Girls’ schooling at heart of Bangladesh’s new education policy

Girls’ rights to education are a key priority in a radical revamp of Bangladesh's education policy to boost the country's lacklustre literacy rate. The country’s newly-overhauled education policy was submitted to the Prime Minister earlier this month and is expected to be adopted in December.

A girl's right to education will also be a primary concern of the new policy, which will up children’s total years in school from 10 to 12. Free, mandatory primary school education should also be lengthened by three years to a total of eight years.

"The new national education policy will make changes at the root levels of the education system," co-chair of Bangladesh’s education commission, Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad told the United Nations news service. ''The education system of our country doesn't equip the students with practical knowledge,” he said. This 'bookish' learning system is archaic, and needs to be updated according to the needs of a modern society.''

Only 52.5 per cent of adults in Bangladesh are literate, while neighbouring India has a literacy rate of 65.2 percent, according to figures from the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The new education policy will set out compulsory core subjects for primary-level education: Bangla, English, maths, Bangladesh Studies, social environment and climate change, and information technology and science.

The country’s religious education system, where `madrasahs' or Islamic schools focus primarily on Islamic teachings, will also be modernized to reinforce the importance of science and information technology in their curricula.

One of the biggest shortcomings of the current education policy is the lack of practical and technical training in the curricula, most education specialists agree. Neglecting this area leaves many students leaving school or college without the skills they need for work.

A dearth of proper teacher training facilities has long been another source of concern.

For years, the country has had problems agreeing on a modern and efficient education policy. Since it became independent in 1971, seven education commissions and committees have been formed, in Bangladesh, but none of the policies they came up with were adopted because of a lack of government backing.

The new policy will have to be formalised by the country's parliament, but is expected to win approval, because the current government dominates with almost four-fifths of the seats.