DOT Desk: [2] Bangladesh’s ranking in the English-language proficiency rose by eight notches to 63rd among 100 countries and regions, says the latest report by Switzerland-based Education First (EF) – an international education company that specialises in language training, reports TBS. [3] English Proficiency Index (EPI) 2020 – the tenth edition of the report released on 17 November – analysed the English skills of non-native English speaking countries and regions globally. Last year, Bangladesh was in the 71st position among 100 countries. [4] However, Bangladesh’s EPI average score was 476 out of 800 in the 2020 index, which not only fell short of the global average score of 550, but also the 24 Asian countries’ average score of 492. [5] Bangladesh fell behind Ethiopia – which ranked 62nd with a score of 477 in the index, but managed to stay ahead of Vietnam (473) and United Arab Emirates (472). [6] With this score, Bangladesh has been listed in the “Low Proficiency” category this year, while it was listed in the “Very Low Proficiency” category in the ninth edition. The index places the surveyed countries and territories into five proficiency bands, from Very High to Very Low.
The index ranked six South Asian countries where India (50th), Nepal (60th), Pakistan (61st) Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (68th) listed in the “Low Proficiency” category and only Afghanistan (79th) listed under the “Very Low Proficiency.”