A Season to Lose Sleep
It is admission time in the city schools. And time for some guardians to lose sleep. With most of the private schools closing their gates pretty early, parents are in a mad rush to carve a niche for their wards in the schools of their choice. Government schools with a reputation are having to take the brunt of this maddening 'hunt' for good schools.
This sickening frenzy is not typical of this year only. It has become a pattern by now. Because it is not merely a matter of putting children to schools. Every parent is keen to find a berth for her child in a school he or she reckons as capable of providing quality education. And although in terms of sheer number there is not quite a crisis of schools in Dhaka this preferential attention to certain schools leads to an unequal distribution of pressure ushering in what now has assumed the proportion of a seasonal crisis.
We believe it is a two-way problem. While there is no denying that there is not exactly a numerical crisis of schools in Dhaka, there is no denying also that most do not ensure quality education. In fact, quality has become such a rarity these days that even the schools that many parents deem as good are found wanting more often than not. Main problem is the lack of qualified and dedicated teachers. So the mere mushrooming of schools won't help. There will have to be more schools that can ensure quality education. Then the parents have to come out of their mindset about certain schools. Unless a balance is struck between the two, the seasonal rush would never go.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments