All over the world, primary education has been regarded as the most important as well as the most patronized by people. This perhaps may be due to the fact that it is the foundation of the whole educational pursuit, which is expected to provide literacy and enlightenment to the citizens. Children of primary schools look like clay because teachers can develop them for the future as they want, like potters, who make desired shapes of objects molding clays. Primary schools are to provide stimulating education for boys and girls by developing character, intellect and physical well-being within a happy scholarly and caring community. Primary schools will play a vital part in children's lives to determine their academic, social and occupational future. These are the initial places in which children learn to face and cope with the anxieties of life. Primary schools are not only the places of only for learning, but also the places of possessing positive outlook as well as developing self-esteem and self-confidence. These are also the authentic places of developing socialization and neighbourhoods within children. Therefore school, social and cultural environment in and outside school, safety and security within school and teachers' skill, attitude and belief are equally important and crucial for stimulating self-esteem, self-confidence and independence within children apart from ensuring academic learning. So, child-friendly physical infrastructural facilities in primary schools have a pivotal role for overall development of children that enable them to become good human beings as well as contribute generously for serving the nation in the future.
Primary schools are the schools in which children start their formal learning journey in Bangladesh and government-run primary schools are the authentic places of mainstreaming or universalizing of primary education in the country. Since most of the primary school-aged children study in the government-run primary schools and a significant number of them are from low-income and poverty-stricken families, vulnerable families and tribes and ethnic minorities, therefore government can never think of developing the country without inspiring them to become visionary as well as educating them rationally. So they badly need to be nourished and provided support more than other students in kindergartens or private schools for developing self-confidence, commitment and self-esteem within themselves along with academic learning. Since most of primary school children have fewer opportunities of enjoying better quality learning facilities at home, government-run primary schools should have the best quality of physical learning facilities for building them as visionary, optimistic and enthusiastic changing their attitude, outlook and belief significantly. Moreover government primary schools in Bangladesh should also have software and hardware facilities to support a significant number of country's primary students for receiving curriculum-based education, personal or real education and ICT and vocational education to consolidate their educational and occupational future.
To ensure equal opportunities for government primary school children like kindergarten and private schools regarding developing self-confidence within them and making them visionary with positive outlooks, the government inevitably requires replacing badly damaged school buildings by newly constructed attractive ones with other sophisticated physical facilities suitable for creating child-friendly learning environment. At present there are 63,865 government primary schools; among them 26,193 schools were nationalized in 2013. Although government is constructing and renovating school buildings and new classrooms every year, still a significant number of primary schools along with recently nationalized schools have shortages of classrooms and poor condition of school building. Moreover problems like non-availability of adequate toilets, want of provision for safe drinking water, lacking of play ground etc are restricting schools to make child-friendly learning environment. Government might construct multi-storied school buildings instead of two or three separate buildings that occupy play ground. On the ground floor of the multi-storied buildings there might be a hall room that could be effective for multipurpose uses like celebrating occasions, conducting training/meeting, dining hall, examination hall and shelter place during the time when community is affected by natural calamities. There should be class rooms, office rooms, library, and ICT Lab on other floors. On the ground floor there might a room for Supportive Learning Centre (SLC), run by a government selected NGO for supporting underprivileged and vulnerable children (first generation learners) to dispel their learning difficulties preparing daily classroom lesson at flexible time convenient to children outside school timetable. Sitting arrangement for pre-primary and Grade One students may be on the floor using students' health friendly carpets. All the classrooms should be well furnished and well decorated that should be comfortable to children for receiving classroom teaching smoothly and actively. On each floor there should be toilets and wash rooms and a corner of taking safe drinking water. There should be the source of available pure water in the school. Schools should be enriched with available attractive materials for playing and teaching and learning. In each and every classroom there should be white boards, push-pin boards and multimedia projector with screen. Schools' physical environment should be such that children may come to school with smiling faces.
To remove invisible disparity from the mind of primary school students of all sections of the community, the government needs to provide two sets of school uniform and shoes each year along with supplying of exercise books, khatas, pens and pencils. The government has to revisit the primary education stipend project considering its actual consequences on students' learning. Rather the government may take new initiative of starting mid-day meal program for primary school children with the support of donors and NGOs. NGOs that are working in primary education sector should be brought under an umbrella and the government might select district/upazila-wise assignment for NGOs in the areas like running SLCs, providing school uniform, supplying mid-day meal and learning materials etc.
Teachers should have skills in developing and maintaining equity and inclusiveness within students and themselves in all activities at school. They should have high expectations about all of the students. Their attitude, behaviour and belief should be for stimulating students to become self-confident and visionary. They should present them as ideal personalities before their students exposing committed, dedicated and above all learned.
Building the nation by building future generation of the country is really a difficult task for the government. The government must consider all of its primary school children assets of the country. Creating highest level of qualitative school climate similar to the best kindergartens and private schools, the government may ensure glittering future generation developing self-esteem and self-confidence within themselves that tend to enlighten Bangladesh in the future.
The writer is working for primary education in Bangladesh. Email: auparbayazidkhan@gmail.com
© 2026 - All Rights with The Financial Express
