The haor areas are flooded with water during the monsoon. Children from distant places are not encouraged to come to school. Therefore, attendance in schools in haor areas used to drop during the rainy season.
However, the scenario in the government primary schools of Sunamganj has changed following the introduction of the special quality improvement examination.
Sumona Akter, a fifth-grade student of Chanpur Government Primary School in the Kawajuri haor area of Shantiganj upazila, told Prothom Alo that now she has to go to school every day. Otherwise, the teachers even visit their homes to inquire. If she does not understand something in class, the teachers explain it thoroughly.
Sumona scored 82 out of 100 in a special quality improvement test on basic primary subjects held last June.
Initially, the examination was conducted among all fourth- and fifth-grade students of 97 government primary schools in Shantiganj upazila. Later, it was expanded to all 1,450 government primary schools across the 12 upazilas of Sunamganj district.
The examination was introduced on the initiative of the upazila administration. Based on the results, a ranking is prepared for schools and subject teachers. Schools whose students perform well receive recognition and prizes, while special measures are taken to improve the performance of weaker schools.
This method was launched this year. According to interviews with teachers and students from 11 schools, local teacher associations, the district education officer, and the district administration, the special quality improvement test and the ranking system have created a competitive environment. To prove their schools’ excellence, teachers are now taking extra care of students, ensuring their attendance, and explaining lessons more effectively.
The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has also taken notice of the matter. On 7 August, Professor Bidhan Ranjan Roy Poddar, adviser to the ministry, sent a letter to Shantiganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sukanta Saha, congratulating him.
Meanwhile, Sunamganj Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mohammad Elias Mia told Prothom Alo, “This method is yielding good results. At the end of October, we conducted the quality improvement test in 1,450 schools across the district, with 76,000 students participating.”
Attendance on the rise
There are 65,567 government primary schools in the country, attended by over 10.6 million students. However, there have long been allegations that teaching quality and learning outcomes in government primary schools are substandard.
According to the World Bank’s 2018 report Learning to Realize Education’s Promise, 75 per cent of fifth-grade students in Bangladesh do not understand mathematics, and 65 per cent of third-grade students cannot read Bangla properly.
Amid this national crisis in primary education, the haor region faces additional problems—especially attendance shortage and dropout. Haor children often miss school during the monsoon and rice harvesting seasons.
According to the 2024 Annual Primary School Statistics by the Directorate of Primary Education, the national dropout rate at the primary level is around 16 per cent, while in Sunamganj district, it is over 34 per cent.
Interviews with teachers from 11 schools in Shantiganj upazila, where the special quality improvement test was first introduced, revealed that average attendance had previously been 60–70 per cent. After the introduction of the examination, attendance has risen close to 90 per cent.
Among the 97 government primary schools in Shantiganj, Chanpur Government Primary School ranked among the top 10. Its head teacher, Debashish Talukder, told Prothom Alo, “We organised guardian meetings to ensure regular attendance of students.”
A few kilometers away lies Bahadurpur Government Primary School. When Prothom Alo visited the school on 25 August, classrooms were filled with students. Teacher Abu Taher said that such full attendance during the monsoon was unheard of before. He told Prothom Alo that regular attendance, 80 per cent participation in exams, efforts to overcome subject-wise weaknesses—all of these improvements have come because of the quality improvement test.
When asked whether teachers were indeed more proactive, Sumona’s father, farmer Ziaur Rashid, replied that he noticed his daughter was more focused on her studies this year. He told Prothom Alo that the teachers are also keeping in touch and checking on her.
How the special test began
The idea for the special test came from Shantiganj UNO Sukanta Saha. He joined as UNO in October 2023 and soon began considering ways to hold such an examination. He discussed the idea with the district commissioner, the upazila education officer, and teachers. Together, they organised the initiative.
Starting in April 2025, a three-month preparation period was set for conducting the quality improvement test in the 97 schools of the upazila. The test was named “Primary Education Quality Improvement Examination 2025.” It was held in June. The 100-mark test included 25 marks each for Bangla and English, 30 for Mathematics, 10 for General Knowledge and Science, and 10 for Reading Skills.
A total of 4,484 fourth- and fifth-grade students (87 per cent of total students) participated in the June examination.
Students from one school took the test at another, and invigilators were teachers from different schools. The initiative cost about Tk 400,000 from the upazila’s revenue fund.
School rankings were determined by dividing the total marks obtained by students by the total number of participants. Teachers’ teaching performance was also ranked. UNO Sukanta Saha told Prothom Alo that this method has fostered a competitive mind-set among teachers, students, and parents.
The top 10 schools in the special examination were: Tegharia Model Government Primary School, Patharia Government Primary School, Monbeg Government Primary School, Chanpur Government Primary School, Gagli Government Primary School, Betkona Government Primary School, Bosiyakhawri Government Primary School, Kandagaon Government Primary School, Ujanigaon Government Primary School, and Shatrumardan Government Primary School.
A total of 332 students from fourth and fifth grades scored above 90 marks.
When asked whether the special examination system was truly effective, Harun Rashid, president of the Sunamganj District Government Primary Assistant Teachers’ Association, said, “Because teachers are now being evaluated through this exam, every teacher has become more attentive in class. They are giving extra time to weaker students.”
Fifteen government primary schools scored below 33 marks on average, meaning they failed to pass. Among 523 teachers, 65 had average scores below 33. The upazila administration reported that they are identifying the problems in the underperforming schools and taking measures to address them.
A head teacher from one of those schools told Prothom Alo that due to a shortage of teachers, proper lessons could not be conducted, resulting in poor outcomes. “The students are also weak,” he said. The UNO discussed the matter with them and advised on ways to improve performance.
“Good news,” but…
The current interim government has formed 11 commissions on various issues but excluded education. A committee was once formed to advise on improving the quality of primary and non-formal education, headed by educationist and BRAC University emeritus professor Manzoor Ahmed. However, little progress has been made in implementing the committee’s recommendations.
Professor Manzoor Ahmed told Prothom Alo that their report recommended ranking schools based on teachers, students, and infrastructure, classifying them into “green” and “red” categories.
The idea was to introduce such initiatives across all districts and upazilas. If the Shantiganj UNO has introduced a school ranking system, that is good news, he said.
He added when a new method is introduced, it often runs for some time and then fades away. The impact of such new initiatives must be observed over a long period. If results remain positive, the ministry should plan to expand the system nationwide.