The prolonged school closure due to Covid-19 pandemic has escalated a sharp rise of school dropout rate in the country. It has brought forth a grave tension for the authorities working in the respective fields. The increasing trend of school dropout rate has kicked back Bangladesh into a series of problems and variant social maladies like child marriage and child labor. Even the substantive portrayal of the school dropout is obscure to many yet. Consequently a comprehensive study and empirical framework based on a recovery plan must be adopted in order to address this ultimate national setback.
The Covid-19 crisis has revealed that our existing education system is closely connected with our livelihood and it is no longer a detached perspective. We already have come to know that during the pandemic almost 44% families have been forced to remain under the poverty line where a large number of school-children are present in those households. In this reality, the school dropout issue has become a matter of dire concern for all quarters thoughtful with the national interest for the country.
According to a survey conducted by the Directorate of Primary Education, the dropout rate in Primary Education was 49.3% in the year of 2008, which later scaled down to 17.9% in 2019. Another survey executed by Save The Children has disclosed that almost 10 million children across the globe may never come back to school premises once the ongoing pandemic ends up. It has also depicted that children in 12 countries are at awfully high risk of school dropout evermore whereas 28 countries are at moderate or high risk of dropout, and Bangladesh is among those 28 countries.
One of the worst hits of Covid-19 is the sharp rise in school dropout rate, in particular, in the rural areas. In this circumstance, like many other countries, our country will bear the brunt in many spheres of its socio-economic run-up. During the pandemic the shrinkage earnings of low to middle class households has compelled many children to be involved with money-generating activities which has significantly heightened the school dropout rate in the country.
Bangladesh has secured an impressive headway in girl’s education rate and school enrollment in recent years. Keeping a balanced consistency with the Millennium Development Goals Index girl’s enrollment in primary schools was quite satisfactory in the last year. A report published by BANBEIS in 2019 shows that there are 10.34 million students at the secondary level in the country, of whom 53.83% are female which is hope-mongering for sure.
But the sudden lift in the rate of school dropout among the school girls due to lengthened school adjournment along with economic hardship on the parents has become a huge worry. Indeed, regular schooling for girls is a concrete hindrance for marrying them off at an early age, particularly in rural areas. But the teenage girls are being fated to get married due to poverty, economic fallout, and prolonged school postponement concurrently. So, confronting school dropout and child marriage is now a burdensome challenge for the relevant quarters.
Nearly 2,000 pre-primary, primary, junior and high schools run with private ownership in the country have been shut down perpetually where hundreds of thousands of children studied. Now, most of them are suspended from regular education and school enrollment which has annexed a further rate in dropout.
Government Organizations along with NGOs, local stakeholders, and concerned partner agencies have to work in joint hands to address the problem of school dropout and augment enrollment of children in the schools in a planned approach. This concentrated awkward quandary centering school dropout rate should get preference to be trimmed back practically.
Projected initiatives to afford free of cost education especially in public schools, provide cost-free education materials, manage mid-day meals can notably lessen the issue of staying away from schools in a significant manner. Raising awareness focusing this prevalent drawback among guardians is a must. In addition, special stipend programs and monetary incentives (cash support) can be provided to encourage the poverty stricken and dropout-endured school-goers for education continuation. Here, the government, NGOs, and sensitive native donors have to work in an integral manner.
A comprehensive and quality study to find out the vulnerable and dropout-like students due to Covid-19 should be undertaken. Teachers and NGO workers in collaboration with local social workers, learning promoters, and education philanthropists can work together in collecting primary data through a multi-respondent survey in order to sketch a real picture to address the root causes of the school dropout and its possible solutions.
It is in fact a great challenge for the policymakers to safeguard the learning and intellectual well-being of the children. A sound and sufficient budget allocation might function to cut short the crisis we are in. By the way, it is the high time, all concerned should exert their earnest endeavor to palliate this unsought national loss. The authorities concerned should prepare a pragmatic response and recovery plan, and execute that having no delay. Finally, we all have to work in joint hands to confront this massive national shock.
(Mr. Khan is a teaching professional and academic coordinator)
