Poor English teaching means less GPA-5 scorers in rural areas
Sunday, 7 October 2007
Md. Habibullah
EVERY year the rise in the percentage of GPA-5s in the Secondary and Higher Secondary Certificate Examinations is breaking the record of the previous year. The students having GPA-5 are considered the real gems in Bangladesh. I shall not, however say anything about them except for wishing them continued success.
I am rather more inclined to talk about the percentage of the rural students having GPA-5 in comparison with the urban students. The rate of having GPA-5 for the rural students is ten times less than that of the urban students. Is there any think-tank who considers this proportion of the rural students in having GPA-5 compared with the urban students?
We should try to dig out the causes of the failure for the rural students in having GPA-5 and treat them with proper equal care, otherwise the policy will be like the proverbial "Carrying coal to new castle."
Now we come to the crux of the problem. The concerned quarter has discovered that failure in English is the root cause of the problem. About 70 per cent potential students in the rural areas are victims of the situation and deprived of being gems. In other words, English is the chief determining factor with regard to failure in having GPA-5 for the rural students. Most of the students of that respective areas are invariably suffering from xenophobia for English or English Fear Syndrome (EFS). That the fear has reached the intermediate in one jump is not true.
It has, rather, originated from the primary level of education and passed through secondary education. As a matter of fact the students of rural areas are afraid of learning English when they embark on their early education. Our fathers' and grand fathers' generations had the opportunity for fairly adequate English learning..
But it is a very different scenario now. Neglect of English learning after the birth of Bangladesh from ultra nationalism is one reason. Subsequently, polices were late in implementation to reverse this trend. after. But even now there are hardly expert English teachers at both primary and secondary levels in the rural areas. The incompetent teachers teach the students a little English. As a result, the students of the rural areas in SSC exam fail in English or pass with simple result.
These students with this little knowledge of English are getting admitted into the poor village colleges or into the substandard institutions for higher secondary education. In those colleges, especially in those non-government ones English teaching in a very sorry state. One cannot expect quality teaching from these English teachers. As a result the knowledge of English gained at their hands does not rise even an inch from what had been acquired earlier. This situation is enough for the destruction of their life and higher education.
It calls for a coordinated national policy. The government should take effective measures to strengthen the foundation of English learning at primary and secondary levels. They should appoint only the expert teachers for English. Appointed teachers who are teaching English should be given proper training.
Above all there should be a unified, definite and workable education policy covering all the rural areas in Bangladesh and the implementation of the policy is a must. We must address the problems encountered by the rural students by all means.
Md. Habibullah is a lecturer at World University of Bangladesh, Dhaka
EVERY year the rise in the percentage of GPA-5s in the Secondary and Higher Secondary Certificate Examinations is breaking the record of the previous year. The students having GPA-5 are considered the real gems in Bangladesh. I shall not, however say anything about them except for wishing them continued success.
I am rather more inclined to talk about the percentage of the rural students having GPA-5 in comparison with the urban students. The rate of having GPA-5 for the rural students is ten times less than that of the urban students. Is there any think-tank who considers this proportion of the rural students in having GPA-5 compared with the urban students?
We should try to dig out the causes of the failure for the rural students in having GPA-5 and treat them with proper equal care, otherwise the policy will be like the proverbial "Carrying coal to new castle."
Now we come to the crux of the problem. The concerned quarter has discovered that failure in English is the root cause of the problem. About 70 per cent potential students in the rural areas are victims of the situation and deprived of being gems. In other words, English is the chief determining factor with regard to failure in having GPA-5 for the rural students. Most of the students of that respective areas are invariably suffering from xenophobia for English or English Fear Syndrome (EFS). That the fear has reached the intermediate in one jump is not true.
It has, rather, originated from the primary level of education and passed through secondary education. As a matter of fact the students of rural areas are afraid of learning English when they embark on their early education. Our fathers' and grand fathers' generations had the opportunity for fairly adequate English learning..
But it is a very different scenario now. Neglect of English learning after the birth of Bangladesh from ultra nationalism is one reason. Subsequently, polices were late in implementation to reverse this trend. after. But even now there are hardly expert English teachers at both primary and secondary levels in the rural areas. The incompetent teachers teach the students a little English. As a result, the students of the rural areas in SSC exam fail in English or pass with simple result.
These students with this little knowledge of English are getting admitted into the poor village colleges or into the substandard institutions for higher secondary education. In those colleges, especially in those non-government ones English teaching in a very sorry state. One cannot expect quality teaching from these English teachers. As a result the knowledge of English gained at their hands does not rise even an inch from what had been acquired earlier. This situation is enough for the destruction of their life and higher education.
It calls for a coordinated national policy. The government should take effective measures to strengthen the foundation of English learning at primary and secondary levels. They should appoint only the expert teachers for English. Appointed teachers who are teaching English should be given proper training.
Above all there should be a unified, definite and workable education policy covering all the rural areas in Bangladesh and the implementation of the policy is a must. We must address the problems encountered by the rural students by all means.
Md. Habibullah is a lecturer at World University of Bangladesh, Dhaka