‘Primary edn system in rural areas needs proper attention’

Prime Minister's International Affairs Adviser Professor Dr Gowher Rizvi called on Monday for ensuring equal access to quality education as children in rural areas are still not learning adequate skills due to substandard primary education system, reports BSS.
"Children of elite families are getting education from private schools .... That is why they are receiving quality education than their rural counterparts," he told the inaugural function of a four-day international workshop titled "Strengthening Communication for Development to improve results in Education" in Ascott Palace in the city.
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and BRAC, an international development organisation based in Bangladesh, are jointly organising the four-day workshop.
Gowher said Bangladesh has made tremendous success in accessing to education with nearly hundred per cent enrolment in primary education and significant reduction in drop-out rate in both primary and secondary education.
"Primary education system in rural areas is not given proper attention to improve its quality as children in elite class in urban areas get into admission in the schools, that have well-designed modern curricula meaning their rural peers are denied quality education," he added.
Poor learning skills of the children in rural areas is one of the major challenges for ensuring quality education, Gowher said adding inefficient teachers and the guardians, who have not adequate knowledge, are another major challenges in the education sector because they often fail to unlock potential of children.
With an improvement in physical infrastructures, he said, inclusive education system from primary to tertiary levels should be ensured for both rural and urban children to make sure removing any disparity in the education sector.
At the opening function, Louise Mvono, Representative of UNICEF Bangladesh, said "We have the capacity and means to do much better for children who are not in school or those who are not getting the right education even they are attending school."
Bangladesh's grant of US $100 million will support the country's Third Primary Education Development Programme 2011-2017, she said adding the grant will be pooled with the government's own funding as well as funding from nine development partners, and will support the education ministry in delivering child-friendly learning to pre-primary and primary school aged children.
Development practitioners and experts from 15 countries-Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Vietnam, Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Montenegro, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Columbia and Peru-are taking part in the workshop.