on February 8, 2026. These included voice and data calls, Alap-to-Mobile, Alap-to-Alap, and GPON integration. Despite earlier media reports suggesting a February 15 rollout, BTCL confirmed that the new date has been finalized for pilot marketing of the MVNO service.

Previously, the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology had announced that the MVNO SIM and triple-play package would be available at BTCL’s sales centers in Ramna, Gulistan, and Gulshan from February 15. The revised schedule now sets March 1 as the official market introduction date.

The new cabinet, including the Prime Minister, will take oath at the South Plaza of the National Parliament Building on Tuesday. Chief Election Commissioner A.M.M. Nasir Uddin will administer the oath to the newly elected members of parliament at 10 a.m., while President Md. Shahabuddin will administer the oath to the ministers at 4 p.m. The schedule was confirmed by legal adviser Asif Nazrul on Sunday afternoon.

This marks a departure from previous practice, as ministerial oath ceremonies were traditionally held at Bangabhaban’s Darbar Hall. The event follows the thirteenth national election, in which the BNP alliance secured a decisive victory, winning 212 of 297 seats. The Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance won 77 seats and is set to become the main opposition in parliament for the first time.

The new government formation signals a significant political shift, with the BNP preparing to assume power after its commanding win in the national polls.

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman visited Kishoreganj to pay respects at the grave of rickshaw-puller Shah Alam Bhuiyan, who had been active in election campaigning for the Dhaka-15 constituency. Bhuiyan, aged 55, died of a stroke on February 8 while traveling by boat to attend an election rally in his home area of Itna.

According to party sources, Dr. Rahman visited Bhuiyan’s village home in Itna on Sunday morning, where he offered prayers at the grave, met the bereaved family, and expressed condolences. He also announced that the party would take full responsibility for Bhuiyan’s two minor children until they reach adulthood. Senior Jamaat and Islami Chhatra Shibir leaders, along with a large number of locals, were present during the visit.

Bhuiyan had been a supporter of Jamaat-e-Islami and participated in party activities while working as a rickshaw-puller in Dhaka’s Kafrul area. He had returned to his village to assist in election campaigning before his sudden death.

An elderly man named Mashem Molla, aged 75, was killed in a road accident on Sunday morning in Gopalganj. The incident occurred in front of a filling station at Gopinathpur Sharifpara area along the Dhaka–Khulna highway under Gopalganj Sadar upazila. According to police, Mashem Molla was crossing the highway when he was struck by a passenger bus, leaving him critically injured. Local residents rescued him and took him to Gopalganj Medical College Hospital, where the on-duty doctor declared him dead.

The deceased was a resident of Gopinathpur village in Gopalganj Sadar upazila and the son of the late Ismail Molla. The report initially mentioned a brick-laden trolley but later clarified that a passenger bus was involved in the fatal collision. Police from Gopinathpur outpost confirmed the details of the incident.

The report did not mention any further investigation or legal action following the accident.

The verdict in a war crimes case against former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Habibur Rahman and four other accused will be announced on March 4. The case concerns the shooting of Amir Hossain, who was hanging from a building cornice, and the killing of two others during the July uprising in Rampura, Dhaka. Defense lawyer Ershadul Haque Babu confirmed the date after Tribunal-1, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mojumdar, set it through a chamber order as the court did not sit that day.

Earlier, on February 3, both prosecution and defense completed their arguments. Defense lawyers claimed their clients were innocent and not connected to the charges, while prosecutors argued that evidence, including witness statements and video footage, proved the accused’s involvement and sought maximum punishment. The tribunal had formally indicted the five accused on September 18 last year after the prosecution filed charges on August 7.

Among the accused, former Rampura police outpost ASI Chanchal Chandra Sarkar is in custody, while Habibur Rahman and three others remain absconding.

In the 13th National Parliamentary Election, five candidates in the Chattogram-1 (Mirsarai) constituency forfeited their security deposits after failing to secure the required share of votes. A total of seven candidates contested in this seat. BNP candidate Nurul Amin, running with the paddy sheaf symbol, won with 127,645 votes, while his closest rival, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Advocate Shaifur Rahman, received 81,227 votes.

