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LAW opinion

Children's right to education is a must

Ou Md. Abdullah Chowdhury
***Bangladesh has one ot the largest primary edutatlon systems In the world. Primary education is recognised as a means of reducing poverty and improving the quality of life for children. Government, NGOs, civil society and donor communities need to act collectively in realising the right to education of excluded children in Bangladesh.***
ALL Children have the right to education, however all the children in Bangladesh do not have equal access to educational facilities. Though poverty is often referred to as the root cause for not attending primary schools, there are several other reasons for the denial of such basic right of a child. Children living in haors and chars are mostly from poorer families and they do not have adequate access to basic education. Children deprived of parental care are often the worst sufferers of poverty and deprivation and they seldom get opportunity to receive basic education.
Constitution is the source of all laws in Bangladesh and it has been stated in Article 7 "This Constitution is, as the solemn expression of the will of the people, the supreme law of the Republic, and if any other law is inconsistent with this Constitution and other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void”. Article 17 of the Constitution of Bangladesh stipulates that primary education shall be the responsibility ofthe State and the website of Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (http://www.mopme.gov.bd/) bears this testimony.
Again, it has been stated in Article 17, “The State shall adopt effective measures for the purpose of - establishing a uniform, mass-oriented and universal system of education and extending free and compulsory education to all children to such stage as may be determined by law”. Although primary education is free and compulsory as determined by law, there is a large group of excluded children in different isolated locations within the country.
The access to primary education in Bangladesh is provided mainly by the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MOPME). More than 75% schools are controlled by the MOPME, and around 83% of total children enrolled in primary' level educational institutions go to these schools. Similarly, more than 70% primary teachers are working in the MOPME controlled schools. It is clear that government mechanism could not cover all children.
of teachers.
In the "Briefing Note on Options for Education Services In the Char Livelihoods Programme", it has been revealed that educational attainment in the chars is very limited. Tom Zizys pins down that half of the population aged 5 years and over report no education whatsoever, and four out of five report
Apart from constitutional obli-gation and domestic law, Bangladesh has not only committed to achieve MDG and EFA goals, but also signed and ratified a number of international human rightsconventions. Among others, Bangladesh is one of the earliest signatories of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), one of the most venerated human rights conventions. It has been stated in Article 28 of UNCRC "States Parties recognise the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular make primary education compulsory and available free to all"
The purpose of the education has been stated eloquently in UNCRC. The convention has provided states parties guidance on the direction of education in Article 30. States parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to the development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential, as revealed in the convention. It further emphasises on the development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the development of respect for the child's parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country' in which the child is living, die country from which he or she may originate, and for civilizations different from his or her own.
Moreover, right to education for everyone has been declared in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) too. It has been stated in Article 26 of the UDHR. “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be
compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit".
Furthermore, the right of children to education has also been enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESC). It has been stated in Article 13, "The States Parties to the present Covenant recognise that, with a view to achieving the full realization of this right (a) Primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all ...". Government of Bangladesh is, therefore, accountable to the international community as well as people of the country for ensuring compulsory education.
Directorate of Primary Education (http://www.dpe.gov.bd/) while conducting Baseline Survey has revealed an unsatisfactory situation with regards to internal efficiency of the primary education system and level of wastage. Baseline shows that the repetition rates were high in all districts of Sylhet Division. Similarly, the repetition rates were higher in all the Haor areas compared to other districts of plain areas. Again it is interesting to note that in hilly areas the repetition rate was higher with the exception of Rangamati.
Non-discrimiqatipn is one of the central .themes of all, human rights conventions including the UNCRC, although all children do not get equal opportunity. The fundamental aim of the Second Primary Education Development Program (PEDP-II) though is to ensure the quality of primary education for all children in Bangladesh, educationists complain about the problem in design of the programme itself. The programme broadly covers government primary schools, registered non-govemment
suggests a number of studies supporting the linkage between education and development. He argues, education per se is not development but can prepare individuals to enhance their chances of exploring ways and means for development.
All the children must be provided with the opportunity to
primary schools (RNGPS) and community schools though there are other types of primary schools providing education to significant number of children in Bangladesh. Children from haor, char and hilly arpas do hot have equal access to education and quality of education is; severely low in those areas.
Although teachers are often blamed for providing poor quality education, a primary' teacher has to carry out 73 different tasks alongside teaching, reveals a report pub-lished by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB). These range from birth registration to polling duties during elections and those tasks affect performance
not completing primary school. Again, one-third of the students drop out of school on account of scarcity of money, and another quarter for getting married.
Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP increased steadily from 1973-80 on an average of 0.9 per cent to 2.4 per cent in 1994-95. Since then there has been a downward trend compared to neighbouring countries. Bangladesh is among the lowest in the region as its allocation for education is just over 2% ofGDP.
Dr Shahid Siddiqui of Lahore School of Economics in his "Financing Education and Beyond"
explore ways and means for development. Children living in haors, chars and hilly areas must be provided with this opportunity as well. Bangladesh has one of the .largest primary education systems In the world. Pririiajy education is recognised as a means of reducing poverty and improving the quality of life for children. Government, NGOs, civil society and donor communities need to act collectively in realising the right to education of excluded children in Bangladesh.
The wnter is working for Fnends In Village Development Bangladesh (FIVDB)