Challenges facing ethnic and disadvantaged children in Bangladesh

According to 1989 census, about 80 percent of Bangladeshis are Muslims, and about 12 percent are Hindus. Approximately 600,000 Bangladeshis are Buddhists, forming a mixture of tribal cults and Buddhist doctrines (Heitzman and Worden, 1989). In Bangladesh, with approximately 45 different ethnic groups (BRAC, 2008), despite free, universal and compulsory education for boys and girls up to grade 8, with a number of non-governmental organisations also offering services and resources in the education sector, the literacy rate surveyed still remains below 60% (BBS, 2013).
Indeed, Bangladesh's poor education outcomes persist, even though the presence and support of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), the Volunteers Association for Bangladesh (VAB) and other stakeholders and international donors and monetary organisations such as the World Bank have enabled a large number of marginalised children to enroll in primary and secondary schools. "Educational discourse in Bangladesh is characterised by two deficits: one that has to do with the madrassa curriculum, and the other, their social responsibility or political role"(BTI, 2011). There is another deficit I recognise, lack of comprehensive curriculum for ethnic children and disadvantaged poor's education in Bangladesh.  
After the 1971 war, representation issue was raised by the ethnic community of Chittagong hill tracts and it turned into an insurgence in this area.  To resolve this problematic issue, the then government took a critical policy of demographic change by settling poor Bangalee settlers in hill tracts area thinking of homogeneity of population in this region. Government has taken different sorts of measures, to some extent some of those measures were oppressing certainly. Due to the radical policy of 'demographic change' poor Bangalee settlers and ethnic displaced people suffered the most following ways: guerrilla attack by the rebel group and coercive intervention of army.
However, Bangladesh government does not recognise that there is any indigenous community in this region. However, the country has 45 ethnic communities and minorities, and disadvantaged poor; therefore, about schooling, it is time to recognise what should be the standard language of instruction, one or two languages --Bangla or English. Is it possible to teach each ethnic child using mother tongue/ script in childhood education?  
It is commendable that BRAC, one of the largest NGOs in Bangladesh, stepped out and prepared Chakma script and hired Chakma teacher for teaching the Chakma children. Nevertheless, it is not possible to prepare 45 types of text books for a poor government like Bangladesh that cannot provide sufficient resources even for public schools.
 Anguish is still underway in the people of hill tracts area. This problem has started when Kaptai dam was built in 1962 by the then Pakistan government Chittagong Hill tracts area. Due to Kaptai dam establishment, ethnic people lost their land and government's compensation didn't reach to common people as middle man used up that money for their evil purposes. It is noteworthy that according to ethnic system, nobody is owner of the land, so they had no paper to claim their land; their headman is in charge of land/mountain distribution for cultivation yearly.
Thus, lack of political will and mistrust continued between Bangladesh government and ethnic community till today. There are rest of the ethnic communities living peacefully across the country, but problem remains in hill tracts area.
In this article, I suggest to lay the groundwork for the development of a new, inclusive curriculum using the pedagogical framework, of Miller's 'The Whole Curriculum' (Transmission, Transaction and Transformation pedagogy framework) as the foundation. I am inspired by his 'The Whole Curriculum' as it "fosters relationships…, builds community, … and deepens our connection to the earth and its processes, links body and mind, and recognizes the inner life of the child".
Based on the findings of my study, I  consider a revised and balanced curriculum by interconnecting pedagogy based on the five senses (touch, taste, smell, sound, sight), sensorial education (Montessori, 1992), the inclusion of world religions and using Miller's (2007) three teaching positions of transmission, transaction and transformation.
Miller states "[s]ince each approach reaches a different part of the child, they need to be used together in a way that nurtures wholeness. Ideally, they should be used to create a flow or rhythm in the classroom. It becomes problematic if we get stuck in one approach, as the energy can dissipate with just one method". There is huge potential if we construct our multicultural classrooms to develop analytical thinking by introducing sensational pedagogies, meditation, art, music, visualisation and subject matter practice from learners' cultural context.
According to Sleeter et al. (1988), multicultural education has an emphasis on "race and ethnicity of all types and has common goals" while "institutional racism and unequal power situations" are also addressed. A more relevant idea on multicultural education is from a socio-political context that it is a "process of comprehensive school reform and basic education for all students" (Nieto, 1999 p.3) as this is "both richer and more complex than simple lessons on getting along or on units of ethnic festivals" (p.2).
Kymlicka claims that supporters argue that multiculturalism assists in the integration of immigrants and minorities while critiques claim that it encourages members to look inwards and emphasis the differences between groups rather than their shared rights or identities as citizens. This view refers to the current situation in Bangladesh where there are illegal immigrants like the Rohingya and minorities such as Hindus, Buddhists and ethnic tribes.
"In Bangladesh different ethnic groups coexist with the mainstream Bengali population in many areas. […] The major groups include: Shantal, Monipuri, Dhaka, Hajong, Oraon, Bagani, (tea garden people), Munda, Pahari, Pahan, Garo, Dhalo, Koch, Kuki, Chakma, Marma and Tripura. Available statistics suggest that a total of 1.3 million ethnic minority population exists in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) area alone" (BRAC 2008, p. 94). Looking at the diversity I take a positive view of multiculturalism and its influences.
Bangladesh has a multiethnic and multicultural population which is in constant conflicts. In a "multicultural environment, conflict undermines and often destroys the chances for peaceful co-existence" (Burayidi, 1997). There is a need for dialogue between the religious and non-religious systems in Bangladesh where dialogues can be used as a problem solving tool to reduce racism and improve the multicultural environment in the classroom and in society.
This concurs with Freire (1994) where "without dialogue there is no communication, and without communication there can be no true education". Without the right mechanisms to address ethnic and religious issue, we are continually having to react to crisis rather than proactively managing issues. This view concurs with Sleeter where he proposes "teaching the culturally different" to assist teachers help minority students develop a positive group identity.
Though not a "panacea for all educational ills" (Nieto, 1999), multiculturalism "compels educators to recognise the narrow boundaries that have shaped the way of knowing in the classroom" (hooks, 1994). She asserts the importance of teachers to support understanding among students to relate to one another throughout their lives.
I concur with Ira Shore (1999) as she describes that there are two grand rivers are following in opposite directions in American education world, this comment applies for Bangladesh as well. One river is flowing from the top down and the other from the bottom up. "The top down river has been the voice of authority proposing conservative agendas that support inequality and traditional teaching; the bottom up flow contains multicultural voices speaking for social justice and alternative methods."
In order to address the problems pertaining to clash of ethnicities as continuously faced in Bangladesh, there is a critical need for quality education. The challenge lies in how to conceive of, develop and deliver it.
The writer is doctoral student in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Development, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) and research assistant, University of Toronto,
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