Tasdidaa Shamsi :
Bangladesh had to go under lockdown from 26th March, 2020 due to world-wide pandemic of the Covid-19 virus with the first case detected on 8th March, 2020. This has caused the workforce of all sectors to suffer. Bangladesh is divided into several socio-economic classes. The white collar job holders could switch (though not all and mostly in cities) to online work environment, but many factories who require blue collar workers and presence of workers to operate machineries are being unable to sustain. The customer countries are also badly affected by Covid-19. When there is a lockdown, our informal sector workers are also not being able to perform and earn optimally. There is less circulation of money in the system proven by inability of many to pay house rent and school fees and also lower percentage of salaries to white collar workforce. This ongoing process will lead to a fall in Bangladesh’s GDP.
This article focuses on the effect of Covid-19 on the life of English Medium school teachers in Bangladesh, how they are performing in the current situation. Though the Bangladesh Government relaxed the lockdown on the 31st of May for all sectors, the educational institutions are closed until further notice.
Bangladesh’s young gets employed in the educational sector just after leaving university, mainly as part of the white collar workforce. There should be social distance maintained during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Digital Bangladesh aspect of Bangladesh Government is being used to address teaching in the education industry during this pandemic. This should be treated as a norm now.
As of 9th May, 2020, most academic institutions in Bangladesh including the majority of schools, colleges and universities across the country still did not start online education. A handful of schools and colleges in Dhaka city other big cities started taking online classes to minimize the academic loss due to the shutdown. But the majority of schools located outside these cities are yet to have initiated virtual learning. Approximately about four crore students are now out of in-person classes as all the educational institutions have been closed since March 17. Renowned and higher end schools are taking online classes via Facebook live, messenger, Zoom and other tools. Clips of classes are also being uploaded on YouTube.
Around 5% of the total primary school students study in English schools. English-medium private schools are exceptions to Bengali Medium schools and madrasas and were formed post Liberation War in 1971. Self-owned English Medium schools grew fast in the 1980s with support from the Government of Bangladesh. These institutions are frequented by children of the elite class representing business, higher bureaucracy, and the higher echelons of the armed forces.
Most of the English medium schools in the capital are taking online classes. The teachers seem to be skilled and after training are utilizing own devices and internet connection to teach students from home. They have even bought mobile internet in case of electricity outages which cause disruption to Wi-Fi internet. The teachers have not changed location or even if they did, they adapted to take online classes from changed locations.
English medium school teachers have worked since the beginning of shutdown due to Covid-19. Even when no online classes were being conducted, homework was being sent via SMS, email, and social media groups.
There are approximately 3.68 crore students in all types of educational institutions and over a million teachers and other school personnel in Bangladesh. This workforce are helping reduce the large gap in education which is being created due to the pandemic and helping the students acquire proper knowledge. If students sits idle, they will be negatively impacted. The English Medium school teachers have a huge input in education in current times.
Among 300 English Medium schools in the country (200 in Dhaka), most have not been able to collect monthly school fees from guardians due to the current shutdown. As a result, the English Medium school teachers and allied staff have not been able to get paid regularly since March, 2020. As many are tenants in the capital, everyday life is becoming tough for these individuals due to financial hardship. The current situation should make the English Medium schools have a contingency plan to face situations like current in the future so that this hard-working, ever adapting workforce does not suffer.
By observation, it is evident that when this particular workforce is consisting of a high percentage of female and once the schools are adapting to the option of working from home, there is very less balance. The women are now having to juggle a tight routine. They have to look after the domestic activities, more so without the availability of home help due to social distancing issues accompanying Covid-19. As Bangladesh is a country following patriarchal thought process, it is hard now on the female English Medium school teachers as they do not get a lot of domestic support from the male members of the family who are now stuck at home with them due to the lockdown. Continuous classes with no set routine is affecting the mental well-being of this workforce. This is aided with irregular payment as well.
In conclusion, it can be stated that the following measures can be used to address the proper routine and regular salaries for this workforce. The school authorities should communicate with parents to ask about their requirements and what their ability to pay is. It is because education cannot be halted and this workforce needs to work. Planning of all the stakeholders should be impeccable. The budget of all institutions should include rent, all utilities and definitely salary of this workforce who is contributing so much to this society. It should be ensured that even if there is a decrease in percentage of salary of individuals, there is no job cut in the institution. All in all these individuals should be saved in the current situation. It should be kept in mind a healthy teacher is the backbone of a society as they bring up and nurture individuals of the future.
(Tasdidaa Shamsi is Research Scientist, Global Public Health Research Foundation)
