For the first time in the country’s history, Bangladesh has appointed a woman, Rehana Parveen, as Education Secretary. She has been named Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division under the Ministry of Education.
The Ministry of Public Administration confirmed this in a notification issued on Monday, August 18, 2025. Before this appointment, she served as Executive Chairman of the National Skills Development Authority (NSDA).
Since Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, a total of 33 senior secretaries and secretaries have served in the undivided Ministry of Education. Following the ministry’s division in November 2016 into two wings, seven officials have headed the Secondary and Higher Education Division. None of them, until now, was a woman. Rehana’s appointment marks a historic first.
She replaces Siddiq Zubair, who was withdrawn on July 23 amid student protests and reassigned to the Ministry of Public Administration. With her new role, Rehana breaks a long-standing barrier, becoming the country’s first female Education Secretary.