The education in Bangladesh

The education in Bangladesh is highly subsidized. The government has given the highest importance to the
education sector to ensure education for all. A large section of the country's national budget is set aside to
promote education and make it more accessible. But the education system of Bangladesh faces several
problems. Low performances in primary and secondary levels and dropout are matters of concern. Low
performances are results of poverty, widening disparities in education opportunities and facilities, poor
school attendance, less contact time in school, lack of skilled school teachers, burden of excess curriculum,
grading system, High cost of education, creative system of education, PSC and JSC examinations etc.

Introduction of PECE (Primary Education Completion Examination) or PSC and JSC examinations in
primary and secondary levels from last few years have encouraged the students to drill and rote
memorization. Students do not get chance to understand the contents or get scope to create something on
their own. Education experts, researchers, intelligent citizens, teachers and guardians have questioned the
value of these examinations. It doesn't contribute to improving the teaching learning process. Manzoor
Ahmed said, ".....The effects of PECE have been to encourage drills and rote memorization, neglect
understanding and creativity, disregard basic content of the curriculum, and discourage thinking and
reasoning." Formative assessment is needed to evaluate student's learning. Manzoor said, "Formative
assessment is continuing day-to-day attention by teachers to ascertain if their students are learning what
they are supposed to learn. In educational terms, this is more important than the summative assessment like
PECE. PECE has taken away time and effort from formative evaluation and regular teaching learning."

A creative curriculum has been introduced in primary and secondary education sectors from 2009.
According to National Education Policy 2010, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) made
changes in the content of the syllabus as well as the question pattern to assess the learner’s creativity. But,
the teachers are not capable enough to carry out the plan. Around 41 per cent high schools of our country
cannot prepare creative questions. 55 per cent teachers of primary schools do not understand creative
system. According to a recent survey conducted by Research for Advancement of Complete Education
(RACE), more than half of 100 primary school teachers, who took part in a survey, are still unclear about
creative education method introduced about 5 years back. Even more alarming is that about half of the
teachers (47 per cent) surveyed rely on guidebooks to prepare lessons while 92 per cent students take the
help of guidebooks to understand their lessons Guidebooks, private tutors and coaching centers have been
the top dependence for the learners, specifically for the PSC and JSC examinees. These two public exams
are the root cause of mushroom growth of coaching centers as well as the guidebook publications.
Guidebooks have become the principal instrument for studying to most students, school teachers, private
tutors and coaching centers. The appeal of the guidebook is in its ready-made answers to likely exam
questions. So, the learners have no need of reading textbooks, learning the content and figuring out own
answers. The schools also prepare the question papers for half-yearly, yearly and test exams following
guidebooks. Then we must agree the reality that the guidebooks and the coaching centers are playing
friendly roles in achieving better grades for the learners. Every year the learners are securing better grades.
Parents, students and school authorities are happy for the overall performances of the students. Now,
coaching- guide-notebook culture has been the unavoidable part of our education.

But a great lie is clinging with the fact that the quality of the learners has fallen down. Their education has
been exams-based. Nowadays, learners are aimed to secure a particular grade (A+). They do not focus on
gaining knowledge. Thus the main objective of creative education is disrupting.
The government has formulated a draft education law recently. The law says that private tuition or coaching
is a punishable deed. The law has also proposed for banning notes, guidebooks and reference books. But
where should the students go for further knowledge or explanations on the text book-based lessons? Can
all parents teach their kids? The poor parents of rural areas cannot think of affording coaching or private
tuition for their kids. The rural students are gradually falling behind their urban compatriots mainly because
they get little guidance on how to tackle creative questions. So, they rely only on guidebooks. The poor
guardians also can't ensure reading friendly atmosphere for their kids. So, how can the learners develop
their creativity? Let us find the solution after discussing the creative system of education. Maybe we will
be able to draw a conclusion.

