The government should implement a separate teaching plan for students in disaster-prone districts, which would help tackle heightened challenges to primary education in coastal areas due to the escalation of natural disasters, experts said at a seminar.
Wave Foundation organised the event titled “National Policy Dialogue on Education Quality Improvement” in the capital’s Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) auditorium on Sunday.
Shahzada M Akram of Wave Foundation presented a research on “Teaching, learning and assessment process and gaps in primary education in disaster-prone areas in Bangladesh,” compiled with information provided by 804 students and parents in Khulna’s Batiaghata, Dacope and Bagerhat’s Mongla and Morrelganj upazilas.
The study shows that approximately 90 per cent of the students in 23 government primary schools across four disaster-prone upazilas in the country attend private coaching centres, with guardians spending between Tk 200 and Tk 2,500 on each student.
Additionally, the research notes that the impact of disasters has led to a significant number of students dropping out.
“Due to climatic events many school teachers passed busy time with different duties related to disaster except teaching, as a result students could not but take tuitions,” Akram said.
The study indicates that 26.24 per cent of students are forced to discontinue their education due to financial constraints arising from natural disasters. Underprivileged students are compelled to bear the cost themselves to bridge the education gap.
It further revealed that 54.73 per cent of students in these schools engage in self-coaching, while 23.76 per cent receive coaching or tuition from school teachers. Schools offer coaching to 11.19 per cent of students.
An average of Tk 367 per month is spent on coaching from schools, Tk 834 on self-initiated coaching, and Tk 521 per month on coaching from a school teacher or private tuition.
“The schools needed an arrangement to provide subsidies and a close monitoring of the authority is must to improve coastal area students’ quality education.” Wave Foundation Executive Director Mohsin Ali said.
Street Child UK Programme Manager Imtiaz Ridoy said, “The financial constraints of guardians often compel students to resort to child labour, unable to afford essential educational expenses such as pens, books, and coaching fees.
“It is recommended that the government implement a specialized teaching plan for students in disaster-prone districts.”
Mohsin Ali chaired the programme, while Wave Foundation Coordinator Kaniz Fatima moderated it.
BRAC University Professor Emeritus Manzoor Ahmed, Social Service Department Director (Programme) Mohammad Kamrul Islam Chowdhury (Joint Secretary), Jahangirnagar University Anthropology Professor Ranjan Saha Partha, Dhaka University Education and Research Institute Associate Professor Shah Shamim Ahmed also spoke at the programme.
