PROPOSED EDUCATION POLICY-Draft

1.0 Introduction

In Bangladesh, the key to achieving high rates of economic growth and at the same time ensuring that the fruits of economic growth are equitably shared by her population lies in development and utilisation of her human resources, the only resource Bangladesh has in abundance. Education therefore has been recognised as a priority sector by all governments since her independence. What follows is a brief review of the education sector in Bangladesh as at present with a view to identifying key issues that need to be addressed, presented in Section 2. Section 3 highlights the key issues as identified by the Task Force. Section 4 presents a set of policy recommendations put forward by the Task Force for implementation during the five year term of the next elected Government.

2.0 Education Sector in Bangladesh: A Review

The review has been organised as follows. After introducing the overall structure of the education system in Bangladesh profiles of the individual components of the education sector have been drawn focusing on their respective size, overall performance, and the constraints faced with a view to finding ways and means for relaxing the same. In drawing the above profiles official data sources have primarily been used, supplemented where necessary by other sources.
2.1 The Education Sector of Bangladesh: Structure, Management and Budgeting.

2.1.1 Structure:

The education system in Bangladesh is characterised by co-existence of three separate streams. The mainstream happens to be a vernacular based secular education system carried over from the colonial past. There also exists a separate religious system of education. Finally, based on use of English as the medium of instruction, another stream of education, modelled after the British education system, using the same curriculum, has rapidly grown in the metropolitan cities of Bangladesh.
However diverse the above streams may apparently look, they have certain common elements, and there exists scope for re-integration of graduates of one stream with the other at different levels.
The mainstream education system in Bangladesh is structured as follows: -

1. One or two year pre-primary education imparted in private schools/kindergartens, and informally in government primary schools for six months.

2. Five-year compulsory primary education for the 6-10 year age group, imparted mainly in government and non-government primary schools. In metropolitan cities, however, government and non-government primary schools cater to the educational needs only of the poorer sections of the people, as the better-off families usually send their children to Private English Medium schools/ secondary schools that run primary sections as well. There, however, exist a substantial number of NGO run non-formal schools catering mainly for the drop- outs of the government and non-government primary schools. Very few NGOs however impart education for the full 5-year primary education cycle. Because of that, on completion of their 2-3 year non-formal primary education in NGO run schools, students normally re-enter into government/ non-government primary schools at higher classes. NGO run schools differ from other non-government private schools. While the private schools operate like private enterprises often guided by commercial interests, NGO schools operate mainly in areas not served either by the government or private schools essentially to meet the educational needs of vulnerable groups in the society. They usually follow an informal approach to suit the special needs of children from the vulnerable groups.

3. On completion of primary education, students (11+) enrol for junior secondary education that spans over 3 years. At the end of this phase of education, some students branch out to join the vocational stream, offered at Vocational Training Institutes (VTI) and Technical Training Centres (TTC) run by the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment respectively, while students in the mainstream continue in government and non-government secondary schools for a 2 year secondary education in their respective areas of specialisation i.e. humanities, science, commerce, etc. At the end of their secondary education, the students sit for their first public examination (S.S.C.) under the supervision of six education boards.
The students of religious education and English medium streams also sit for their respective public examinations, Dakhil, and O level, conducted by the Madrasah Education Board, and London/Cambridge University respectively, facilitated by the British Council in case of the latter.

4. After 10 years of schooling at primary and secondary level, students (16+) who succeed in passing the Secondary School Certificate (S.S.C.) examination have the option of joining a college for a 2 year higher secondary education in their respective areas of specialisation, or enrol in technical/ poly technical institutes for technical education. After 2-year higher secondary education, one has to sit for another public examination called Higher Secondary Certificate (H.S.C.) Examination conducted by the Education Boards to qualify for further education. Students of Religious and English Medium streams also sit for their respective public examinations, Alim, and 'A' level, conducted by the Madrasah Education Board and London/Cambridge University respectively to qualify for further education.

5. Under-graduate education of various duration (2 to 4 years) are offered to 18+ students at a number of public and private universities / degree colleges/technical colleges/ specialised institutions. Successful completion of a degree course is a pre-requisite for appointment to a white-collar civilian job.

6. Post-graduate education normally of 1-2 year duration is provided at universities and selected degree colleges and institutions.

Full Policy in PDF Format: Download(92.5 KB)

Source: Election 2001 : National Policy Forum (Dhaka: 20-22 August, 2001)
Organized by: Centre for Policy Dialogue, Prothom Alo, The Daily Star