Nearly 75% of fifth graders do not have adequate competence for grade V Bangla while 67% lack that in mathematics, a World Bank report revealed yesterday.
Although these students are at the end of the primary education cycle, they are still performing at a level lower than what is typical of fifth grade competence, World Bank’s “Bangladesh: Education Sector Review” noted.
The report said data and figures were collected from a survey of the Directorate of Primary Education. It was unveiled at a consultation meeting organised by Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) at a city hotel yesterday.
The learning level, according to the report, is low at the beginnings of primary education, with 50% of third graders failing to meet the competency target for Mathematics, 33% failed to do so in Bangla.
The survey found competence is worse among children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Children from poor families were found to be at least three-fourths of a school year behind in Bangla compared to their richer counterparts and half a school year behind in Mathematics.
However, in Primary School Certificate examinations in 2013, 98.58% passed the exam while a total of 2,40,961 students secured GPA-5.
The pass rate was 92.34% in 2010, 97.26% in 2011, 97.35% in 2012 and 98.58% in 2013.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, CAMPE executive director Rasheda K Choudhury said these findings called the country’s examination system into question. She said at all levels of education, it was quality that suffered.
Manzoor Ahmed, senior adviser at Brac University’s Institute of Education and Development, said low budgetary allocation was one of the obstacles to ensuring quality education.
He said budgetary allocation in Bangladesh was the lowest among South Asian countries and should be increased.
Taking part in the discussion, teachers’ representative Kazi Faruque Ahmed said teachers should be given training to ensure quality education.
Power and Participation Research Center executive director Hossain Zillur Rahman said the government should rethink the Monthly Pay Order System, as there were irregularities in it. He said school managing committees running non-government schools was a major problem and there should be a policy on that.
Zillur Rahman added the government should establish more public secondary schools.
Jesko Hentschel, World Bank’s Human Development director of South Asia region, said: “By improving quality of education and also skill development, Bangladesh can link its youth to productive employment in local or overseas job markets.”
Speaking at the programme, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said he himself was not satisfied with the quality of education, though it had been improving over the years.
“Now the main challenge of our education system is ensuring quality. We are working on it,” he said.
The minister admitted that the examination system was bad and said they were working to improve it.
