One hundred ninety-three member states of the UN unanimously adopted the SDGs in 2015, and by 2030, the targeted goals are to be fulfilled. Keeping pace with this promise, along with the SDG 4 goal, the government of Bangladesh has taken various steps to achieve the goals within the stipulated time.
The SDG 4 goal of the seventeen talks about inclusive and quality education based on equality and making scope for life-long learning. However, doubts have developed about whether Bangladesh can fulfil its goals by 2030, as the education system is still unsteady.
By 2030, all boys and girls’ relevant, practical and fruitful education based on equity and quality will be ensured as sub-component 4.1 under SDG 4 goal. However, free education in Bangladesh is still limited to the primary level and has questionable quality.
In the secondary, only a small number of schools are government and 97 per cent are non-government. Moreover, it is said by many that the prevailing education of different streams stands as an obstacle to equity and quality education in the primary and secondary levels.
The primary school statistics 2024 show that there are 11 types of primary schools in the country, out of which 55.3 per cent are government, where one crore 6 lac 17 thousand students study out of a total of two crore 18 lac 3 thousand students. 52.8 per cent of students study in other primary schools.
Statistics also show that 24.8 per cent of students study in kindergartens. At the secondary level, there are 21 thousand 86 schools, of which 19,757 are non-government, accounting for 93.7 per cent. Out of 94 lac five thousand 785 secondary students, 87 lac 41 thousand 480 study in non-government secondary schools, and only 5 lac 71 thousand 681 students study in government schools.
Moreover, 92,624 students study in upgraded primary schools, which shows that 92.94 per cent of students receive education in non-government institutions. In the intermediate level, there are 2,880 educational institutions, of which 117 are government and the remaining 2,763 are non-government. Out of 9 lac 12 thousand 680 students, 8 lac 26 680 students study in non-government colleges and only 86 thousand 209 students in government colleges.
The current education situation in Bangladesh indicates that it would be difficult to achieve the SDG 4 goal. The education system of different streams and the sound planning of the state prove to be a big challenge. Our primary education, which is divided into eleven kinds, makes the education discriminatory.
A child’s thoughtful process and competency-based start from primary education. When they see discrimination in this stage of life, it tends to create an impression on their overall education and next life. They witness the financial and social discrepancy at this stage of life.
Some teachers and educators opine that the government should have issued a circular so that all types of primary schools receive the same type of education to avoid a discriminatory situation at this stage of education that permanently impacts young children’s minds.
However, this suggestion does not seem fully convincing and reasonable, as the prevailing social system has caused it to happen. Suppose a group of people has developed normally in a society where children must receive a global education, even at the primary stage. They cannot think of sending their children to religion-based institutions (madrasa) or Bengali medium institutions.
So, English medium schools have sprung up in the country. On the other hand, another group of people prevails in the country, and they can never think of sending their children to English-medium schools, except for sending them to religious schools (madrasas). We definitely cannot afford to ignore this reality so easily.
The government cannot compel them to receive similar education either. Some NGOs used to run, and some are still running, primary schools, where government or other efforts hardly reach. They follow a mixed curriculum to make children smarter, which goes with their living standard.
This is another reality. Here, just one thing may be done to establish a bridge between the gulf of differences among various primary school types. Some specific subjects highlighting the Bengali culture and history can be made compulsory for all types of primary streams.
National Education Policy 2010 says that the same curriculum should be introduced for all at the primary level, which has not yet been implemented. That means it is not implementable. We have government primary schools, non-government kindergartens, primary schools attached to high schools, Ebtedai Madrasa, Ebtedai Madrasa attached to high madrasa, primary schools run by NGOs, education centres run by NGOs, Children’s Welfare Trust School, Qawmi Madrasa and English Medium School.
Government primary schools and the schools attached to government high schools fully follow the government curriculum, known as the general education curriculum. However, the non-government primary schools, kindergartens, and schools run by NGOs use several additional books along with the books beyond the general curriculum.
In the Ebtedai madrasa and the Ebtedai madrasa adjacent to the high madrasa, a separate curriculum approved by the government is known as the ‘general madrasa’ curriculum that specialises in religious education. However, Qawmi madrasa and English medium schools follow their own curriculum, and their assessment system is also different. Qawmi madrasa Holy Quran and Hadith learning is more important than other areas.
This difference in curriculum and institutions prevails in the secondary level as well. In secondary education, six types of institutions exist: government secondary, non-government secondary, technical, Ebtedai madrasa, Qawmi madrasa, and English medium. The government-approved curriculum is usually followed in government and non-government schools, known as the ‘general curriculum’.
Some non-government schools, of course, use some extra books beyond the government curriculum. At the secondary level, the dropout rate is comparatively greater. According to education statistics, in general educational institutions, the dropout rate stands at 35.40 per cent, in madrasa, 40.25 per cent and in technical education, 27.73 per cent.
On the other hand, in the higher secondary level, the general education streams show a dropout rate of 16.97 per cent, which is 29.29 per cent in madrasa and 42.65 per cent in the technical education.
BANBEIS reports show that in the last 50 years, 12 268non-government educational institutions have been established. At the same time, the number of government institutions has been built only 496, out of which 317 were nationalised during the AL Regime ( 2011-2023). Though nationalised, quality education and a suitable atmosphere have not been created because of the lack of proper planning.
In the 2010 education policy, the teacher and student ratio was suggested to be maintained at 1:30, which could not be implemented. Due to other problems like toilet facilities and infrastructure, the guardians show a better option for their children in non-government schools.
As these schools fail to cater to the students’ needs to prepare them for the challenges of this century, they go to coaching centres, ignoring classroom teaching, which contributes to increasing the cost of education.
In order to address these ills lying in primary and secondary levels and to achieve the SDG 4 goal by 2030, educationists and people concerned express their opinion that the number of government secondary schools should be increased, and already existing ones must try to upgrade their standard of education.
The already frustrating situation of government primary schools makes us doubtful whether we can achieve the SDG 4 goal by extending education to the secondary level, just like primary schools. Recently concluded non-government teachers’ move to press home their house rent allowance as per the salary percentage, avoiding the fixed amount, did not talk about reaching the SDG 4 goal.
That again reminds us that quality is not the concern of the teachers. When this is the reality and the government allocation for education still stands as the lowest among the South Asian states, can we really expect to achieve the SDG 4 goal by the stipulated time? If not, what would be the status of education?
Shouldn’t our political parties have an agenda regarding the matter, as they will take up the responsibility of education within four months?
About the Author
Masum Billah works as a President of the English Teachers' Association of Bangladesh (ETAB), Dhaka, Bangladesh. He previously worked as an Education Specialist at BRAC, an international NGO in Bangladesh.