The quality of primary education remains an issue of concern in Bangladesh. Its true colours get unveiled on large canvas when one sees students of higher institutions failing to apply in pragmatic life what actually they have learnt throughout their life. Poor performance of students points finger at the root stage where beginners start their formal education from. Undoubtedly, primary school enrolment has substantially increased in recent years but the quality of teachers and their teaching capabilities are still a matter of serious concern.
As per the government rule, women teachers constitute 60 per cent of the total quota of teachers for a primary school. Even more to this, the minimum educational qualification for a female teacher is HSC whereas it is Bachelor’s degree for the males. However, an initiative has recently been taken to increase educational qualifications for females up to Honours which is good news. The provision for female teachers was in dire need of change as there are adequate numbers of females currently holding a Master’s degree, let alone mere Bachelor’s. In the developed countries, too, highly graduated teachers are appointed in primary schools as these institutions play the most significant part in moulding the life of a beginner. Moreover, irregularities are also reported during recruiting primary teachers. Most teachers lack necessary training to effectively teach the students in the classrooms. A severe lack of qualified teachers remains as a bar to enhance quality of primary education.
The quality of primary education will further be deteriorating as
long as education will be imparted by inexpert teachers
On the other hand, the teacher to student ratio is still so high -- 1:60 to be specific -- that teachers find it almost impossible to go for competency-based teaching approach in classrooms. Most of the existing 65,865 primary schools in the country fall short of enough teachers, and that bad milieu makes one teacher take more than five classes per day squeezing out all energy before making lesson plans. So an interactive modern classroom is absent in the country.
The government gives substantial allocations to primary education sector for which school dropout rates have considerably decreased with increased enrolment of students. But the quality of primary education will further be deteriorating as long as education will be imparted by inexpert teachers.