Secondary education beset with shortcomings

The Government SC Girls High School in Sunamganj town began back in 1940 as a secondary school. The school now has 1,200 students and runs classes in two shifts. But there are only 30 teachers for the 52 posts there. As a result, the teachers face considerable pressure taking classes for so many students.

Segun Bagicha High School in Dhaka is 58 years old. Around 800 students study there. There is one bathroom for 60 students on average though there should be one bathroom per 40 students.

Similarly, in most secondary level educational institutions of the country, both public and private, there have shortcomings in various areas including classrooms, laboratories, first aid, sanitation and more. There is deficiency in improving the standard of education too. While the creative system has been introduced for students to take up internalising their lessons rather than the rote method of memorising, the teachers' training in this regard is hardly effective.

The government, with support of various donor agencies, is implementing the Secondary Education Sector Investment Programme (SESP). All secondary educational institutions of the country are under this programme. The planning commission's Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Department (IMED) has reviewed the strength and weaknesses of this programme. The report in this regard published in June last year, highlighted 18 weaknesses in the country's secondary education and 13 strengths. It also come forward with 14 recommendations.

The programme is being implemented by the education ministry's secondary and higher education department at a cost of around Tk 38.26 billion (Tk 3,826 crore). The programme began from January 2014 and was supposed to have ended in December last year, but the project has been extended by one year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

IMED surveyed 32 educational institutions at 16 upazilas, that is, two upazilas each from eight districts of eight divisions. And 640 students were taken as samples in the survey. The views of teachers, guardians, managing committees and officials were also recorded.

IMED said that the report, after identifying the strengths and weaknesses, has analysed the possible shortcomings and challenges. The education ministry will accordingly adopt its next steps. The report apprehended that guide books and tuitions may hamper the initiative of this programme. The programmes plan of action may also be affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Director general of the secondary and higher education directorate, Syed Golam Faruk, said that they will try to address the shortfalls in the remaining time of the programme. Teachers' training in the creative method was being strengthened. Appointments were also being made to resolve the shortage of teacher.

The report indicated there was a shortfall in teachers at the secondary level educational institutions. Headmaster of Sunamganj's SC Girls High School, Hafiz Md Mashud Chowdhury, told Prothom Alo, there has long been a shortage of teachers in comparison to the requirements. This has put added pressure on the teachers.

According to sources in the secondary and higher education directorate, 76 per cent of the posts of headmaster in the secondary schools are vacant at present. There are 10,904 posts for government teachers, but 20 per cent of these are vacant. The Public Service Commission (PSC), though, has recommended appointment of around 2,155 selected teachers. The secondary and higher education directorate has said that the appointment process is on.

Headmaster of Segun Bagicha High School in Dhaka, AKM Obaidullah, told Prothom Alo that their school had 24 teachers for around 800 students from the primary level up till Class 10. This included 11 MPO teachers who received grants from the government as salary. The rest of the teachers were paid from the school's income. The school required 30 teachers in total.

The IMED report also stressed the need for gender balance in the secondary level educational institutions. The report said that at present there are 31 per cent women teachers in the government secondary schools and 25 per cent in the non-government secondary schools.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been made a compulsory subject from Class 6. The report said that in Dhaka division the students of almost all schools could use the computer. But in the other divisions of the country, while almost all schools have computers, many of the students lag behind in using these. In the Chattogram division schools, the students use computers the least (25 per cent). In Rajshahi 73 per cent of the students used computers, in Rangpur 60 per cent, in Sylhet 54 per cent, in Barishal 49 per cent, in Mymensingh 46 per cent and in Khulna 39 per cent.

The report also pointed to how ICT classes were conducted. A total of 36.29 per cent of the students said they were only taught from textbooks. Around 24 per cent said practical and theoretical classes were held together. And 36 per cent said that practical and theoretical classes were held separately.

Alongside general education institutions, creative exam systems have also been introduced in madrasahs and vocational education institutions. In the creative method, rather than memorising, the students internalise the lessons to apply this in their own way. Teachers taking part in the survey said that due to the creative method, there has been a fall in the students' standard of studying, their pass rates and also their propensity to cheat. The propensity to express themselves has increased. Among the students taking part in the survey, 80 per cent said that the creative method was easy.

The report also said there were weaknesses in the teachers preparing creative questions and other subject-wise questions.

Earlier, the report of the secondary and higher education directorate regarding various issues including teaching, stated that 44.75 per cent of the teachers were unable to properly prepare questions under the creative method.

The IMED report said training in a number of phases was given to teachers to implement the creative exam system. This included 12 days' training for master trainers and later three days' training for all teachers. While the training for the master trainers was more or less effective, the three-day training was not. The teachers also lacked sincerity in implementing the training they received.

Headmaster of Segun Bagicha High School, AKM Obaidullah, told Prothom Alo that it was necessary to assess whether the training was being effective or not. They were doing this at their own initiative in their school.

Presently note books and guide books are being used in the name of practice books or helping books. On Wednesday, a teacher of a school in Segun Bagicha of the capital city showed this correspondent pile of books on the table.

He said that a publication company had come and handed over these English grammar books. However, he hadn't looked through them yet. This is how various publishers promote the purchase of guide books.

The IMED report said in 48 per cent of the schools in the country had no first aid facilities, though all institutions should have this. Over half (52 per cent) did not have filters for drinking water. And 12 per cent still did not have tubewells. Also, 70 per cent of the schools didn't have steel ladders to check the water tanks.

Meanwhile, 91 per cent of the institutions have grounds where the children could play.

Headmaster of Sunamganj's SC Girls High School said that their sanitation facilities were not adequate. They have submitted an application in this regard and the matter is under process.

Stipends and other initiatives are effective in preventing school dropouts. However, 85.47 per cent of the students participating in the survey felt that the stipend money was inadequate. And around 60 per cent said that there was counselling facilities in their schools. Consultants feel that counselling must be introduced to all schools to bring the dropout rate down to zero.

Former caretaker government advisor Rasheda K Choudhury, speaking to Prothom Alo about the overall secondary education situation, said that they had often raised the problems which appeared in the IMED report and their field level research had also pointed to these problems. The government should now draw up a correct plan of action and implement it accordingly. Proper investment should be made and this should be properly utilised.

* This report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir