Relevant changes are desirable to ensure quality education system. But the big question is whether the changes are going according to plan. The country's second education policy, known as the National Education Policy 2010, was adopted by the National Assembly a decade ago today for a major change in the country's education system. Much of the recommendations made in this education policy are still out of implementation. The recommendations made in the education policy implementation process are not visible.
The scope of primary education in Bangladesh is wide. The importance of this level of education is such that if quality primary education can be ensured, it is possible to bring the desired change in various sectors of the country quickly. But is primary education getting enough importance as per the need?
For example, the issue of elementary school time may be mentioned. Primary school activities start at 9 am and end at 3:15 pm in one shift school and 4 pm in two shift schools. In some primary schools, teachers have to work beyond this set time. The school office hours and the time allotted for teaching are two different things. Even if the school is open from morning to afternoon, the students will study for a certain period of time, the rest of the time the teachers will do the work outside the teaching of the class — that should be the case. In our schools, day-to-day reading is not finished and students are made dependent on home, tutoring and coaching. In this case, there is time to think about how long the students need to stay in school. However, if it so happens that all the arrangements for the education of the students will be completed in the school দের those concerned have such a plan, then they must think differently.
In addition to this time of the teaching process, the decision of how much time a teacher will spend in school also needs to be taken carefully. A teacher is not only a teacher, he has to fulfill various family and social responsibilities like 10 other people in the society. Moreover, in the teaching process, the teacher has to prepare carefully before each class, evaluate the students, and complete the ancillary official work. In order to complete the teaching process smoothly, the teachers have to take the prescribed amount of rest. It also involves their mental and physical well-being. These issues can be assumed to be largely absent in the time frame set for primary school. For example, in Bangladesh, where everyone in the public and private sectors is enjoying two days off on Friday and Saturday, teachers are getting only one day off. How can a teacher spend quality time with his family on a day off? Holidays that are full of complexity are neither fun nor comfortable, so how do primary school teachers prepare for the next week after a healthy vacation? Holidays that are full of complexity are neither fun nor comfortable.
In this case, like everyone else, the working hours of primary school teachers can be kept at 40 hours a week. They will work for 8 hours every day from Sunday to Thursday. Each teacher will spend an average of 3-4 hours in class, the rest of the time will complete the preparation and other official work. It is necessary to take measures so that you can spend two days off on Friday and Saturday. This needs to be done not only in the interest of teachers, but also in the interest of quality education. If necessary, the holidays of the year can be re-arranged.
A teacher has to do a variety of things outside the classroom or outside of school, many of which are completely irrelevant. A teacher has to do a lot of work outside the school, from conducting censuses to conducting elections, which are outside the scope of educational activities. Even primary level teachers are involved in healthcare work or voter lists. It is important to get the work done by the manpower of the project without involving the teachers in these activities except for the most urgent matters. These are not the work of teachers.
Whether it is due to these reasons or due to the lack of qualifications of teachers, many teachers in our primary schools are not skilled enough. Educational qualifications alone cannot be the only consideration in teaching. Even if a teacher enters the job with the prescribed educational qualifications, he needs to be kept in training at various stages till retirement. This will increase the skills of teachers, they will be constantly acquainted with new knowledge and techniques. For this purpose, 6 primary teacher training institutes need to be made more suitable in Bangladesh. Besides, it is necessary to determine which aspects of primary education need to be taken through research. At present, there are education and research institutes or faculties under different names in public and private universities in Bangladesh. If necessary, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education of the government and the Department of Primary Education can work jointly with the universities to analyze and adopt the plan.
It also needs to be mentioned, in any case salary is an incentive. Sadly, the teachers of Bangladesh are neglected and the primary teachers are more neglected. Teaching primary level students is more difficult than teaching university level students. But the primary teachers are doing this difficult work at a much lower salary. The demand for a separate pay scale for teachers has been raised long ago. Even if that is not the case, measures need to be taken where skilled and qualified people are interested in teaching at the primary level on their own. If the salary of primary level teachers is determined according to their official degree, then primary education will be more beneficial. If MPhil or PhD degree holders get adequate salary, many of them will be interested in coming to primary education. Not only that, they need to be given special incentives considering the difficulty of the teaching method of primary level teachers. Education is a sector where it is inappropriate to measure the salaries of other sectors; Rather, it should be kept in mind that well-thought-out and planned investment in education brings long-term and positive results for the country.
In addition to the issues mentioned above, it is necessary to pay attention to increase the physical infrastructure facilities, change the assessment system for the purpose of sustainable learning, adjust the teacher-student ratio, and attend to the centers for empowerment of students. Due to financial constraints and limited management skills, it is not possible for Bangladesh to focus on all issues at once. But nothing is impossible if we try to implement the activities according to the set action plan with a specific goal. The National Education Policy 2010 has many good and excellent recommendations but the lack of goodwill to implement them is already visible.
If the quality of primary education can be improved, then it will have an effect on the secondary. Similarly quality secondary education will be helpful in ensuring quality in higher education. As it turns out, the first step in the chain process is primary education. No matter how frustrated the quality of university education may be, the university alone will never be able to ensure it. Because the basic foundation of those who come to study in the university is made in the primary school, it becomes almost permanent at the secondary level. Therefore, if the students are well prepared at the primary level, then at the secondary and higher education level, there is an opportunity to develop it fully. Otherwise, people with degrees are created, but the shortage of skilled manpower continues to grow.
Overall, primary education should be given as much importance as possible, it should be ensured as soon as possible. Especially since teachers play a major role in this work, so if efforts are made to ensure the quality of primary education centered on them, the results and impact will be felt in other sectors as well. There is no substitute for strengthening primary education to ensure a lasting and positive impact of learning.
Gautam Roy: Assistant Professor, Institute of Education and Research, Rajshahi University
No comments:
Post a Comment