Quality education to address unemployment

THE Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Government of Bangladesh recognises education as a means of reducing poverty and improving the quality of life for children. “States Parties recognise the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular: (a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to all;  (b) Encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational education, make them available and accessible to every child, and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need” said in Article 28(1) of the CRC.

As a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Government of Bangladesh, with assistance from development partners, has made positive steps towards fulfilling children's rights to education, according to the Education for All and Millennium Development Goals.

However, conscious citizens got surprised to know that only two of 1,364 applicants initially qualified for enrolling in English department as appeared in the newspaper (The Daily Star/ October 15, 2014).  As it also appeared in the popular Bangla Daily (Prothom Alo/ November 7, 2014); students of Class 6 lacks skill in math and languages (both Bangla and English). It was revealed in the assessment done by Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) that a total of 82 percent students attending Class 6 do not have required skill in math while a number of 92 percent lacks required skill in English.  A significant percent (89%) lack required skill in Bangla as well. Does not this assessment reflect a shamble state of education?

Low-performing students are unlikely to secure an employment even if they somehow complete full cycle of education. Unemployment rate is quite high among youth population in Bangladesh. According to the 2011 census of population and housing, 32 percent of youths in the potential labour force are either unemployed or underemployed. Of all groups in the labour force, youths aged 15-19 years have the highest rate of unemployment, more than four times the rate of unemployed people aged 35 and over, as per the census. While Bangladesh's total unemployment rate is 4.53 percent, youth unemployment rate for males is 6.8 percent and the female 8.5 percent.

In this backdrop, would policymakers pay heed and take positive steps in improving quality of education?

THE WRITER IS A HUMAN RIGHTS WORKER.