Decisive action is needed to deliver on education pledges

The overwhelming support of voters received by the BNP thrusts upon the new government a special responsibility and a challenge to meet people’s expectations. The party’s election pledges include a good number of education objectives and targets. Whether these promises reflect what is needed for essential education reform and how they can be turned into action and results are burning questions on people’s minds.

Listed under the general tag line of “Achieving Equitable Socioeconomic Development and Sustainable State Capacity,” with the heading “Education and Human Resource Development,” the education objectives cover budget and infrastructure, primary and secondary education, higher education and research, madrasa and technical education, and teachers and overall reform.

Regarding the education budget, BNP has pledged to raise the allocation to five percent of GDP (from the current allocation of less than two percent) as well as to promote digital technology (free Wi-Fi, multimedia classrooms, a tab for each teacher) and provide free school lunch and sanitation facilities for girls. Presumably the increased budget will pay for these items.

On school education, the items mentioned include providing students with school uniforms, expanding pre-primary education, a compulsory third language instruction (beyond Bangla and English), and focusing on extracurricular and “creative talent development.” The “one child, one tree” initiative is aimed at raising environmental awareness.

In higher education, key items include introducing student loans and support for higher education abroad, tax exemption for private universities, and upgrading the National University which regulates (very poorly) the academic quality of more than 2,200 colleges. Industry-academia collaboration and internship for students will be promoted.

Madrasa education and technical education are bracketed (in line with the current education ministry administrative structure). Modernisation of madrasas is a goal. The certificates of Qawmi madrasas are to be recognised and priority to be given on jobs. “Technical and vocational education for all” is promised.

In the “Teachers and Reform” section, an education reform commission for overall quality improvement is promised. Curriculum reform, recruitment of meritorious teachers, and simplifying the payment of retirement benefits for teachers and granting them state honours are mentioned. Special assistance will be provided to students injured in the July mass uprising.

An election manifesto, by its very nature, consists of pledges made to the public based on a general perception of key problems and popular demands. It is not expected to be a well-developed action plan and strategy for a sector, especially one as complex and critical as education. Nonetheless, the pledges made by the newly elected governing party deserve scrutiny for what is included and excluded, and the feasibility of fulfilling them.

In Bangladesh, raising the budget allocation for education, which is one of the lowest in the world in terms of GDP ratio, has been a long-held demand. Increasing it to five percent has to be a long-term commitment, which can be met as the tax-GDP ratio grows from the current level (6.8 percent). However, to signal the government’s sincerity, public investment in education must be increased in real terms year to year. Equally urgent is to direct funds to activities that demonstrably impact classroom learning, reduce inequity, and ensure better efficiency and accountability. The spending on digital technology emphasised in the pledge will be helpful only if it produces the outcome in better student learning. So far, the track record has been far from satisfactory.

Regarding school education, one would have liked to see a commitment to a time-bound plan for universal secondary education of acceptable quality, which is a 2030 SDG goal and essential to realise Bangladesh’s aspiration for reaching an upper-middle-income status. Is compulsory third language instruction in schools a sensible priority when we are doing a very poor job of teaching English and even Bangla? Also, in tertiary education, expansion of institutions without ensuring quality and necessary resources is a major concern. Vocational-technical education challenges are obviously not only a madrasa-related issue.

Teachers—their recruitment and performance—are a central concern in bringing about a transformative change in the sector. The aim has to be more basic rethinking than salaries and awards within the present structure.

Civil society discourse on education and consultations held across the country with parents, teachers, students, and education activists, conducted by the Campaign for Popular Education and its partner organisations, have brought out some key education decisions that the new government should address to make a head start towards reform. Among these are three early actions recommended for the new government:

· Appoint a high-level education development task force to guide the formulation of a five-year education sector development plan and a 10-year education perspective plan.

· Bring all school education, from pre-primary to pre-university, under a single ministry to promote universal, inclusive and high quality education for all children.

· Launch a comprehensive early childhood care and development (ECCD) programme to progressively serve all children from birth to pre-primary, ensuring their healthy growth, development, and school readiness; this programme can be implemented through community-based organisations and NGOs with government support.

The education manifesto responds, as expected, to populist demands and perceptions, some of which may be difficult to implement or may not produce the intended outcome. It is necessary to examine if and how the sundry list becomes part of an education philosophy, vision, and a comprehensive plan for educational development. A total action plan with priorities, phasing, resource planning, implementing mechanism, designation of responsibilities, and the means of assessing progress has to be developed.

The two advisers of the interim government for the primary and mass education and education ministries, before their eventual departure, belatedly asked two consultation committees to provide recommendations on necessary reform in primary and secondary education. Another committee prepared a “vision” statement on future school education in the country. The reform ideas emanating from these committees do provide a reform agenda for the newly elected government. These can be regarded as the necessary groundwork for shaping the government’s education development agenda. Education advocates and the civil society expect to make education an urgent topic for discourse with the new government.

Dr Manzoor Ahmed is professor emeritus at BRAC University. He was the convener of the consultation committee on primary and non-formal education appointed by the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, as well as of the consultation committee on secondary education appointed by the Ministry of Education.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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