Nerun Yakub

The Education Minister was heard telling the Jatiya Sangsad last Saturday that dis-information was being spread about the government's position on Madrasah education --- that it would be discontinued, ----- which is far from the truth. 'On the contrary, rather than undermining its importance, we wish to upgrade it and make it more relevant to real life,' he said, in the course of a discussion session on the 2009-10 budget. One is not sure whether this avowed intention is a simple down-to-earth consideration or a political ploy, but the fact remains that the Madrasah system, or systems, are an undeniable part of Bangladesh's socio-economic and religio-political reality and the sooner we come to terms with this the better for the nation.

So-called religious education, as it now works, provides hundreds of thousands of young people, predominantly from the lower income groups, with some sort of affordable and accessible education. Governments alone have never been able to provide for all school-age children and the madrasah system actually can be seen as an attempt to fill some of the gap. One can say, these much-maligned institutions function by default, as do the proliferation of NGO schools of all hues. Given the fact that the gap between what secular governments have been proclaiming ad nauseum ---- universal basic education ---- and the reality on the ground ---- which is huge with a capital G ---- it makes no sense to go on blaming these instead of seriously looking into their deficiencies, facilitating reform and streamlining their educational activities according to a well thought-out national policy.

The trouble is, madrasahs have been propagating a rather anachronistic world view, packaged in a badly flawed curricula that is neither here nor there. It is therefore seen to create an unwelcome 'otherness' vis-à-vis mainstream 'modern schooling.' But it would be unjust to claim that religious education alone is at fault. So-called secular mainstream schools have been found to be in no way more 'enlightened' and have bags full of flaws of their own that lead to potentially damaging schisms in society. Indeed, the entire educational sector is fraught with discrepancies. It is not really a question of secular versus religious ---- which, in the ultimate analysis, are really two sides of the same coin ---- but of the gross socio-economic inequities and inequalities that have been allowed to prevail in the land too long, thanks to the civil-military ruling classes and their pretence at governance. It is their intellectual and spiritual poverties and their 'poverties of understanding,' that have proved to be the bane of Bangladesh's people.

Decision makers must come down to earth, for we cannot go on ignoring the hard realities on the ground --- the nature of the land , the diverse socio-economic conditions of the people. These are hardly conducive to designing a uniform education system for all. But with the right political and humanistic vision it would not be impossible to start making amends right away. A sustained and consistent educational phisosophy and strategy should guide reforms so that basic national education is inclusive rather than divisive. It is imperative that all streams that are currently functioning in the country are brought under a reasonably uniform system comparable to the best in the region. This does not mean unnecessary bureaucratic meddling but sensible, gradual, participatory upgrading of school management, quality of teachers, curriculum and methods of teaching, and not less important, a durable enhancement in the status of school teachers.

Inequality, injustice and poverties of all kinds keep people ----- under the same flag, speaking the same tongue ---- far apart from one another. If we had the leadership early on, wise enough to invest the best minds and material in designing and teaching a world-class national curriculum to all, we could perhaps have had a less divisive socio-political culture. In other words, the secular would have merged with the religious, the Bengali with the English and vice versa, in the search for a golden mean in education. But, at this point in time, the task would be far too difficult to deal with. Chaos and corruption in the sector has reached unimaginable heights, and we wish the minister Godspeed in his declared resolve to tackle the disease.

There are so many different streams of education catering to different socio-economic classes that alienation rather than national unity has been the natural outcome over the years. At the primary level alone there are nearly a dozen streams functioning! Apart from the Bangla and English kindergartens for the middle class and the well-to-do, and the in-between, there are others that cater to the low-income groups, and neither the standards nor the curricula are the same. The drop-out rate is highest in those catering to the poor as life's other urgencies keep pulling them away. To keep the children of the poorest communities from dropping out it is imperative that an exclusive system be worked out to accommodate their need to work for a living.

For this, one honest educationist-poet-journalist, Abul Momen, suggests setting up community schools in every ward, jointly administered by the community and the government. The poor and poorest are to be identified and issued VGF (Vulnerable Group Feeding) cards, which would be valid only if the children attend school and do well. The three-roomed community schools would have two shifts, one for pre-school to class two and the other for classes three to five. And the afternoons and evenings in these schools would be used for adult education. In addition, children would be required to attend twice a week afternoon classes meant for recreation and aptitude development. Adults too would participate in educational 'addas' according to a planned calendar of activities and events.

Reading outside the curriculum should be a vital input, and as Momen suggests, it would be possible to inculcate the reading habit in children if all schools are equipped with modest libraries of selected books, reasonably abridged and made easy for children, by 2015. The Shishu Academy could be marshalled to assist in this laudable extra-curricula input. If children can be encouraged to read at least five selected classics a year it would add up to 50 by the end of their five year primary period, which is bound to enhance the mindset and outlook of the youth and in the process have a positive impact on the nation as a whole. Abul Momen's thoughts on basic education deserve serious consideration and the government would do well to tap resources like him.