M M Jasim :
The unauthorised kindergarten (KG) schools are running across the country having no respect for rules and regulations.
Even the government has failed to collect the information as to how many schools administer their activities all over the country.
The officials of the Primary and Mass Education Ministry said, “Most KG schools have not been set up legally. We want to know the number of such schools, their curriculum, whether they subscribe to the government books to teach students, the qualification of teachers, their recruitment process, their salaries, sources of income and means to build and administer such schools, sectors of expenditure, whether do they abide by government rules in expenditure and the like.”
The teachers of these schools do not have the minimum qualification to teach, nor the required training, and the schools are run by the owners and their relatives, they said.
The Primary and Mass Education Ministry last year formed about 559 Taskforces across the country to collect information about unauthorised KG schools to bring them under supervision of the government.
The ministry asked the Divisional Commissioners, the Deputy Commissioners and the Upazila Nirbahi Officers to work separately to collect data.
But even after five months, there was no positive response from the Taskforce.
The Primary and Mass Education Ministry now requested the Public Administration Ministry to help collecting the information.
The Primary and Mass Education Ministry also sent a letter to Senior Secretary of the Public Administration Ministry in this regard.
The ministry’s letter stated, “A Taskforce was formed on
August 16 in 2016 after a circular was issued to assess the non-government (both Bangla and English) and KG schools upon the directives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The taskforce was directed to collect the information and send its recommendations to the ministry within a month.”
“But even after repeated requests, the divisional commissioners, the deputy commissioners and UNOs failed to send any information to the ministry,” it said.
Additional Secretary of the Primary and Mass Education Ministry Nazrul Islam Khan said, “The ministry has failed to take any action against the KG schools as the Taskforce report is yet to submit to the ministry.
“We have requested the Senior Secretary of the Public Administration Ministry to order the field administration to send us the required information as early as possible,” Nazrul Islam Khan said.
“There should be no unregistered KG schools. As we have failed in the first stage to collect information about the schools, we are now using the formal government mechanism,” he said.
According to different KG school associations, there are about 70,000 such schools across the country in which lakhs of students study. But the government has no control over them.
The taskforces were formed after getting many allegations against the KG schools. The ministry had also decided to shut down the unauthorised schools.
In all, 559 five-member taskforces were formed across 487 upazilas, 64 districts and eight divisions. The UNO-led taskforce would collect information about the KG schools in upazilas. The deputy commissioners would collect information about the schools in the district towns and areas outside upazilas, while the divisional commissioners would collect information about the schools in metropolitan areas.
The unauthorised kindergarten (KG) schools are running across the country having no respect for rules and regulations.
Even the government has failed to collect the information as to how many schools administer their activities all over the country.
The officials of the Primary and Mass Education Ministry said, “Most KG schools have not been set up legally. We want to know the number of such schools, their curriculum, whether they subscribe to the government books to teach students, the qualification of teachers, their recruitment process, their salaries, sources of income and means to build and administer such schools, sectors of expenditure, whether do they abide by government rules in expenditure and the like.”
The teachers of these schools do not have the minimum qualification to teach, nor the required training, and the schools are run by the owners and their relatives, they said.
The Primary and Mass Education Ministry last year formed about 559 Taskforces across the country to collect information about unauthorised KG schools to bring them under supervision of the government.
The ministry asked the Divisional Commissioners, the Deputy Commissioners and the Upazila Nirbahi Officers to work separately to collect data.
But even after five months, there was no positive response from the Taskforce.
The Primary and Mass Education Ministry now requested the Public Administration Ministry to help collecting the information.
The Primary and Mass Education Ministry also sent a letter to Senior Secretary of the Public Administration Ministry in this regard.
The ministry’s letter stated, “A Taskforce was formed on
August 16 in 2016 after a circular was issued to assess the non-government (both Bangla and English) and KG schools upon the directives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The taskforce was directed to collect the information and send its recommendations to the ministry within a month.”
“But even after repeated requests, the divisional commissioners, the deputy commissioners and UNOs failed to send any information to the ministry,” it said.
Additional Secretary of the Primary and Mass Education Ministry Nazrul Islam Khan said, “The ministry has failed to take any action against the KG schools as the Taskforce report is yet to submit to the ministry.
“We have requested the Senior Secretary of the Public Administration Ministry to order the field administration to send us the required information as early as possible,” Nazrul Islam Khan said.
“There should be no unregistered KG schools. As we have failed in the first stage to collect information about the schools, we are now using the formal government mechanism,” he said.
According to different KG school associations, there are about 70,000 such schools across the country in which lakhs of students study. But the government has no control over them.
The taskforces were formed after getting many allegations against the KG schools. The ministry had also decided to shut down the unauthorised schools.
In all, 559 five-member taskforces were formed across 487 upazilas, 64 districts and eight divisions. The UNO-led taskforce would collect information about the KG schools in upazilas. The deputy commissioners would collect information about the schools in the district towns and areas outside upazilas, while the divisional commissioners would collect information about the schools in metropolitan areas.
