The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The public funding in primary and secondary education in Bangladesh is very low. Overall, at the primary level, per student per month highest is Tk 144 in government schools followed by Tk 138 in madrashas and varies from Tk 5.25 to Tk 55.33 in the case of other types of institutions.

There are wide variations in per student public funding between types of educational institutions and between urban and rural institutions of the same type at both primary and secondary levels.

This anomaly should be corrected, particularly urgently in the case of primary education in view of the state's constitutional obligation of ensuring quality of opportunities for all citizens and because ensuring basic education for all is its primary responsibility.

In Bangladesh, 42 to 66 per cent of the guardians did not pay tuition fee and 43 to 66 per cent did not pay admission fee. Most of the non-paying students are girls enjoying benefits of female secondary scholarship programme.

This was revealed at a launching ceremony of an education watch report titled 'Financing Primary and Secondary Education in Bangladesh' organised by Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) at LGED Bhaban in the city yesterday.

Private tuition is the largest single private expenditure item for all. Per student cost on private tuition was Tk 4,700 in the government schools which was 42 per cent of the total cost, Tk 2,210 in non-government schools, which is 29 per cent of the total cost and Tk 1,202 in madrashas where 21 per cent of the total cost, the report said.

The guardians are giving high importance to private tuition. Other items on which relatively higher amounts are spent are transport, Tiffin, school dress and books, it revealed.

Annual average expenditure per student is larger in urban areas compared to rural areas. The difference is significant in all types of institutions. The difference is highest in case of government schools, which was Tk 8,431 and the lowest in case of madrasha, which was Tk 2,750, it added.

Dr Quazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, President of Bangladesh Economic Association and Dr Kazi Saleh Ahmed, former Vice Chancellor of Jahangirnagar University, presented the key findings of the study and policy implications of the report.

Ayub Quadri, Education Adviser, Momtajul Islam, Secretary of Education Ministry, M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Secretary of Primary and Mass Education Ministry, Kazi Fazlur Rahman, former adviser to the Caretaker government, Rasheda K Choudhury, Director of CAMPE, addressed the function.

Speakers underscored the need for increasing public expenditure on primary and secondary education and improving the quality of education at both primary and secondary levels, while facilitating at the same time steady expansion of education at both the levels.

Promoting equity in government support to different types of primary and secondary educational institutions regardless of their location at rural or urban areas and providing special support to the students coming from the poor and disadvantaged families to expand their educational opportunities, they added.

In case of primary education, the expenditure of the urban rich is 3.4 times that of the rural poor. In secondary education, the corresponding figure is 4.2 times. The average annual per primary student private expenditure incurred by the poorest households on each broad category is the lowest. It rises steadily at higher levels of socio-economic status, reaching the highest level in the case of the richest households, the report said.