"It (creativity) is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity is characterized by the
ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly
unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then
producing. Creativity is the mental ability that every learner has more or less. Learning is always
problematic and creativity is related to problem solving tasks. In this sense the traditional system of
education was also a creative one. Now the process has been taken intensively. Now learners need to take
his or her work seriously and continue to create and solve things creatively. Students perform better when
they able to share their own thoughts without relying on teachers and texts. But, the teachers hardly inspire
the students to write on their own thoughts. They have to write according to teacher's directions or from a
guidebook selected by the teacher.

Nowadays, the process of teaching and learning is not limited to textbooks only. As creativity is an
unlimited thing, learners can secure knowledge from any outer sources. Newspapers, journals, periodicals,
internet, literature, reference books, notes, guidebooks etc. may be the sources. Reference materials are one
of the essential information resources of modern education system. Reference materials are the gold mines
of knowledge. What is important about reference books is that the subjects they contain have been well
researched and proven to be of high intellectual standard by subject experts. So, taking helps from the
proper reference books, notes or guidebooks in the creative method of learning is not Harmful. In the
textbooks of different subjects there are some unsolved things which needed to be solved by the related
teachers. But now the majority of the teachers are unable to solve the matters without the help of reference
books or guidebooks.
In light of the upper discussions the following steps can be taken in order to materialize the creative system
of education:

a. Checking dropout: Poverty is a big threat to primary and secondary educations. Bangladesh has achieved
significant progress in primary education in terms of enrolment of the students. But the present scenario of
primary and secondary education is not up to our expectation. Dropout is a common event in all stages of
education. High tuition fees in schools and colleges have made a negative attitude in the learners and the
guardians as well. The poor and the middle-class guardians fail to afford such higher fees for their children.
So, the government should fix affordable tuition fees and be strict to follow the approved chart of tuition
fees.
The number of seats should be increased in high schools and colleges. The number of seats available in
high schools is less than the number of students who want to enroll. Again the number of seats available in
colleges is less than the number of students who passed secondary level. As education is a basic right of all
children, they should be allowed to continue their studies up to SSC levels without creating any bar. Here,
all should be cautious as if the PSC and the JSC examinations do not obstruct the continuation.

b. Lessening low performances: The low performances in primary and secondary levels are alarming. First
of all we should think of the power of retention of the learners. If the curriculums become harder than their
capacity, then the performances are sure to run low. Curriculums should be made considering their grades,
ages etc. Poor school attendance of both students and teachers, less contact time in school, lack of skilled
school teachers, burden of excess curriculum, etc. are causes of low performances. The government should
take necessary actions to address the problems.

c. Teachers must not join the coaching centers: Some teachers do not teach properly in classrooms, and
they make their students bound to go to their coaching centers. The students who do not go to the coaching
centers, they are given poor marks in the examinations and their performances are shown to be very low.
Then the meritorious students are not evaluated properly. As a result the noble aim of education goes in
vain.

d. Dependence on notes, guidebooks and reference books: Dependence on these kinds of books is the
outcome of some lapses in our education system. I've already mentioned some major causes that should be
solved first. Then the textbooks of the related subjects should be formulated in such a way that the learners
can easily get answers from it. But another question arises. What about the unseen passages added in
Bengali and English subjects from grade four? Shouldn't it be limited? I think some probable unseen
passages should be added in the grammars supplied by the government. Usually the learners are weak in
three subjects-- Bengali, English and Mathematics. Introduction of creative system have made these
subjects more difficult. In order to defend it, the learners go to the expert teachers for coaching and buy the
related guidebooks. They have no alternative ways to take preparation. So, the matters should be considered
before banning the coaching centers and publication of guidebooks or reference books. We should think
that stopping of a way may open hundred alternative ways if the matters are not addressed properly.

