Background Of Primary Education.
Bangladesh has one of the largest primary education systems in the world with an estimated
16.4 million primary school aged children (6 to 10 years). There are 365,925 primary school
teachers (approximately 53% of teachers and 23% of head teachers are women), working in
more than 82,218 schools (with ten different types of schools, including Madrasahs)
1. The Primary Education Compulsory Act passed in 1990 made primary education free and compulsory for all children up to Grade 5.
2. The Government of Bangladesh recognizes education as a means of reducing poverty and improving the quality of life for children. As a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Government of Bangladesh, with assistance from development partners, has made positive steps towards fulfilling children's rights to education, according to the Education for All and Millennium Development Goals. As a result, the country has made significant progress towards achieving universal primary education and gender parity in schools.
⇎ Despite many achievements during the past decade, major improvements are still needed in order for all children to receive the benefit of quality education.
The major challenges are
poor quality of education
high drop out rates
promotion of equity and accessing education
decentralization of education administration
and special needs education.
In terms of access, the high enrollment rates achieved for both boys and girls do not yet equate to covering all the children in Bangladesh. It is currently estimated that there are more than 3.3 million out-of-school children throughout the country.
3. Schooling opportunities are also very limited for some specific groups such as working children, disabled children, indigenous children and those in remote areas or living in extreme poverty. The UNICEF 2006 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey reports that only about half of the children living in urban slums attend school compared to a national average of 81% net attendance ratio, and about 24% of slum girls never enroll in any form of formal or non-formal school.
4. Even for those who are enrolled, completion of the primary education cycle is a critical issue. Only 55% of children eventually reach Grade 5.
5. Access of girls and boys to primary education is no longer an issue. However, equity is a major concern in the aspects of gender and inclusiveness for disadvantaged children. While more girls are currently enrolled in primary school compared to boys the number of girl students significantly decreases through secondary school. The school environment is far from fully inclusive.
Disadvantaged children (such as children with disabilities or from ethnic minorities) are particularly vulnerable to exclusion from educational opportunities. For example, it is estimated by the Bangladesh Bureau of the Census that approximately 10% of the children of preschool and primary-school age (3-10 years) are disabled. Currently 77,488 children with special needs of various types are enrolled in primary schools.
6. Contrary to the overall and general trend of girls’ enrollment in schools being higher than that of boys, the enrollment of girls with special needs is significantly lower than boys. There are many children who are not going to school but who could attend if schools were more inclusive using child friendly. The quality of the teaching learning process, the school environment and children's learning achievements are also major challenges. Poor qualifications and lack of teacher motivation are major challenges. Approximately 24% of Government Primary Schools and Registered Non Government Primary Schools teachers are untrained. See it more next.
1. The Primary Education Compulsory Act passed in 1990 made primary education free and compulsory for all children up to Grade 5.
2. The Government of Bangladesh recognizes education as a means of reducing poverty and improving the quality of life for children. As a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Government of Bangladesh, with assistance from development partners, has made positive steps towards fulfilling children's rights to education, according to the Education for All and Millennium Development Goals. As a result, the country has made significant progress towards achieving universal primary education and gender parity in schools.
⇎ Despite many achievements during the past decade, major improvements are still needed in order for all children to receive the benefit of quality education.
The major challenges are
poor quality of education
high drop out rates
promotion of equity and accessing education
decentralization of education administration
and special needs education.
In terms of access, the high enrollment rates achieved for both boys and girls do not yet equate to covering all the children in Bangladesh. It is currently estimated that there are more than 3.3 million out-of-school children throughout the country.
3. Schooling opportunities are also very limited for some specific groups such as working children, disabled children, indigenous children and those in remote areas or living in extreme poverty. The UNICEF 2006 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey reports that only about half of the children living in urban slums attend school compared to a national average of 81% net attendance ratio, and about 24% of slum girls never enroll in any form of formal or non-formal school.
4. Even for those who are enrolled, completion of the primary education cycle is a critical issue. Only 55% of children eventually reach Grade 5.
5. Access of girls and boys to primary education is no longer an issue. However, equity is a major concern in the aspects of gender and inclusiveness for disadvantaged children. While more girls are currently enrolled in primary school compared to boys the number of girl students significantly decreases through secondary school. The school environment is far from fully inclusive.
Disadvantaged children (such as children with disabilities or from ethnic minorities) are particularly vulnerable to exclusion from educational opportunities. For example, it is estimated by the Bangladesh Bureau of the Census that approximately 10% of the children of preschool and primary-school age (3-10 years) are disabled. Currently 77,488 children with special needs of various types are enrolled in primary schools.
6. Contrary to the overall and general trend of girls’ enrollment in schools being higher than that of boys, the enrollment of girls with special needs is significantly lower than boys. There are many children who are not going to school but who could attend if schools were more inclusive using child friendly. The quality of the teaching learning process, the school environment and children's learning achievements are also major challenges. Poor qualifications and lack of teacher motivation are major challenges. Approximately 24% of Government Primary Schools and Registered Non Government Primary Schools teachers are untrained. See it more next.
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