Bringing dropped-out students back to classrooms

A decade has elapsed since the government formed an education policy in 2010 for a comprehensive overhaul of the sector but the policy is yet to see the light of the day. The draft policy is yet to be implemented as the education ministry and the cabinet division couldn’t come to a concrete decision on many of the issues concerning the policy.

It is really shocking and painful to see an education policy not being implemented for such a prolonged period. Everything considered, our education system is fragile both in terms of standard of education and the infrastructure. The country like Bangladesh can’t afford to arrange education for all though it is enshrined in our constitution. Since our independence no education policy has been implemented to the full. An even the proposed policies are hardly fool-proof as most of them have not been people-oriented that could ensure education for all.

Be that as it may, the government in 2010 initiated some steps to free the education system from some visible weaknesses such as stopping publication of note books, guide books, operation of coaching centers and private tuition of school teachers. There are more pertinent issues on which the ministries and the cabinet division have failed to come to a unanimous decision.

Prof Quazi Faruque Ahmed, a member of Education Act Formulation Sub-Committee, on Friday told The Business Post: “Even though the initiative was taken in 2011, unfortunately we are yet to pass a comprehensive education act. But I hope the law will be passed soon. In the education policy we recommended formulating an education law because it is very essential to facilitate implementation of many the other recommendations made in the policy.”

We are still to know what areas the comprehensive education policy covers. But it is understandable that the law will cover some technique and erroneous issues to put the education system on a right track. But what the country mostly need is to bring every child into the education system. Such policy is still not in sight. In just two years at least 17.62 lakh students have dropped out of the educational institutions because of the corona pandemic.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) quoting the government data says, a total of 249,159 university students, 62,104 secondary school students and 14,50,719 primary school students dropped out between 2020 and 2021. It is a staggering figure which is enough to understand the gravity of the problem induced by the pandemic.

The government in its National Education Policy (NEP) should incorporate a provision that can bring the dropped out students at the prime of their lives back to the educational institutions. If it can’t be done the number of drop-out students will increase the number of uneducated people in the country. When this number continues to rise, the government will find it impossible to take the country forward with its mission of transforming it into a developed nation.

We are upbeat about the quick implementation of the new comprehensive education policy with a provision that can bring back the drop-out students to their educational institutions. Noted educationist and former chairman of the University Grants Commission Prof MA Mannan while talking to journalists expressed his desire to bring those students back to classrooms, the authorities should keep their need in mind and make school hours more flexible. The second-chance education programme should be strengthened by the Primary Education Directorate. The government should provide incentives to students to bring them back to classrooms. They should also be provided with technical and vocational training.

Policymakers and the people concerned in the government should not only form the policy to ensure access to education for an advantageous class they will also have to think about those marginalized people and students dropped out of their educational institutions during the pandemic and due to their financial problems.