Finally, it can be said that creativity system of education is a new process of education. It is indeed a hard
task for the learners to answer the questions sitting in the examination halls in allocated times. The question
setters should think on the matter and set the questions very cautiously. The aim of education is to make
the students learn their given subjects. But the aim of examinations shouldn't be to prevent them from
learning. We hope the government will proceed steadfastly considering all sides.
The writer is a freelancer.
all levels. The number of college students increased from 238,580 in 1980 to 603,915 in 1986,according to government statistics.
During that period, female enrollment increased from 29,000to 115,000. Qualitative improvement, enrollment stabilization,
interuniversity rationalization ofdepartments, and controlled expansion were some of the government objectives for
collegeeducation in the mid- and late 1980s.To remove the heavy bias toward liberal arts education, greater attention was being
focused inthe late 1980s on technical education, which received the third highest allocation, after primaryand secondary
education, in the Third Five-Year Plan. In addition to four engineering colleges,Bangladesh had eighteen polytechnic institutes,
four law colleges, two agricultural colleges, agraphic arts institute, an institute of glass and ceramics, a textile college, a college of
leathertechnology, sixteen commercial institutes, and fifty-four vocational institutes in 1986. The nationalso had ten medical
colleges and one dental college, offering both graduate and postgraduatetraining. In addition, there were twenty-one nursing
institutes, a music college, and a college ofphysical education.Because secondary and higher education benefited the small middle
and upper classes andbecause the government defrayed a portion of the costs of private higher institutions throughgrants, the poor
in effect subsidized the education of the affluent. This situation was mostevident at the university level, where about 15 percent
of the education budget was devoted toless than 0.5 percent of the student population. The technical education sector,
whichexperienced some growth in the late 1980s, nevertheless failed to provide the numbers andkinds of personnel required for
economic development. Most university training also failed toequip its recipients with marketable professional
skills.Highest allocations for education in the national budgets during the nineties show that thegovernment has attached
topmost priority to human resource development though education.The goal of 'Education for All' is being vigorously pursued
in the country. The education systemis divided into 4 levels-- Primary (from grades 1 to 5), Secondary (from
grades 6 to 10), HigherSecondary (from grades 11 to 12) and tertiary. Alongside national educating system, Englishmedium
education is also provided by some private enterprises. They offer 'A' level and 'O' levelcourses. There is also Madrasa system
which emphasizes on Arabic medium Islam-basededucation. This system is supervised by the lone Madrasa Board of the
country.Compulsory primary education, free education for girls up to class ten, stipends for femalestudents,
food-for educational total literacy movement and nationwide integrated education aresome of the major programs being the
government in the education sector. There are 11government universities and approximately 20 private universities in
Bangladesh. Specializeduniversities are Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET),
Bangladesh Agricultural University and Bangabandhu Shaikh Mujib Medical University.. The number ofgo
vernment and non-government medical colleges stand at 1 3 and 5 respectively. There are 4engineering colleges, 2845 colleges,
institutes, 12553 secondary schools, and 78595 primaryschools. To make higher education accessible to all, an Open University
has been set up in thecountry. A National University has also been set up to serve as an affiliating university collegesacross the
country. Alongside the general system of education parallel system known asMadrasha education which offers Islamic education
to Muslim boys and girls. Hindus andBuddhists also receive religious education at institutes called Tol and Chatuspathi.

