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Quality with equity

Seven action priorities

MANZOOR AHMED
AS cautioned by UNESCO's latest EFA Monitoring Report, published in November 2004, Bangladesh will not reach its EFA goals for 2015 with a "business as usual" approach. Ambitious goals have been set for PEDP II, the umbrella development programme of the government in primary education for the period 2003/4 to 2008/9, on which much hope is pinned.
As far as the government is concerned, PEDP II is virtually synonymous with primary education development in the country until 2009. At the beginning of 2005, one and a half year past its formal launching date in July 2003, the programme is still in the process of getting off the ground. Progress has been lacking or very slow on meeting key conditions for release of donor resources. These include a comprehensive institutional and organisational analysis of primary education management, as the prelude to organisational reforms in the sub-sector, and measures regarding establishment of a separate primary education cadre to promote professionalisation and capacity building in the sub-sector.
Establishment of non-formal learning centers to serve up to two million out of school children through the Reaching Out- of-school Children (ROSC) project is expected to complement PEDP II, sine PEDP II is confined to formal public sector primary education. The ROSC project signifies the recognition by the government of the need and legitimacy of non-formal approaches, so far supported only by NGOs, as essential complement to formal schools. However, in working out the implementation of ROSC, it appears that not much has been learned by the authorities and the donors supporting the project from the sad experience of literacy and post-literacy programmes of the discredited and disbanded Directorate of Non-formal Education. A model similar in essence to contractual arrangements with NGOs managed by officials that was the cause of DNFE's undoing should not be followed in ROSC.
The Education Watch research team has recommended seven action priorities aimed at moving from the business-as-usual approach and injecting a renewed
sense of urgency about fulfilling the promise of quality primary education for all children.
1. A recognition of inequity and deprivation in primary education as a serious problem and a commitment to deal with it. A genuine commitment to removing deprivation and inequity has to be reflected in:
= Applying poverty impact and consequences as a component in education programme allocation,
= Assessment and evaluation,
= Supporting research, experimentation and analysis of experience about how the poor can be effectively served and the programme outcomes enhanced
2. Addressing at the school level the syndrome of poverty and disadvantage affecting student performance. The locus of action for this effort has to be the school where the education authorities can reach the child, the parents and the teachers and work out appropriate measures responding to specific circumstances of disadvantage. The elements of this response would be: = Identifying the disadvantaged children and their particular difficulties,
= Extra help in studies in class or out of class to first generation and "slow" learners,
= Providing learning materials (notebooks, workbooks, pencil, paper etc.) and elimination of all cash costs to children from poor families.
= Regular communication of school with the parents of the disadvantaged, designating a teacher for a group of these parents for maintaining contact.
= Preparing managing committees, teachers, and community about this special effort.
= Provision of budget to be managed by school for this purpose redirecting stipend funds for this purpose would be a wise step.
3. Effective implementation of competency-based primary education. The promise and potential of curricula and teaching-learning based on essential learning continuum and competencies, even after a decade, have not been fulfilled. The concept remains sound and valid. A concerted effort needs to be made to implement competencybased curriculum, classroom work, and learning assessment. The components of this effort will include: = Critical review of "terminal" and intermediate competencies for students.
= Using time and resources optimally to ensure student achievement in basic skills; a case in point is wasting scarce student and teacher time in the attempt to teach English from grade 1, when most teachers cannot speak English.
= Planning and support for technical work, including action research, on translating competencies into classroom activities, lesson plans, learning aids and continuing assessment methods in classroom, and pre-service and in-service training of teachers.
= Support for professional work on competency-based curriculum development, textbooks and learning materials.
4. Decentralisation, local planning and management trial. The absence of any oversight responsibility and planning of primary education involving all service providers at the local level and lack of management authority with accountability at school level have been identified as major impediments to quality and equity in primary education. At the same time, there is apprehension about the problems decentralization. The appropriate way to deal with this dilemma is to initiate development and trial of decentralised planning and management in six districts in six divisions. The components of the trial can include:
= Defining tasks, responsibilities, capacities and accountability process at district, upazila and school levels,
= Developing upazila primary education planning and school improvement plans, as anticipated in PEDP II, including technical and professional support for these,
= Working towards a unified approach to ensure core quality standards for all
= Managing at school level learning time and calendar, academic programme, and teacher's performance of duties.
= Capacity- building at district, upazila and school level including capacity to manage and use information.
Implementation of PEDP II programme in a decentralised mode in the selected upazilas and districts with trial and demonstration of effective implementation of the programme should be a key objec-
tive of the trial.
5. Supporting development and use of professional capacity. The management structure and decision-making process at present allow little room for development and effective use of professional capacity in primary education. Personnel recruitment and deployment policy and practice hinder development of centres for professional and technical expertise in the sector in institutions such as NAPE and NCTB and at central and field levels of DPE. Institutions including IER of Dhaka University, IED of BRAC University, NAPE and NCTB should be supported to work together on developing strategy and plan for professionalisation and professional capacity development in primary education. This effort should be linked to and complemented by measures anticipated under PEDP II. The elements of this activity would be:
= Undertaking institutional and organizational analysis of primary education management required in PEDP II.
= Establishment of a primary education cadre - a condition of PEDP II donor support.
= Development of need-based short and longer specialised training and professional development courses,
= Rethinking and redesigning in pre-service and in-service teacher training and action research to cope with huge needs in terms of quality and quantity.
6. A greater voice of stakeholders at all levels. In the education system, more than in all other social enterprises, the participatory approach, transparency in decisionmaking and a high degree of accountability should become the norm. Openness and sharing of information and dialogue in public forums should be practised at school, union parishad and upazila regarding objectives, plans and progress, and budgetary allocations in the school, and for the upazila. The process of transparency and participation of all stakeholders should include:
= Periodic sharing of information and plans, and monitoring of progress, e.g., of school's annual work plan, upazila primary education plan and use of funds received from government and other sources, performance evaluation of schools in public forums organised for this purpose.
= Parent Teacher Association.
= Transparent and public selec-tion/election of school managing committee and upazila education committee members.
7. Addressing governance issues. Political interference and undue involvement of politicians, institutionalised by government regulations about managing committees, have been identified as a major contributor to corruption, mismanagement, waste and obstacle to good management practices in general. Support is needed from the Prime Minister, in her capacity as the Minister in charge of Primary and Mass Education, to develop a consensus and adopt and abide by a policy decision to make education, especially primary education, free from political interference, which will help reduce mismanagement and corruption. Support and encouragement from the highest political level is essential for implementation of this seven point agenda.
Manzoor Ahmed is Director, Institute of Education and Development, BRAC University and Convener, Education Watch.