Too inadequate to raise quality

If you walk through an alley in any neighbourhood in the capital, you would see kindergartens and private primary schools swarming the area with each and every one of them boasting of their high standard.

Parents send their children to these schools not only because they want their children to have quality education, but also because they are sceptical about the standard of education at government primary schools.

But the situation is quite different when it comes to secondary level education.

The quality of state-run secondary schools is quite high, but their number is so low that many students don't get the opportunity to enrol in those. And that is why the private sector moves in.

Experts blame inadequate government investment in education for this situation at both primary and secondary levels. And their observation is reflected in the budgetary allocation for this sector while the government often proclaims it to be of the highest importance to the nation.

As the size of the national budget is getting bigger every year, the budgetary allocation to the education sector also rises. But actually, the sector's share in the national budget has declined over the years.

The share of the education sector in the total budgetary outlay decreased to 11.6 percent in fiscal 2015-16 from 15.9 percent in 2006-07, according to a study of the Centre for Policy Dialogue and Campaign for Popular Education.

The country spends only around two percent of the GDP for education, which remained almost static for the last 14 years, said the study.

Citing World Development Indicator (WDI) data, it said Bangladesh was ranked 155th among 161 countries in 2014 in terms of the education sector's share in the GDP.

Bangladesh committed in the Dakar Declaration and in various global forums that it would spend six percent of the GDP or allocate at least 20 percent of the national budget for education.

The Unesco stipulates that the budgetary allocation for education should constitute at least six percent of the GDP and 20 percent of the total budget.

But the allocation for education in the national budget was only two percent of the GDP and 11.6 percent of the budget in the outgoing fiscal year, the study pointed out.

Besides, a large portion of the education budget is spent for non-development purposes, mainly for teachers' salaries and allowances, leaving limited scope for investment in improving the quality of education.

Take, for example, the allocation of Tk 17,103 crore to the education ministry in the outgoing fiscal year.

Of the amount, around Tk 12,677 crore was spent for non-development purposes and Tk 4,000 crore for development purposes, according to budget documents.

Educationists and experts say there should be more investment in training of teachers, improvement of curriculum, construction of classrooms and setting up of libraries and laboratories.

The country has achieved 97 percent enrolment for primary education, but the government should pay more attention to the secondary and tertiary education and improving their quality, they said.

Last week, educationists at a meeting pointed out various problems, including heavy curriculum, complex textbooks, and faulty examination and evaluation systems in secondary level education, and advocated the increase of budgetary allocation for the education sector.

Now, there are more than 66,000 government primary schools in the country. But the quality of education at many of those institutions is poor as they continue to suffer from many problems.

Shabby classrooms, lack of qualified teachers and libraries, and low pay of teachers are some of the reasons behind their poor performance.

Of the schools, more than 26,000 were nationalised in 2013 when questions were raised about academic and professional competence of a large number of the teachers in those institutions.

There have been allegations that many of them were not recruited in a transparent manner while many others got the job using political influence.

On the other hand, dearth of competent teachers of science and mathematics and lack of training facilities remain as major challenges to ensuring quality education at secondary level.

There are only 338 government secondary schools in the country, and the rest 19,000 are non-government schools, quality of many of which is in question, said the experts.

Education ministry officials said the government secondary schools are considered quality institutions as they have better teachers and infrastructural facilities. But due to lack of adequate funds, the ministry cannot set up more secondary schools.

Talking to The Daily Star last night, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said the allocation for the education sector needs to be increased for ensuring quality education.

"The finance minister announced that the allocation for this sector would be increased in the upcoming budget, and we are hopeful of getting a bigger allocation," he added.

Experts and educationists say the country should invest more in education if it wants to achieve the goals set in the National Education Policy 2010 and Vision 2021.

"Our future would be bleak if we do not increase our investment in education," eminent educationist Prof Serajul Islam Choudhury told The Daily Star.

It is a matter of regret that the government investment in the education sector is poor, and the allocation has been declining over the years, he said.

"Naturally, we expect that the investment would gradually increase to 20 percent of the total budget. Otherwise, we won't be able to move forward.

"We are spending on many unproductive areas which would not bring any good in the future," said the Professor Emeritus of Dhaka University.

Prof Serajul noted that the government must make education its top priority for the sake of the country's future.

"Allocation for education should not be seen just as an allocation, it should be considered an investment for the future," he added.

Noted academician Prof Siddiqur Rahman said, "The current investment is very inadequate for ensuring quality education."

The government needs to invest more to execute its plans such as extending primary education up to class-VIII. It should put more emphasis on teachers' training as a number of them at both primary and secondary levels are still not competent, he said.

Besides, it should invest more for upgrading infrastructure in the sector, said Prof Siddiqur, a former teacher at the Institute of Education and Research of Dhaka University.

He suggested the government should gradually increase the education budget to a minimum of four percent of the GDP.

The government must make sure that the money is spent in a transparent manner and the students get the benefit, he added.

Around four crore students are now studying at primary and secondary levels.