Editorial
Schools without the basics of education
Child Parliament survey is an eye opener for us
It has never been a matter of surprise that a large number of government as well as private schools and madrasas at the primary and secondary levels have operated at a poor level. Apart from the quality of education imparted in such institutions, there have been the questions relating to the basics which underpin their working. These worries are now once again borne out by a survey carried out by young people themselves. The Child Parliament, in association with Save the Children Australia, informs us of the pitiable conditions in which 512 schools across the country happen to be trapped. One could be sure that there are hundreds of similar schools in Bangladesh. These 512 schools simply happen to be symbolic of the bad way in which we educate our children.
These are the facts which emerge from the survey: school buildings are shabby and largely located in a noisy environment, teachers are often callous and cruel and girl students are often the target of stalking, something that ends with parents marrying off the minor girls. Many of the schools surveyed have no walls and have roofs that are damaged. In an overwhelming number of instances, the compounds of the schools are always waterlogged. The annual floods only add to their misery. A pretty good number of these schools are situated right beside busy streets, noise from which naturally affects the learning process on the part of the young. Additionally, some schools have video shops and cinemas located nearby, the implication being that movies can easily tempt the young into conditions they find hard to resist. And where teachers ought to be imparting moral lessons to the young, they are found --- 68 per cent of the students have made the allegation --- to be exercising corporal punishment that militates against the principles of enlightened education. A very large body of teachers converse on mobile phones in the classroom when they should be focusing on the lessons. A more serious failing in the schools is the patently discriminatory treatment meted out to the children of sex workers and tea garden labourers.
The results of the survey should be an eye opener for the education authorities. Education is basic to a nation's progress, but when the very basics on which education rests are missing or are not assured, it is the future of a society which is imperilled. The Child Parliament and Save the Children Australia have done a good job. The rest remains to be done by society and government together. Unless we correct such conditions in our schools, unless we invest in education, talk of future prosperity and happiness will sound hollow.
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