Capacity building in education sector
Friday, 17 October 2008
Md Alimullah
EDUCATION Week is observed every year in the country. But the observance cannot hide the state of education in the country which leaves a lot to be desired. All the governments have been highlighting that a major portion of the national budget goes to the education sector. But the question is whether the country is getting the due results out of the hefty expenditure.
The lion's share of the education budget is spent to pay the salaries and benefits to the teachers and other employees of educational institutions without proportionate returns in terms of quality teaching. And demand for further pay increases is getting louder. A big part of the allocation goes to fund primary education, where corruption is allegedly rampant. The dropout rate from the primary schools continues to be high. Endowments for building primary schools were squandered on unscrupulous contractors and their patrons in the education department. The obvious result is shoddy school buildings. Many of the school buildings became unusable immediately after they were built. Some even collapsed partially.
People allege even that a petty official after serving the facilities department of the education ministry can lead a luxurious life. Kickbacks received from contractors and others, they allege, make it possible. When public resources are wasted in this fashion in the name of capacity building, the schools continue to lack laboratories. Teachers' training remains neglected, as are higher studies in science and technology. Human resource development remains a myth.
A government in the past pledged to build at least a dozen science and technology universities. Technical education in general and polytechnics, specialised training centres, technical institutes etc., suffer due to lack of funds. Wastage, corruption and misuse of scarce resources trouble the education sector.
Accountability needs to be established at all levels of the education sector to stop such wastage of resources. The resources must be properly utilised to get the expected results.
EDUCATION Week is observed every year in the country. But the observance cannot hide the state of education in the country which leaves a lot to be desired. All the governments have been highlighting that a major portion of the national budget goes to the education sector. But the question is whether the country is getting the due results out of the hefty expenditure.
The lion's share of the education budget is spent to pay the salaries and benefits to the teachers and other employees of educational institutions without proportionate returns in terms of quality teaching. And demand for further pay increases is getting louder. A big part of the allocation goes to fund primary education, where corruption is allegedly rampant. The dropout rate from the primary schools continues to be high. Endowments for building primary schools were squandered on unscrupulous contractors and their patrons in the education department. The obvious result is shoddy school buildings. Many of the school buildings became unusable immediately after they were built. Some even collapsed partially.
People allege even that a petty official after serving the facilities department of the education ministry can lead a luxurious life. Kickbacks received from contractors and others, they allege, make it possible. When public resources are wasted in this fashion in the name of capacity building, the schools continue to lack laboratories. Teachers' training remains neglected, as are higher studies in science and technology. Human resource development remains a myth.
A government in the past pledged to build at least a dozen science and technology universities. Technical education in general and polytechnics, specialised training centres, technical institutes etc., suffer due to lack of funds. Wastage, corruption and misuse of scarce resources trouble the education sector.
Accountability needs to be established at all levels of the education sector to stop such wastage of resources. The resources must be properly utilised to get the expected results.