FW: BANGLADESH: Report blasts primary school education

To me, this is a very significant development. Around 70% of our 6th graders are "unable to read, write or count properly", that's a real problem. Most of the reasons behind this are known. We know that we have "Inadequate qualified teachers". We know that "many poor students come to school half-fed". We know that many classroom are "open air" or under the tree. In a country where 33% live under dollar-a-day poverty line and 66% live under 2-dollars-a-day poverty line, these are really tough hurdle to overcome.

What is eye opener for me is the comment, "the government placed emphasis on enrolment without concentrating on the quality of primary education". I never think of this way, but that's make sense. We made huge progress in enrollment (percentage is as high as high-90s). UN officials going around other poor nations and citing Bangladesh as an example is brilliant. This is praise worthy achievement over last couple of decade. Even our high female enrollment (thanks to our array of affirmative actions) amused our neighbors. To me this is a great advantage. Going around villages and making people understand that `education is the only way out` is a monumental job. That is done, we did it! However, that's only the beginning.

We must concentrate on the quality now. The task is twofold. First is how can we reduce drop out? There are significant developments going in this area. For example, early marriage is a significant reason for female drop out. There are laws in place to deter this, but law is not enough. Parent and community education on the issue are needed. Good thing that I see an increasing number amount of publicity are now aimed on the issue, and we are beginning to see the results. Government provided financial incentive for school attendee also paid up in big. However, there are no parallel programs aimed at boys. This is mostly because male drop out is very much tied up with poverty and child labor, and there is no near term relief in sight. If we can come up with a financial incentive program for boys that would definitely help.

The second task is how we can improve the quality of those who are able to stick around and graduate from primary school. I know that the resource is inadequate. But if 70% of the graduate is unable to read, we must have a structured institutional problem. I am sure there is opportunity for improvement even with limited resources. Educators and researchers need to concentrate on this and review existing structure. More importantly a comparative analysis is needed where we compare similar data from other neighboring countries. Where does Bangladesh stand on the quality of primary education among south Asian nations? Figure out what we are missing and where we can improve.

Thanks,
Babu

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Subject: BANGLADESH: Report blasts primary school education

DHAKA, 11 February 2009 (IRIN) - Around 70 percent of children in Bangladesh who complete their primary education are unable to read, write or count properly, according to an internal report by the Department of Primary Education (DPE).

Sixty-nine percent of students who had completed five years of primary school were unable to read news headlines in Bangla newspapers properly, while 87 percent of pupils failed to do simple mathematical calculations, the study, entitled National Assessment of Pupils of Grades Three and Five - 2006, said.

Conducted by the Second Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-II) - a donor-assisted programme to ensure quality primary education for all children - the study reported that 72 percent of children were unable to write a short composition in Bangla - the mother tongue of over 95 percent of the population.

The report also found students "pitiably weak" in English, which plays a key role in day-to-day life, particularly in business, higher studies and technical education.

The quality of education in remote rural areas was far worse than in urban areas, largely due to a scarcity of English teachers and the predominance of religious schools (`madrasas') where English is not taught, the study said.

The report said students in the fifth grade completed only about 56 percent of the Bangla syllabus, 46 percent of the mathematics syllabus and 47 percent of the English syllabus.

Weak institutional framework

The PEDP-II study identified the weak organisational and institutional framework of primary education and the lack of a proper physical environment at school as leading causes of poor performance.

"Inadequate qualified teachers, lack of devotion on the part of the teachers, [and] poor support and monitoring from family largely contribute to the causes of weakness," Rawshan Ara Begum, head teacher of Chakhar government primary school in southern Barisal District, told IRIN.

"Many poor students come to school half-fed. They cannot pay attention to their studies in the afternoon classes as thirst for knowledge is replaced by hunger for food," she said.

According to Badrul Alam Tarafder, secretary in charge of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (PME), the government placed emphasis on enrolment without concentrating on the quality of primary education.

Insufficient contact hours

The PEDP-II study recommended that contact hours between teachers and students be increased and more attention paid to mathematics and literacy.

According to the DPE, children get only 500 hours annually to interact with their teachers in grades one and two. This increased to 700 hours from the third to the fifth grade.

This compared unfavourably to an international standard of 900 contact hours per year for grades 1-5.

One reason for the fewer contact hours was the running of double shifts in most government schools due to a lack of classrooms.

The low teacher-student ratio was another factor keeping contact hours down.

The study recommended that at least 90,000 new teachers be recruited and 60,000 new classrooms be built to enable the existing number of students to attend in a single shift.

Fewer holidays?

Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), a private research organisation, in its annual report for 2008 entitled Primary Education Halkhata (State of Primary Education), recommended reducing holidays.

"The future of the nation is dark because primary students lack adequate academic knowledge," said renowned academic Zillur Rahman Siddique. He attributed the low contact hours to long holidays.

At present in government primary schools, pupils get nine days holiday during the two Eid festivals, 15 days for the summer vacation and 20 days off for Ramadan. The report suggested seven days for the two Eids, five days in summer and 10 days for Ramadan would be more appropriate.

Some 200,000 teachers educate close to 19 million students in about 38,000 government primary schools country-wide. Teachers are paid by the government which also supplies free text books. At least 40 percent of students receive financial assistance based on their performance, attendance and the level of family poverty.