Introduction
In recent years, primary education in Bangladesh has expanded, but the quantity has not improved with the quality (Nath, 2002). To increase access to education, the government has allowed ten types of primary education opportunities. These range from formal schools to informal schools, from secular schools to religious schools. Most students are enrolled in state-owned primary schools and formal schools. In most cases, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are running formal primary schools, and BRAC runs the largest proportion of these schools.
BRAC, a development organization founded by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed in February 1972, shortly after Bangladesh’s independence, has served as both an initiator and catalyst for many social innovations and changes. Its primary mission was to assist refugees returning from India to their newly independent country. BRAC’s unique, holistic approach to poverty alleviation and empowerment of the poor includes a range of core programmes in economic and social development, health, education, human rights and legal services, as well as disaster management. Today, BRAC is the largest NGO in the South, employing 120,000 people, mostly women, and reaching over 110 million people through development interventions in Asia and Africa (BRAC, 2009).
BRAC began its non-formal primary education in 1979 and is now one of the most effective and successful primary education systems in Bangladesh. While the government is struggling to ensure the quality of primary education in state-owned schools despite undertaking various self-financed and donor-funded education projects, BRAC schools have consistently performed much better in the National Primary Education Leaving Examination than government schools. In 2009, a total of 252,040 students from BRAC primary schools sat for the Grade 5 Leaving Examination, and 97.4% of them passed the examination, which was 89% of the national pass rate (BRAC, 2011).
This article will attempt to provide a brief overview of the primary education system in Bangladesh, as well as highlight some of the government’s initiatives to improve the quality of primary education. It will then focus on BRAC's role in non-formal primary education in Bangladesh and the effective school systems that BRAC is using in its non-formal primary education projects. Finally, this article will conclude by suggesting some BRAC non-formal education strategies that can be applied to the state-owned primary education system to make it more effective.
Primary Education in Bangladesh
In the modern world, the population of a country is considered an asset if the state can provide them with proper education and employment opportunities. Bangladesh is no exception, and they are trying to emphasize the importance of educating its people. The Constitution of Bangladesh also mentions the provision of basic needs which includes uniform, mass oriented, free and compulsory education through which an equitable state can be formed so that all forms of exploitation can be eliminated (GOB, 1998)
After liberation, the government emphasized on the basic establishment and expansion of primary education in Bangladesh. In 1974, through an ordinance, the government took over the responsibility of all existing primary schools (GOB 1973, 1974). But in reality, it was difficult for a new and poor state to take full responsibility for primary education of a large population. Therefore, to meet the needs of primary education, many private (non-government) education providers came and established primary schools. As a result, there are currently 10 different types of primary education institutions in Bangladesh (DPE, 2008; BANBEIS 2006, 2009) and they follow 3 different curricula. The management authorities for different types of educational institutions also differ. The table below will provide a summary of the differences between these institutions.
Government Initiatives to Improve Quality
Since 1990, the government has been taking many initiatives to improve the quality of primary education in Bangladesh. In 1990, the National Parliament passed the Compulsory Primary Education Act (GoB, 1990). A five-year education project called the General Education Project (GEP) was launched from 1990 to 1995. The Primary Education Development Project (PEDP-I) consisted of 27 separate independent projects implemented from 1997 to 2004. Then, PEDP-II was launched with a huge budget of US$ 1815 million, of which the Bangladesh government shared 64% and the rest was provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADP) and ten other different donor agencies. 85% of the allocation was allocated to improve the quality of schools and classrooms, improve quality through infrastructure development, and promote and support equitable access to quality schooling (Education Watch, 2008).
Despite various government initiatives, many children in Bangladesh remain out of formal primary education every year. Still, in many places, especially in remote and hilly areas, the number of government schools is not adequate compared to the number of students. Sometimes the distance between students’ homes and schools is very long and many students feel discouraged from continuing their studies. Poverty is also another reason why many children do not attend formal schools. Although government primary education is supposed to be free, parents still have to bear many hidden costs for their children’s primary education.
