Equality of right in education
WITH the mushrooming of highly expensive private educational institutions in our country, ranging from kindergartens to universities, it is imperative to bring a semblance of equilibrium in our education sector.
Every year, ninety percent of higher secondary passed students cannot get enrolled in public universities due to scarcity of seats, and the scenario is almost the same in the lower levels as well. Undeniably, however, the increase of educational institutions in the private sector is more than justified and one should, thus, promote burgeoning of the same so that more and more students can avail themselves of the education they want.
Admittedly, a good number of private universities have already made their mark in imparting quality education in Bangladesh. Such a rating can also be used in relation to privately owned colleges and schools. However, the crux of the problem is the charge they are imposing in exchange for the education.
It is understandable that it is not possible for private institutions to provide education for the same fees as public institutions. However, for example, charging Tk.5000 or more for a student is unimaginable, whereas in public schools the students pay far less.
Some may argue that the quality of education the students are getting almost free in public schools and colleges cannot be compared to that imparted in highly-expensive private schools and colleges. Though, the preceding observation may apply only partially, there is a counter school of thought as well, which claims that the products of private educational institutions are markedly uncomfortable in various public examinations.
Though only a few private educational institutions are providing real quality education, the complaint of low quality of education in many pubic educational institutions is not at all unfounded. For this, however, many factors are responsible, which include low salary of teachers and resultant private tuition by school and college teachers; lack of quality training; lack of interest in the talented ones to join those institutions due to financial constraints, and so on.
Though the finance minister has shown a silver lining in terms of betterment of salary and other facilities for teachers of all levels through forming a separate pay commission, the government will have to put a premium on rigorous training as well, by which, I think, even mediocre teachers could become capable of imparting quality education. The complaint about shortage of good English and mathematics teachers makes it all the more pressing.
Admittedly, many private educational institutions boast of quality English education. Though their claim is debatable in many cases, the government, I think, should critically rethink its strategy in terms of language education. It is public knowledge that many job seekers find things really difficult in the highly competitive job market at home and abroad due to lack of knowledge of English.
Needles to say, due emphasis on functional foreign language skill development can easily increase remittances from abroad as well. Though global recession is a discouraging factor for the government to go for any pay hike, the government's initiative is highly appreciable.
In fact, investment in education cannot be judged by an immediate cost-benefit analysis. Interestingly enough, South Korea, to cite one prime example, has continued to increase investment in education despite intense pressure of global recession.
The bottom line is that the high cost of education in private educational institutions is not only keeping education in those institutions out of reach for the middle-income people it is also deepening the financial and social divide further, which is doing no good to the social fabric.
It is high time the state played an interventional role here. Meanwhile, the entrepreneurs who have taken the private education sector more as a business than a social activity should also do a serious rethinking in terms of their social responsibility.
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