Kindergarten (KG) schools have mushroomed at every nook and corner of the country from the remotest village to the capital city. This fact coupled with the recent terrorist attacks, has drawn the attention of the government to the necessity, quality and legality of the existing KG schools in the country. Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach traditionally based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. The first such institutions were set up in the late 18th century in Bavaria and Strasbourg to teach children, both of whose parents worked away from home. The term was coined by Friedrich Fröbel whose approach globally influenced early-years' education. Today, the term is used in many countries to describe a variety of educational institutions and learning spaces for children ranging from two to seven years of age, based on a variety of teaching methods.
I remember a piece of news regarding KG schools of Bangladesh stating that about 100 thousand (one lakh) kindergartens were flouting government rules on mandatory registration and were running without adequate classroom facilities depriving students of proper education. The news appeared in several newspapers last  year. It further said only 302 out of an estimated 100,000 such schools were registered with the Directorate of Primary Education until April 2015, in four years after the Non-government Primary both Bangla and English medium School Registration Rules, 2011 were framed in August 2011. It also said 'the government's failure to enforce the new registration rules and lax monitoring paved the way for kindergartens to mushroom.' The related law says that after non-government primary schools' submission of applications for recognition, divisional deputy directors will visit the schools and in 60 days the applications will be sent to the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE). On the basis of this recommendation the committee formed by the ministry will give primary recognition to an institution for one year. Then it will be followed by three years' temporary registration, and on the basis of it the registration certificate will be given to the institution concerned. But the registration procedure got stopped due to many complexities. There are 07 deputy directors in the field. If they start visiting the schools for bringing them under the registration process, they will be able to visit 260 schools in one year. If they visit one school each day, only 820 schools can be visited in one year. It will take 38 years to complete visiting 70 thousand KG schools. If the number stands around 100 thousand (one lakh), it would take several more years. In this background, taskforces have been formed. The unnecessary KG schools will be closed and the necessary ones will be served show-cause notices. If they can give the satisfactory answers, only then the government can think of allowing them to run their institutions.
Emily Richardson is a PhD student of Columbia University in New York who is conducting a research on fee paying primary /KG schools in Bangladesh. She came to Dhaka and studied different types of primary schools, especially private ones, including kindergartens. She had meetings with some people including me. Her important queries include (i) what is the quality of KG school education compared with government primary schools, (ii) whether I support forming teachers' associations at KG schools and (iii) what is the difference between the teachers of KG schools and government-run primary schools. It says our KG schools occupy a significant position in the field of education having many problems which need to be addressed.
487 upazilas, 64 districts and eight divisions each will have a taskforce and each taskforce will comprise five members. KG schools in upazilas will be visited and monitored under the leadership of Upazila Nirbahi Officers and those in the district headquarters and outside upazilas will be supervised under the leadership of Deputy Commissioners. Divisional commissioners will work with the KG schools in the metropolitan areas and divisional cities. These taskforces will look to (i) Develop statistics on KG schools as the exact number is not recorded in the government register(ii) will see what books are taught here, (iii) whether they use NCTB books or foreign books only, (iv) the qualifications of the teachers, (v) the way of recruiting teachers, (vi) how is the salary of the teachers, (vii) the areas of collecting fees, (viii) the source of finance for establishing the schools, (ix) where the income is spent, and (x) whether the expenditure is done following government rules. On the basis of these points the taskforces will recommend how many schools are necessary and which should be closed.
The main objective of forming the taskforces is to bring all the KG schools under a legal framework. The PM has directed authorities to lessen the burden of books and bags of the children and the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has lessened the size of the books accordingly. In government schools the use of books is lesser than the private ones. Some kindergartens unnecessarily suggest a number of books without considering the age of children. This issue needs to be monitored rigorously by the authorities concerned. If authorities are not concerned about it, the guardians must take this matter into account for the sake of their own children. Children must not be overburdened. The prevailing chaos in kindergarten education has clearly been the result of regulatory, monitoring and enforcement failures by the authorities concerned. The government needs to revamp its Directorate of Primary Education with adequate manpower and enhancing its service quality so that it can intensify its monitoring and go after the non-compliant institutions to make them abide by the rules. The purpose of the kindergartens is to teach children a rich, meaningful and balanced curriculum on skills and information through age-appropriate activities that encourage children to want to learn more. It is important to note that children who may be academically ready to start schooling may not have the social skills needed to be successful there. Froebel began the first kindergarten to allow children to socialise. We cannot afford to disregard these points. One thing to be remembered is that the existing government primary schools cannot replace KG schools for some obvious reasons. The purpose, objective, situation and environment of government primary schools don't meet at all the criteria of grooming up children for future schooling.
The government wants all the KG schools to be brought under registration. Nazrul Islam Khan, additional secretary of the ministry of primary and mass education, said, "Most of the KG schools established in different parts of the country have not been run legally. We don't know whether there is any necessity of these schools." This seems to be an escapist statement. The government must know how many schools are necessary for the citizens according to the density of population across the country. Some rules are framed regarding establishing and controlling non-government schools, which do not go with the changing local and global perspectives. These things must be taken into consideration. Only making recommendations to close down KG schools without ensuring a sound pre-schooling system for our future generation may not prove a reasonable step.
(The writer works for BRAC Education Programme as an specialist and writes regularly on various national and international issues)
Email: masumbillah65@gmail.com
Taskforces for closing illegal KG schools
Masum Billah | Published: August 20, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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