School education: From quantity to quality

Traditional economic theories developed since the 1960s embrace the endogenous growth theory. The theory introduces the concept of human capital as a means towards ensuring economic growth. Almost similar to this argument is Amartya Sen's human development paradigm that reminds us that education can be critically instrumental in economic upliftment as well as in social change.  
Of late, ideas on the role of education have expanded to view education as a source of food security. It is being argued that "basic education, and not training or vocational education, can improve the capacity of individuals to live a decent life and to escape from the hunger trap. The basic idea is that being educated improves rural people's capacity to diversify assets and activities, to access information on health and sanitation, to 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 higher than the corresponding returns on providing a boy with an extra year of schooling.
Women's education has captured the centre stage of concern in recent years. The reasons are not far to seek. In addition to total economic growth, women's education is believed to increase the equitability of wealth distribution 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 and lower infant mortality rates and lower maternal mortality rates. Closing gender gap in education also increases gender equality, which is considered important  because it ensures equal rights and opportunities for people regardless of gender.
Women's education has cognitive benefits for women 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 translate to increased 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.
While discussing the trend, one can hardly overlook the commendable comment from the former President of India and a world famous scientist A.P.J Abdul Kalam: "Creativity is the key to success in the 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 sight as a result of steps taken after 1990 by the successive governments.  For example: net and gross rate of school enrolment has increased. 87 per cent of children from six to ten years of age are attending schools as against 60 per cent in 1990. Children beyond this age group are also attending school at an incremental rate. In the secondary level, the rate of enrolment doubled over the last seven years. Dropout rate of children declined and completion rate of primary level increased. 75 per cent of primary school children are completing education cycle.  In primary and secondary levels, enrolment of boys and girls is at par-an achievement that places Bangladesh next only to Sri Lanka in South Asia.
However, this must not make us oblivious of the quality of education. For example:
n In general 60 per cent of the students are reported to make presence in class rooms, whereas if they all join, there would be space problem.
n 40 per cent of primary age children are observed to drop out before reaching class V -- perhaps an indication that enrolment is not enough to reflect real outcomes.
n Among those completed primary education cycle, two-thirds of them could meet government determined criteria of assessment.
n Even after completing 5 years, many fail to meet minimum standard of literacy criteria.
The list of negative numbers could be longer. Therefore, the satisfaction of increased enrolment in primary and secondary levels, especially regarding girls' enrolment, seems to be only partly justified. The jubilance over high pass rates that we tend to celebrate does not seem to reflect quality education. The policymakers thus should be more concerned with quality and less with quantity as enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals  (SDGs). That would mean quality teachers, international standard syllabus, efficient and accountable school management committees - rid of political influences - and making available digital facilities in institutions. Last but not the least, a standard test score, compatible with neighbouring countries should be set to monitor the quality of education in Bangladesh.
The writer is a former Professor
of Economics at
Jahangirnagar University.
abdul.bayes@brac.net