The sorry state of primary education

Believe it or not, 'free' primary education in Bangladesh is not free really. It is highly expensive. So where does the whopping government budget allocated on account of making primary education free every years go? According to a study, as reported by the FE on March 16, annual spending of primary school students in Bangladesh stands at Tk 37.34 billion. Quoting a study, the report said, such a cost has seriously affected mainly the poverty-ridden people. The study on 'Bangladesh Primary Education Stipend: A Quality Assessment' was jointly conducted by the Directorate of the Primary Education Bangladesh (DPE), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC).
The study says, on an average, the annual expenditure of a primary school student is around Tk 4,788, of which 54.1 per cent is spent on private tuition. The total number of students in primary schools is nearly 7.8 million (2013 estimates). "The students of urban areas pay higher private tuition fee -- 59.3 per cent of the total cost. Highly poverty affected students pay 47.4 per cent while the medium poverty-riddled areas pay 51.8 per cent," the study said.
What is really alarming is that most of their total spending goes to buy guidebooks. Highly poverty-ridden people pay higher, 10.3 per cent of the total cost.
The cold statistics simply blur the imagination of those who really want the primary education, compulsory and supposedly 'free' to prepare the new generation of the country ably for 'positive' leadership in all fields. It is certainly baffling to know that primary students are being forced to go for private tuition, a drag that has virtually killed creativity of the young minds. And more alarming is availability of guide books for them. Then what do the teachers do in classrooms and what do they teach? They are supposed to be the real guides. It is time that the government seriously re-examined the country's primary education system where tax-payers' money now appear to be going down the drain.
It speaks of political commitment of all past governments in Bangladesh that they made primary education compulsory by law. According to the Constitution, the government is responsible for providing such education to all. Bangladesh is committed to achieving the second MDG by providing quality primary education. Both the government and the non-government agencies initiated programmes to achieve this. Distribution of free textbooks to all students and stipend (upabritti) for the poorer segment are two significant state initiatives. In addition, non-formal schools offer a second chance to the poor and disadvantaged.
There has been improvement in physical facilities, teachers' education and training, and learning provisions for the primary education system during the past decade. However, the improvement has been uneven.
Shortcomings have been found in the teachers' subject-based training, management training of the heads and effective functioning of the school managing committees. Dependence on private tutoring has increased over time.
Students' learning achievement has improved, but not at the desired level. Inequities in gender, school type and residence are some related issues linked to the quality of the system. Learning achievement now depends more on background characteristics of students and on private tutoring than on school-related factors.
It is unfortunate that the quality of primary schooling is now very poor. Despite the popular claims based on high pass rate in public exams, the level of learning is particularly low in rural areas, even among children completing primary school. Results of primary school completion (PSC) examination also show that performance is lower in non-government primary schools. The Unesco's suggestion of identifying and motivating good teachers and rewarding them can significantly boost student performance. Instead of prioritising such pragmatic measures to achieve the Education for All (EFA) goal to ensure quality education for all children, Bangladesh's case has seemingly been compromised by politicisation of the education sector. In order to mobilise popular support, it was announced in January 2013 that it would nationalise existing non-government primary schools and teachers. The promise of nationalisation has also been extended to non-government school teachers who have never received MPO salary subsidy.
But then experts say, little thought has gone into the consequences of this policy for the quality of teaching and learning outcomes in rural Bangladesh. There, parents mostly rely on non-government primary schools for children's education.
It does not really speak well of our system when  an internal report by the Department of Primary Education (DPE) says about 70 per cent of children in Bangladesh who complete their primary education are unable to read, write or count properly. Sixty-nine per cent of students who had completed five years of primary school were unable to read news headlines in Bangla newspapers properly, while 87 per cent of pupils failed to do simple mathematical calculations, the study, titled 'National Assessment of Pupils of Grades Three and Five', said.
Conducted by the Second Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-II), a donor-assisted programme to ensure quality primary education for all children, the study reported that 72 per cent of children were unable to write a short composition in Bangla - the mother tongue of over 98 per cent of the population. The report also found students 'pitiably weak' in English, which plays a key role in day-to-day life, particularly in business, higher studies and technical education.
It is urgent that primary education gets the state's highest priority as it is the very backbone of the country's entire education system. If the foundation is not built solidly, there is every chance that the statecraft might one day be limping with its vast human resources becoming more burdensome than assets.
arjayster@gmail.com