Enrolment rate is far below that of developed countries with more than 60 per cent enrolment rate, show World Bank data.
Although the enrolment rate has increased significantly in recent years, both at secondary and higher secondary levels, the dropout rate continues to be higher at both the levels, which is one of the prime reasons behind the small number of students at the higher education level, educationists observed.
Gross enrolment rate of 15 per cent is much lower than Asian average of 30 per cent.
If Ethiopia can increase undergraduate enrolment, increased by 40 per cent in the country, with 60 new universities (half of which are private) created over the last 20 years, why cant we ? The answer to this is a combination of factors. One is the amount we spend for education – Bangladesh committed in the Dakar Declaration and in various global forums that it would spend six percent of the GDP or allocate at least 20 percent of the national budget for education. The Unesco stipulates that the budgetary allocation for education should constitute at least six percent of the GDP and 20 percent of the total budget.
But it has spent only around 2-2.5 percent over the last 5 fiscal years – a dismal figure which is totally inadequate for the level of infrastructural development needed. We spend only 25 percent of the budgetary allocation on infrastructure which is basically nothing.
Another is our system itself – Knowledge based education can only be delivered through the creation and dissemination of knowledge in the proper environment and with the right people. A certificate does not guarantee knowledge. It is just a piece of paper and is not worth the cost of paper it is printed on, until and unless its bearer can prove his or her worth.
The present system is good for creating ‘educated’ certificate holders, but not productive human resources in most cases. The reasons are manifold. First, the belief that one must hold a university degree at any cost after he or she passes his or her higher secondary certificate course is misleading. The degree seeker spends four to five years chasing the degree, gets it, only to find out that in the real world, the degree is practically worthless in terms of the time and money the holder has spent for it.
Capitalising on this attitude of the certificate chasers, there is a rush amongst universities and some colleges to offer degrees in business, but not in technical or vocational education. In Finland, a country known to have one of the finest education systems in the world, every student must take technical courses up to eighth grade. Someone who vies to get into the civil service can go to colleges for a bachelor’s degree. Only school teachers need a master’s and researchers have to have a PhD or equivalent.
In Bangladesh, the craze for a university degree can be self-defeating. When a Sanskrit or Arabic graduate looks for a job in a bank or the government, the big question is what good is the degree for jobs in these sectors? When we say we want to see Bangladesh become a middle income country by 2021, such mismatch has to change. Young people must be encouraged to go into technical and vocational education more. Establishment of new technical universities or vocational institutes is a step in the right direction.
