Corruption
and lack of efficiency are the two
major weaknesses in the education
sector responsible for deterioration
of education quality, speakers at
a discussion said yesterday. They
also called for a political consensus
and a holistic approach for improvement
of education quality.
Terming the present allocation for
education inadequate, they demanded
an increase by five per cent of
GDP.The speakers were giving their
observation on a task force report
on Education Policy. The report
is a part of the three-day National
Policy Review Forum 2003, jointly
organised by the Centre for Policy
Dialogue (CPD), The Daily Star,
and the Prothom Alo at the Jatiya
Press Club.
Education Minister Dr Osman Farruk
attended the function as chief guest
while former education minister
ASHK Sadek attended the function
as special guest.Economist Professor
Muzaffer Ahmed presided over the
session while Professor Md Masum
presented the CPD task force recommendations
on Education Policy.
Professor Masum said total public
expenditure on education as a percentage
of GDP increased steadily from 1973-80
on an average of 0.9 per cent to
2.4 per cent in 1994-95. "But
since then there has been a downward
trend, with the expenditure falling
to 2.30 per cent in 2000-01 and
2.21 per cent in 2001-02."
He said the allocation for education
in the revenue budget also indicates
a downward trend. The allocation
dropped from 19.5 per cent of total
revenue budget in 1994-95 to 15.9
per cent in 2002-03.A similar trend
is also seen in case of development
budget where the allocation for
the education sector declined from
13.6 per cent in 1994-95 to 12.9
per cent in 2001-02.
Allocation for education declined
from 16.4 per cent in 1994-95 to
15 per cent in 2001-02, he added."Teachers
are at the core to improve education
quality. They need to meet professional
standards and must receive handsome
wage," he added.The University
Act of 1973 has to be amended as
it has been proved to be non-effective
to impart congenial academic atmosphere
on the campus.
Nurul Islam Nahid, education secretary
of the main opposition Awami League,
said education sector has been gripped
by a vicious circle and the civil
society should come forward to salvage
it.He blamed the government for
suspending various steps initiated
during the Awami League government.
"The party in power did not
even bother to give an explanation
reasoning the suspension."
Academic Prof. Kabir Chowdhury urged
the ruling, opposition and civil
society to come up with a holistic
approach for the development of
the education sector. Moinul Islam
of Dhaka University urged the government
to take effective steps for lowering
the quality gap between urban and
rural education. He termed the prevailing
three-tier education system discriminatory.
GM Kader MP blamed a vested quarter
for misappropriating education fund.
Former education minister ASHK Sadek
underscored the need for political
consensus and patience to enhance
the quality of education.He said
there has to be a vision and patience
for development of the education
sector.
Education Minister Dr Osman Farruk
differed with the idea of increased
allocation for education sector.
But he underscored the need for
proper utilisation of the allocated
funds. "We need to curb wastage
and proper utilisation of allocated
fund for the sector," he said.
"It is a huge wastage of public
money when we see only 30 per cent
of examinees come out successful
in public examinations. I don't
find any logic in spending on unskilled
human resources," he added.We
have to improve the quality of education
and curb cheating in the examinations,"
he said, adding improvement of classroom
teaching and morale boosting is
the key to stopping cheating in
public examinations.
The education minister said a revised
education policy would be published
within five to six month.The minister
said the Private University Act
should be amended and an accreditation
council will be formed for improvement
of quality of education at private
universities.Prof. Muzaffer Ahmed,
who presided over the session, underscored
the need for consideration of the
task force recommendations for development
of the education sector.
Former principal secretary Dr. ANM
Eusuf, Jaglul Ahmed Chowdhury, special
correspondent of Bangladesh Sangbad
Sangstha (BSS), Mushfiq Ahmed, a
teacher of Rajshahi University,
Satish Chandra Sarker of BRAC, Nurul
Islam of UNICEF, A.N. Rashed, teacher
of Notre Dame College, Munima Sultana,
journalist with United News of Bangladesh
(UNB), also spoke.