Quality improvement in education system

Concerns about quality of education in Bangladesh is not only a national issue as viewed bysome, it should be viewed as a global
issue as a significant number of graduates from theuniversities of Bangladesh are now working abroad. The primary and
secondary educationsystem has received attention from government and other agencies and been overhauled andchanged several
times during last few decades that showed improved performance. However,the higher education system did not receive
sufficient national priority and lagged behindcompared to that of other countries in the region. To improve the higher education
system inBangladesh towards a global standard, government of Bangladesh has taken an initiative sothat our graduates develop
critical knowledge and skill to compete and succeed in the globalmarketplace. With the assistance of World Bank, ministry of
education has undertaken a HigherEducation Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP) that aims at improving the quality of
teaching-learning and research capabilities of higher education institutions in Bangladesh. The UniversityGrant Commission
established a HEQEP unit for implementation, management, monitoring andevaluation of the activities of this project. Under
this project both public and private universitiessubmitted proposals for improvement of infrastructure and capacity of their
programmes in twophases. The phase one of the projects is at near completion and the phase two projects arebeing
implemented. Although one of the main objectives of the project was to improve the quality of teaching-
learning and research, most of the project activities are focused on development ofinfrastructure such as lab equipment, classroom
and library. Although these are essentialcomponents for improvement of teaching-learning quality, the importance of
pedagogicalknowledge and training has not been adequately addressed. To understand the need better,one must go back and
evaluate the process of career development of a university professor. InBangladesh and other countries, usually a student with
highest grade or class ranking enters asa teacher at higher education institutions. These talented professors are expert in
theirrespective field with excellent content knowledge. To become an effective teacher, contentknowledge must be delivered
through dissemination in the classroom among other students inthe class. The second part of delivery of knowledge defined as
pedagogy is the most importantparameter in quality improvement in education.Unlike other teachers, such as primary and
secondary school teachers, university teachers inBangladesh do not receive any such training. Pedagogical training includes
development ofsyllabus, curriculum, assessment of learning outcomes, course objective, evaluation,accreditation, etc. As a
resource person of a number of HEQEP project, I had the opportunity toprovide faculty development workshops and seminars
at a number of public and privateuniversities of Bangladesh and at University Grant Commission of Bangladesh. The
universitieswho invited me includes Chittagong University, Khulna University, Bangladesh AgriculturalUniversity, Ahsanullah
University of Science and Technology, International University ofBusiness, Agriculture and Technology, North South
University during 2011 and 2012.I have also conducted a number of studies to understand the critical to success (CTS)
parameters in higher education quality improvement process. All these studies anonymouslyidentified faculty development and
training to be the most important and critical factor forsuccess in quality improvement. Although the HEQEP project is providing
assistance for short

term, one time training opportunities to a limited number of professors who are involved in theproject managers department, such
training is essential for all junior and senior professors at allhigher education institutions in Bangladesh. This monumental task
cannot be accomplished byone project or reliance on external funding sources such as World Bank, this initiative must
beundertaken by ministry of education and University Grant Commission by establishing aninstitute of teaching and learning in
higher education where all newly appointed lecturers will berequired to attend 2-4 weeks of mandatory training on teaching-
learning methodology andpedagogical research. All other professors at all universities will be required to
attend 1-2 weekstraining each year to become familiar with the latest development in pedagogy around the world.The centre
will also organise bi-annual national and international conference on teaching andlearning where expatriate Bangladeshi experts
in this area will disseminate their knowledge andexpertise. The centre will constantly collaborate with other higher learning
institutes and centresacross the world to identify best practices in higher education and adapt them to Bangladeshthrough faculty
training. A proposal for such a centre can be developed by HEQEP andUniversity Grants Commission for submission to
Ministry of Education.For example the mission of the proposed Institute Teaching & Learning in higher education inBangladesh
is to acknowledge and advance excellence in teaching and learning at all highereducation institutions in Bangladesh. The Centre
assists faculty in their efforts to deepenknowledge of their current teaching practice, explore new methods for promoting active
learningand incorporate new technologies into teaching. To that end, the Centre provides Activities,workshops, programmes and
services that encourage the enhancement of teaching,consultation for individuals and departments regarding pedagogical issues,
nation-wide eventsand activities for faculty and staff, collaboration with universities and institutes and expertsacross the world,
financial support in the forms of internally funded grants and fellowships insupport of teaching and collection of teaching
resources for faculty use in a library.Without a comprehensive training programme for university teachers in pedagogy
throughestablishment of an institute of teaching and learning in higher education in Bangladesh andrequiring teachers to
participate in the training programme, improvement of quality in highereducation may not realise the mission of the HEQEP
project. We must consider highereducation as a critical investment towards the future of our nation to be competitive in the global
market place