NEWS reports in English dailies confirmed that no primary school from rural areas secured a berth among 20 toppers in the past three years. The Directorate of Primary Education’s ratings show that rural schools feature nowhere among the top schools in terms of results and this unfortunately points to the immense disparity in education opportunities that are only widening between rural and urban areas due to government’s negligence.
Data show names of rural schools also disappeared from the lists of 5 top schools in Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Comilla divisions for three years in a row since 2012 and to add salt to the wounds, the government showed little interest to address the widening disparity adversely affecting education of the rural children.
Going over the statistics, it appears that the current stance on education held by the government only deepens the educational gap between rural and urban areas. Keeping the fact that the majority of the country reside in rural areas, one would assume that the government would do what it takes to improve the poor and ill-equipped conditions of rural academic institutions. Parents of children studying in urban areas usually are (more often than not) educated themselves in some discipline who understand the importance of education.
The situation is completely different in rural areas as most family members are uneducated farmers or small time traders whose children are the first ones who are trying to get an education. They are not able to provide the support their children need, but some who do understand the lacking of the rural education, send their children to urban areas for schooling. This in turn creates a burden on the city’s population and resources. The government must understand that a nation is not just made of people in urban cities. Packed rural areas and their educational institutions need equal if not more support. Inadequate teachers, facilities and academic resources are just a few of the problems associated with rural schools. For the nation’s children to actually grow and contribute to the economy, they need to be educated properly, otherwise they will unwittingly be a burden for the already struggling nation, and only the government will be the one to blame.
The yearly education budget by the Education Ministry must include more provisions for local schools and qualified teachers must be appointed at these schools so that the nation can actually look forward to a better educated future.
