The quality of our education sector has always been a hotly debated issue in Bangladesh, ever since its independence in 1971. It is alarming that this situation is worsening day by day. Recently, this issue has drawn our attention for several reasons.
Basically, our education system is divided into three levels: Primary, secondary, and tertiary. Junior level education is the pillar of the educational system of a country.
The success or failure of higher level education depends on junior level education. If we want to increase the enrolment rate in higher education, first of all, we will have to ensure quality education at the junior level.
We are all familiar with the proverb that education is the backbone of a nation.
That’s a perfectly agrreable sentiment. But it forgets to factor in one crucial element: The quality of education
In the present world, quality is the first priority for all people. But it is an unfortunate reality that, day by day, the quality of education in Bangladesh is decreasing rampantly.
It seems that our government is in a hurry to show off quantity rather than the quality of our education.
In recent years, the government has introduced a few public examinations for junior level students such as PSC and JSC.
Though there are lots of controversies about these public examinations, policy-makers have paid little attention there. Teachers and guardians often say that students are being burdened with more examinations and they are being pressured with even more textbooks.
So, many examinations, as a result, are becoming the main barriers to the flourishing of innovative and creative minds in the next generations.
However, it seems, from the present situation, that the government is only confined to taking examinations and publishing their results, and is not bothered about the quality of education or the well-being of the students at all.
Many scholars are saying that the government itself has set the “pass rate” as the yardstick of its success in the educational sector.
Thus, every year, the passing rate has been increasing. Students are sitting for examinations only to pass or achieve a certain grade.
Their actual learning is getting more and more limited. This system is closing down space for creativity or innovation.
It would be a matter of joy and pleasure if the students passing the public examinations and achieving good grades were exhibiting quality in some way.
But questions are raised when we see these very students failing in the admission tests for Dhaka University or other good universities.
It has been said that “the fate of a nation is decided in its classrooms.” And if we fail to ensure quality education in classes, we will obviously lag behind in the modern world.
In this present world, innovation, creativity, and quality are the basis for ensuring excellence in whatever we do.
We are dreaming of becoming a developed country by 2040, and we have already set Vision 2021 which would see us becoming a “digital country” within this period of time.
To achieve this goal, the foremost thing is to ensure good governance and sustainable economic growth. To ensure good governance and economic development, we need qualified and energetic people who will lead this country from the front.
Lack of quality education at the junior level will have multiple effects in the future, both for nation-building and overall general development. Unemployment is just another negative side-effect of a poor education system.
In some cases, students get involved in unethical practices such as question paper leaking and bribing to gain admission to universities or to get jobs however they can.
As a result, our social values and norms are being degraded. This trend leads to a brainless nation. If we really want to keep up with the pace of the modern world by ensuring efficiency, innovation, and productivity, there is no alternative to having quality junior level education.
We have a huge population, and every year a good number of students are enroling in primary schools.
We can, through proper planning, transform this huge population into human capital. As we have a scarcity of physical capital, we can utilise this huge stock of human capital for our economic development.
Our government should realise the demand of the hour and address this problem properly.
The Education Ministry should come forward without any delay to ensure quality education by taking all possible measures.
Junior-level textbooks should be revised and modified -- they should also be redesigned to reflect the modern world we live in.
The number of textbooks school-going children are required to carry should also be reduced. After all, don’t we want a capable generation for the future?