Bangladesh expects to double its upper secondary school completion rate to 50% by 2030, despite major setbacks to education due to the Covid-19 pandemic over the past two years, according to a recent Unesco report.
The report describes the steps taken since 2017 to agree benchmarks on a set of seven Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 indicators: early childhood education attendance; out-of-school rates; completion rates; gender gaps in completion rates; minimum proficiency rates in reading and mathematics; trained teachers; and public education expenditure.
SDG 4 calls to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
A total of 45% of countries have submitted their figures for at least one benchmark indicator, and 8% of countries committed to submitting benchmark values in the coming weeks. Bangladesh has submitted its country report.
The report, published on the occasion of World Education Day on Monday, found that most countries would not achieve SDG 4 by 2030.
In Bangladesh, the out-of-school rate among primary school age children was 6.1% in 2015 and the government expects to reduce it to 2.1% by 2025 and 2% by 2030. For lower secondary school age children, it was 33.1% in 2015, and the target is to reduce it to 10% by 2025 and 7.5% by 2030.
For upper secondary school age children, the out-of-school rate was 47.9% in 2015, and Bangladesh expects to reduce it to 30% by 2025 and 20% by 2030.
The primary school completion rate in the country was 86.6% in 2015, and the government expects it to go down slightly to 83.4% in 2025 before bouncing back up to 84.6% by 2030. The lower secondary school completion rate was 63.2% in 2015, and the aim is to increase it to 72% by 2025 and 80% by 2030.
The upper secondary school completion rate was 25.2% in 2015, and Bangladesh expects to raise it to 35% by 2025 and 50% by 2030.
The benchmarks are being on the assumption that most countries will have recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic by 2025. If the consequences of Covid-19 prove more severe than expected, the benchmarks may be adjusted later this year, the report said.
Executive Director of Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) and Vice President of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) Rasheda K Choudhury told Dhaka Tribune the education sector had made good progress in achieving SDG 4, but the impact of Covid-19 pandemic has undone some of the hard work.
“Many students have switched to madrasas because their parents were pushed into poverty. Madrasas were open during the pandemic, while the rest of the educational institutions remained closed,” she told the correspondent.
She also said there was a lack of scientific data on enrolment and dropout rates in Bangladesh.
In the foreword to the report, Global Education Monitoring Report Advisory Board Chair David Sengeh, also minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and chief innovation officer for the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation in Sierra Leone, and Dankert Vedeler, former chair of the Unesco Institute for Statistics Governing Board and former assistant director general at the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, mentioned that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was rightly ambitious, including in education. The global targets encapsulated the strong desire for a change in direction.
“The havoc wreaked by Covid-19 as well as multiple other unforeseen challenges have rocked the boat along the way. But facing up to reality at this point is an important step. It paves the way for an honest partnership between those in leadership roles and those wanting to support them. It maps out a realistic agenda for accelerated progress between now and 2030, something we can all get behind,” the forward said.