The dropout rate of children from primary schools is also very worrying. Data from government and registered private primary schools show that almost half of the students drop out before completing their primary education (DPE, 2008).
Therefore, this high dropout rate from formal primary schools and the large number of children deprived of the light of education due to poverty have always created a void for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide primary education in non-formal schools. Non-formal education aims to fulfill the government’s commitment to primary education. BRAC is now a leading organization and has been able to establish an effective primary education system for many at-risk children, who have never attended formal primary school or have dropped out of formal primary school for various reasons.
BRAC’s Role in Non-Formal Primary Education
BRAC’s initial priority as a development agency was the empowerment of rural people, especially rural women. Soon after independence, in the mid-1970s, BRAC was running some effective literacy programmes for adults. Many women expressed their concerns about the education of their children to BRAC. In response to their concerns, BRAC opened its first non-formal primary school in 1979 (Prather, 1993).
BRAC then discovered that many children in rural areas were outside the reach of formal education. So BRAC continued to expand its non-formal primary education provision and by 1987 had established 410 schools. During this period, BRAC rapidly expanded its non-formal education provision and by the end of 1991, BRAC had established a total of 6003 schools. While expanding non-formal education programmes, BRAC felt that it was difficult for the government alone to provide education to all children in Bangladesh. So BRAC promised to fund 44,000 schools by 1995. Yet BRAC always believed that it was the government’s responsibility to provide education for all citizens. So when the government was able to enroll more children for primary education, BRAC naturally reduced the number of schools it supported.
BRAC non-formal schools are not permanent institutions. BRAC opens a school wherever there are about 30 students aged 8 to 11 who do not have access to schooling. Most of the children have dropped out or dropped out of formal primary education. So BRAC takes groups of these children who are enrolled together in the first grade and go on to four years of school together. After the cycle for a group of children is over, BRAC usually conducts a survey to find another batch of 30 children. If BRAC finds 30 children who can meet the criteria to become students, BRAC starts a new batch in that school.
By definition, non-formal schools have some flexibility compared to mainstream formal primary schools. In non-formal schools, students are allowed to enter the first grade even if they are above the age limit set by the government for admission to the first grade. The school timings are also flexible and take into account the convenience of the students.
A BRAC school is not like a formal primary school in many ways. It is a single-room school. The size of the room is about 336 square feet. The maximum capacity per school is 33 students. There is only one teacher per school. Teachers are recruited from the local community. The minimum educational qualification of a teacher is 10 years of schooling experience. Therefore, the teacher starts with a group of students in the first year and continues teaching with the same batch till the fourth year. BRAC schools cover all the basic skills in four years whereas mainstream government primary schools are designed for children to acquire these skills in five years. There are no tables or chairs in the schools. Students sit on mats on the floor. Education in BRAC schools is free for all children. There are no final exams at the end of the year and no formal assessments are conducted, but teachers continuously assess the student’s progress throughout the year. But at the end of the fourth year, every BRAC student has to take the Primary Education Leaving Certificate Examination, which is a standardized test that is mandatory for all students who complete their primary education.
Although BRAC Primary Education conducts primary education at a very low cost with students from the most disadvantaged communities, BRAC Primary students perform well in the Primary Education Leaving Certificate Examination, where they pass a standardized test for the first time in their lives. BRAC is now recognized for its effective primary education both at home and abroad. In the next part of the article, I will try to discuss the strategies that BRAC Primary Education implements to ensure effective schools for children.
BRAC Primary School Strategy to Ensure Quality Improvement
BRAC Primary Education has introduced many effective innovations in many aspects. The BRAC primary education model is unique in Bangladesh. Unfortunately, primary education is the last stage of education for many students in Bangladesh. BRAC has always strived to improve its primary schools since it started its non-formal education programme. School ‘capacity’ is an essential requirement for school improvement. Capacity development for both school-in-school (or classroom) factors and management is equally important for the improvement of any school (West and Ainsco, 2010).
BRAC has introduced and implemented some effective strategies in both teaching and learning practices and education management in the non-formal primary education classroom.
