Education and welfare

"Public education does not serve a public, it creates a public. The question is, what kind of public does it want?" asked Neil Postman, an American author, media theorist and cultural critic.  Traditional economic theories developed since the 1960s embrace the endogenous growth theory. The theory introduces the concept of human capital - education -- as a means to ensure economic growth. Almost akin to this argument is Amartya Sen's human development paradigm which maintains that education can play an instrumental role in economic production as well as in bringing social change.
Of late, ideas on the role of education have been expanded to see education as a source of food security. It is being argued that 'especially basic education and not training or vocational education, can improve the capacity of individuals to live a decent life and to escape the hunger trap. The basic idea is that being educated improves rural people's capacity to diversify assets and activities, access information on health and sanitation, enhance human agency in addition to increasing productivity in the agricultural sector. These are all essential elements to ensure food security in the long-run'.  
According to Harry Patrinos, lead education economist at the World Bank, "The profitability of education, according to estimates of private rate of return, is indisputable, universal, and global. The principle holds particularly for women, who can expect a 1.2 per cent higher return than men on the resources they invest in education. Providing one extra year of education to girls increases their wages by 10-20 per cent. This increase is 5.0 per cent more than the corresponding returns on providing a boy with an extra year of schooling.
In addition to total economic growth, women's education also increases equitability of distribution of wealth in a society. Increased women's education is important for achieving this as it targets the impoverished women, a particularly disadvantaged group. There is also evidence that lower gender disparity in educational attainment for a developing country correlates with lower overall income disparity within the society. Women's education leads to significant social development. Some of the most notable social benefits include decreased fertility rates, lower infant mortality rates and lower maternal mortality rates. Closing the gender gap in education also increases gender equality, which is considered important for ensuring equal rights and opportunities for people regardless of gender.
Women's education has cognitive benefits for themselves as well. Improved cognitive abilities increase the quality of life for women and also lead to other benefits. One example of this is the fact that educated women are better able to make decisions related to health, both for themselves and their children. Cognitive abilities also increase political participation among women. Educated women are more likely to engage in civic participation and attend political meetings, and there are several instances in which educated women in the developing world were able to secure benefits for themselves through political movements. Evidence also points to an increased likelihood of democratic governance in countries with well-educated women.
There are also benefits relating to woman's role in the household. Educated women have been found to experience less domestic violence, regardless of other social status indicators like employment status. Women with an education are also more involved in the decision-making process of the family and making more decisions over a given time period. In particular, these benefits extend to economic decisions. Besides, the intrinsic value of having women play a more active role in the family also brings about social benefits for family members. In a household where the mother is educated, children and especially girls are more likely to attend schools. In households where a mother is not educated, adult literacy programmes can indirectly help to teach mothers the value of education and encourage them to send their children to schools. There are also a number of other benefits for children associated with having an educated mother over an educated father, including higher survival rates and better nutrition.
This article intends to articulate the trend of education in rural areas, especially in primary and secondary level. The analysis draws on Repeat Sample Surveys of households in 62 villages under the guidance of Dr Mahabub Hossain. The survey report clearly points to remarkable progress in school enrolment in rural areas. Both gender and economic disparity in enrolment have dissipated over time. And while appreciating the trend, one can hardly overlook the commendable comment from former President of India and a world famous scientist A.P.J Abul Kalam: "Creativity is the key to success in future, and primary education is where teachers can bring creativity in children at that level. Almost half of the population of the world lives in rural regions and mostly in a state of poverty. Such inequalities in human development have been one of the primary reasons for unrest and, in some parts of the world, even violence".
It is now well-recognised that Bangladesh has made tremendous progress as far as education at primary and secondary levels is concerned. One of the recent writings on education argues that although the list of success is not long, some improvements could be in evidence in the backdrop of steps taken after 1990 by the successive governments.  For example, Samir Ranjan Nath of the BRAC writes on some potentials and problems of primary and secondary education in Bangladesh:
"    Net and gross rate of school enrolment has increased. Of 6-10 aged children, 87 per cent attends schools as against 60 per cent in 1990. Children beyond this age group also attend. Including this group, participation stands at 107 per cent. In secondary level, the rate of enrolment doubled during the last seven years.
"    The dropout rate of children declined and completion rate of primary level increased. Seventy five per cent of primary school children completed education cycle.
n In primary and secondary levels, enrolment of boys and girls was at par. In South Asia, Bangladesh's position is only after Sri Lanka.
The author also points to the perilous position in some areas as far as quality of education is concerned:
1. In general, 60 per cent was present in classrooms. If all join, there will be space problem.
2. Forty per cent of primary age children drop out before reaching Class V.
3. Of those completing primary education cycle, two-thirds of them could meet government-determined criteria although it is 60 per cent for all.
4. After studying up to Class V, two-thirds were in illiterate or pre-literacy stage. Even after completing fice years, they fail to meet minimum standard of literacy criteria. This means they are entering the age of youth without preparation for livelihoods.
5. Of those admitted to Class VI, only 30 per cent of them passes exams taken at the beginning and one-fifths succeed in SSC or Dakhil exam (boys 26 and girls 15).
The overall picture is praiseworthy but not promising. The quantity concern must now be replaced by the concern for quality education.
The writer is a Professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University.  [email protected]