According to election rules, any candidate receiving less than one-eighth of the total votes cast loses their deposit. In this constituency, 219,416 votes were cast, setting the threshold at 27,427 votes. The candidates who failed to meet this mark include Advocate Ferdous Ahmad Chowdhury of Islami Andolan Bangladesh (2,064 votes), Syed Shahadat Hossain of Jatiya Party (1,631 votes), Rezaul Karim of Insoniyat Biplob Bangladesh (758 votes), Advocate Zulfiqar Bulbul Chowdhury of Muslim League (266 votes), and Advocate A.K.M. Abu Yusuf of BSD (252 votes).

Mirsarai Upazila Executive Officer and Assistant Returning Officer Somaiya Akter confirmed that the deposits were forfeited due to the candidates receiving less than one-eighth of the total votes.

Nasiruddin Patwari, chief coordinator of the National Citizens Party (NCP) and candidate of the 11-party alliance, has submitted an application to the Chief Election Commissioner requesting suspension of the oath-taking of Mirza Abbas, the declared winner in Dhaka-8 constituency. The application, written on Saturday and submitted to the Election Commission on Sunday by NCP leader Kazi Fakhrul Islam, cites evidence of alleged vote rigging, irregularities, and unlawful influence during the election.

In his petition, Patwari detailed 11 points of alleged irregularities across 12 polling centers. He accused Mirza Abbas, the candidate of the BNP’s “sheaf of paddy” symbol, along with his associates, agents, and family members, of engaging in vote manipulation, exerting undue influence, withholding results, and counting invalid ballots. Patwari also claimed that presiding and returning officers were involved in these irregularities, which he said led to Abbas being declared the winner instead of himself.

Patwari urged the Election Commission to investigate the alleged misconduct and take action according to law and regulations.

Six candidates in the Nilphamari-4 constituency are set to lose their deposits following the results of the 13th National Parliamentary Election. According to the returning officer’s office, nine candidates, including both party-nominated and independent contenders, participated in the election. The results, declared on Thursday, confirmed that six of them failed to secure one-eighth of the total valid votes, as required by the Election Commission’s rules.

The official results show that a total of 297,254 votes were cast, of which 290,197 were valid and 7,057 were invalid. Abdul Muntakim of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami won the seat with 126,222 votes, defeating BNP’s Abdul Gafur Sarkar, who received 82,086 votes, and former MP Siddikul Alam of Jatiya Party, who got 67,557 votes. Each candidate had deposited Tk 50,000 with the Election Commission as a mandatory election deposit.

The six candidates losing their deposits include representatives from Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Socialist Party (Marxist), Bangladesh National Party, and three independents, all of whom failed to meet the required vote threshold.

Bangladesh’s stock market saw a sharp rise following the national election in which the BNP secured a two-thirds majority and is set to form the next government. On the first trading day after the election, the Dhaka Stock Exchange’s main index, DSEX, jumped by 190 points within the first two and a half hours of trading, marking an increase of more than 3.5 percent. Trading volume also surged to around Tk 800 crore during the same period.

Analysts said investors who had been waiting on the sidelines during the election period have now become active, driving both the index and trading volume upward. They advised investors to focus on company fundamentals rather than market rumors. Among the traded issues, prices rose for 370 companies, fell for 17, and remained unchanged for 4.

The market optimism reflects renewed investor confidence following a peaceful election and the country’s return to a democratic process after 17 years.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami chief Dr. Shafiqur Rahman stated that the Jamaat-led alliance has emerged as a strong national force after securing around 40 percent of the votes compared to the BNP alliance’s approximately 54 percent. He made the remarks on February 14 in a verified Facebook post, acknowledging the BNP alliance’s majority seat win and expressing respect for the constitutional process while noting the deeper realities reflected in the national vote.

