Majhar Mannan :
The government has formulated the Education Policy 2010 to ensure quality education in the country. The government took the initiative to enact the Education Act in 2011 with the aim of fully implementing the National Education Policy formulated in 2010. The Ministry of Education started work on the Education Act in January 2011 to fully implement the National Education Policy and close down the coaching, private, note book, guide book. According to, newspaper report coaching opportunities are not completely closed under the Education Act. An existing law prohibits note-guides up to the school level. As a result, there are supportive books or practice books on the market that are essentially alternatives to notebooks and guide books.
The proposed education law prohibits the publication and marketing of note or guide books. If anyone violates this law, he is liable to imprisonment for three years or a fine of up to five lakh taka. However, with the approval of the government, supportive books can be published and marketed.
The draft law states that the operation of coaching centers will not be prohibited under this law. However, teachers and students will not be able to join the coaching as long as the educational institution runs and if it does, appropriate action will be taken against it and the registration of the coaching center will be canceled. Teachers in coaching centers are prohibited from teaching students in their own educational institutions. No teacher may offer direct private or coaching to the students of his / her own institution but in case of backward students, with the written consent of the parents, the educational institution may conduct additional classes before or after school hours as per the government rules.
There are many good aspects of the proposed education law that will contribute to the development of quality education. But if coaching centers and so-called supportive books are not controlled, this can be an obstacle to the development of quality education. Education experts believe that if quality education can be ensured in the classroom then there is no need for coaching centers and so-called supportive books. Coaching centers and so-called helpful books divert students from the original textbooks. There is a creative method in the current education system but it will not cut a good figure if this creative lesson cannot be ensured in the classroom. The purpose of the creative method was to stimulate students’ thinking and imagination, and to reduce the tendency to memorize.
Classrooms and textbooks are supposed to be the main options of students but today they are tired of running after coaching centers and so called supportive books. However, many parents and students complain that they are not getting quality education in the classroom and are turning to coaching centers and supportive books. By avoiding textbooks, memorizing certain questions from helpful books, participating in exams, getting certificates and getting higher marks have become the main goal of students. The proliferation of coaching centers and so-called helpful books has led to huge inequalities in education and today millions of poor students are lagging behind in education as the cost of education has skyrocketed. Again there are many shortcomings in the need for experienced teachers to teach in a creative way in the classroom. Special attention should also be paid to the preparation of textbooks because if the textbooks are not conducive and enjoyable for the students then the students turn away from the textbooks. Students’ attention to the textbook will increase only when the textbook is made easy and useful for them and at the end of the textbook it is given with a question bank and from there the test questions will come.
Textbooks should be designed in such a way that students can learn 50 percent of the lessons from the textbooks on their own which will greatly reduce guide and reliance.
Today, the childhood of children and teenagers is being lost from their lives as they run after the coaching center after the break of school and college. Students today are tired of running after coaching centers and so-called helpful books and this is a big obstacle in the way of developing their latent talents. Many teachers force students to do coaching by using various techniques. Teachers often put pressure on their students to join coaching and if the students do not participate in the coaching then they are subjected to various forms of harassment. Approving coaching centers under the Education Act could increase their dominance and have a negative impact on students. If the coaching centers are open, it will be very difficult to bring the students back to the classroom and it will be difficult to teach in a creative way.
(Majhar Mannan is Assistant Professor, B A F Shaheen College Kurmitola,
Dhaka Cantonment).
