Editorial
Imparting pre-primary education
Good idea that needs planned adoption
QUITE clearly the education ministry is according a high priority to the primary
education sector as the building block for a wider literacy base and pursuit of higher education with a good grounding. This trend is illustrated by reaching school text books expeditiously and free of cost to the pupils, organising a terminal public
examination for primary school-goers in a bid to standardise quality across the board.
There is a further development deserving to be placed in a dynamic context. In a latest spurt of activity and as part of the ongoing process, it seems, the
education ministry has decided to introduce a year-long pre-primary course attached to existing primary school infrastructure. This is a good idea insofar as reducing the dropout rate in early schooling goes.
From the outlines given of the plan it appears to us that at this stage one classroom in each primary school would be earmarked for preprimary schooling activity. There is clearly a benefit to be derived from holding the preschool children into the fold of primary education thereby encouraging them to stay on. Nothing like instilling the habit of learning early in the day. Yet, the fact remains that primary schools will be taking on an added responsibility. Are they ready to shoulder it? As it is, primary schooling system is plagued by shortcomings, both in its infrastructure including equipment as well as in its skill base. Therefore, it is a necessary prerequisite for adoption of preschool schooling that deficiencies in the primary education sector are reasonably met before implementing the idea; otherwise both primary and preprimary schooling could suffer.
State minister for primary and mass education Motahar Hossain has very rightly pointed out that primary education is now in a miserable state. 'Neither the teachers nor the students' attend schools timely and education department officials are
deficient in monitoring activities. To this we add, dearth of trained teachers being acutely felt requiring setting up of new teachers' training centres.
We can see that the government is trying to increase the size of enrolments through offers of snacks and stipends. While such programmes should be expanded, especially in the backward areas, we may think of providing some incentives to teachers including improvement in their service conditions.
Meanwhile the overarching issue for now is one of management of schools in which professionalism must get a free play.
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