Rahman said that under the current first-past-the-post system, many votes are structurally undervalued, noting that BNP won 53 constituencies by narrow margins of a few hundred to a few thousand votes. Some of these seats are under formal review by the Election Commission, and Jamaat will pursue all lawful means to ensure transparency. He emphasized that this is not a rejection of the national result but a responsible effort to uphold electoral integrity.

He urged the Election Commission to act impartially and called on law enforcement to address any reports of violence or intimidation. Rahman also appealed to BNP leadership to demonstrate constitutional governance and accountability before the nation and the international community.

A firefighter named Ahsan Habib, aged 46, died while conducting a rescue operation following a road accident in Sherpur, Bogura. The incident occurred around 2 a.m. on Saturday night in front of the Mahipur Fire Service Station. According to the Fire Service, Habib was controlling traffic during a rescue mission in the Chandai Kona area when a speeding bus hit a truck from behind, causing the truck to run over him. He died on the spot. Sherpur Highway Police seized both vehicles and handed over the body to his family after legal formalities.

Earlier that night, at around 1 a.m., a woman named Khadija Khatun, 39, was seriously injured after being hit by a private car while crossing the road in Hamsayapur. She was sent to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment. In another accident around 9 p.m. in Garidaha’s Dash Mile area, a three-vehicle collision left four people injured, including Shuvo, 28, who is now in ICU at a hospital in Dhaka.

Police said all damaged vehicles were seized, and efforts are ongoing to maintain normal traffic flow.

Police in Gabtali, Bogura recovered the body of a truck businessman from near his home late Saturday night. The victim, Saiful Islam, aged 40, was a resident of Sondabari Purbo Para village under the municipality’s Ward No. 4. Locals discovered his body about 50 feet west of his house early Sunday morning and informed the police.

According to Gabtali Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Anisur Rahman Anis, Saiful Islam was killed by slitting his throat and stabbing him multiple times with a sharp weapon. His body was sent to Bogura Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. Police said preparations are underway to file a case and efforts are ongoing to arrest those responsible.

The report states that Saiful Islam had returned home late at night after settling business accounts with his partners at a local fuel station before being found dead hours later.

In the recently held 13th National Parliamentary Election, four out of seven candidates in the Dinajpur-5 (Parbatipur-Phulbari) constituency lost their security deposits for failing to secure the required number of votes. According to the Election Commission’s circular, a candidate must obtain at least one-eighth of the total votes cast in the constituency to retain the deposit of 50,000 taka. Based on the total votes, a minimum of 42,329 votes was needed. The four candidates who failed to meet this threshold were Md. Kazi Abdul Gafur of the Jatiya Party, and independent candidates S.M. Zakaria Bacchu, Md. Hazrat Ali Belal, and Md. Rustam Ali.

A total of 338,634 out of 477,516 registered voters cast their ballots across 141 polling centers, marking a turnout rate of about 72 percent. Independent candidate A.Z.M. Rezwanul Haque won the seat unofficially with 113,650 votes, defeating his nearest rival, Jamaat-NCP alliance candidate Dr. Abdul Ahad, who received 108,948 votes. BNP candidate A.K.M. Kamruzzaman secured 97,727 votes.

Assistant Returning Officer and Upazila Nirbahi Officer Saddam Hossain confirmed that four candidates’ deposits were forfeited in this constituency.

AB Party General Secretary Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuad has warned that some BNP leaders and activists are turning into what he described as 'neo-Awami fascists'. He cautioned that if Tarique Rahman fails to control such elements within the party, a dire future awaits him. Fuad made these remarks on Sunday morning at a press conference held at the Barishal Press Club auditorium, addressing alleged irregularities, chaos, and harassment in the Barishal-3 constituency election.

Fuad criticized the administration for failing to ensure a fair election, saying it could not create a level playing field. He expressed disappointment that even after 55 years, candidates still cannot seek votes from people associated with violence, calling it a national shame. He emphasized that these issues will persist until the nation resolves its moral character.

Fuad further stated that the BNP’s 31-point agenda must be implemented in reality, not just on paper, as the public expects tangible action from the party.