Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Girls’ Education in Bangladesh


Introduction

Female education is a catch-all term for a complex of issues and debates surrounding education (primary educationsecondary educationtertiary education and health education in particular) for females. It includes areas of gender equality and access to education, and its connection to the alleviation of poverty. Also involved are the issues of single-sex education and religious education, in that the division of education along gender lines, and religious teachings on education, have been traditionally dominant, and are still highly relevant in contemporary discussion of female education as a global consideration. While the feminist movement has certainly promoted the importance of the issues attached to female education, discussion is wide-ranging and by no means confined to narrow terms of reference: it includes for example AIDS. Universal education, meaning state-provided primary and secondary education independent of gender, is not yet a global norm, even if it is assumed in most developed countries.






Available materials on girls’ education in Bangladesh are mainly based on the analysis of quantitative data and EFA-focused indicators. Therefore, there are few opportunities to include local narratives and gendered learning experiences. Since the 1990 World Declaration on Education for All (EFA), there has been significant progress made in addressing gender disparities in access to schooling in Bangladesh. Access to girls’ education has increased through initiatives such as community schools for girls, and training of women teachers..



  Situation of Girls’ education

Educational attainment for women in Bangladesh was once among the lowest in the world. The 1991 census indicated that only 20% of women were literate, with a rate of 14% in rural areas. The enrollment rate in primary schools for girls was 64% in 1990 compared to 74% for boys. The gender disparity was even starker in secondary education, in which only 33% of enrolled students and 29% of graduates were girls

Primary level
With a population of 130 million Bangladesh has around 19 million children of primary school age (ages 6-10).  Almost half are girls.  Tremendous efforts in the past decade have been successful in getting more girls into school, resulting in gender parity in enrolments in primary and lower secondary schools, but the percentage of girls begins to decline in the later secondary years.  When the girl dropouts are added to the number of girls who have never enrolled, there are still approximately 1.5 million primary school age girls out of school.  The poor quality of education results in low achievement levels for girls and boys, and limited options for girls and women within the greater society exacerbate the problems of inadequate schooling for girls.





During the 1990s Bangladesh recorded a remarkable achievement in primary education with net and gross enrolments and completion rates all increasing by over 20 percent of the total cohort, 10 per cent never enroll, 34 per cent drop out, 28 per cent complete but do not achieve the minimum expected learning outcomes and only 28 per cent complete with satisfactory achievement. 

Number of Students Enrolled in Primary Schools and Percentage of Boys and Girls

Number of Students
% of Students
Year
Total
Boys
Girls
Boys
Girls
1991
12,635,419
6,910,092
5,725,327
54.7
45.3
1992
13,017,267
7,048,542
5,968,725
54.2
45.8
1993
14,067,332
7,525,862
6,541,470
53.5
46.5
1994
15,180,680
8,048,117
7,132,563
53.0
47.0
1995
17,284,157
9,094,489
8,189,668
52.6
47.4
1996
17,580,416
9,219,358
8,361,058
52.4
47.6
1997
18,031,673
9,364,899
8,666,774
51.9
48.1
1998
18,360,642
9,576,942
8,783,700
52.2
47.8
1999
17,621,731
9,065,019
8,556,712
51.4
48.6
2000
17,667,985
9,032,698
8,635,287
51.1
48.9
2001
17,659,220
8,989,795
8,669,425
51.0
49.0
2002
17,561,828
8,841,648
8,720,180
50.3
49.7
2003
18,431,320
9,358,757
9,072,563
50.8
49.2
2004
17,953,300
9,046,433
8,906,867
50.4
49.6
2005
16,225,658
8,091,221
8,134,437
49.87
50.13
2006
16,385,847
8,129,314
8,256,533
49.6
50.4
2007
16,312,907
8,035,353
8,277,554
49.3
50.7
2008
16,001,605
7,919,837
8,081,768
49.49
50.51
2009
16,539,363
8,241,026
8,298,337
49.83
50.17


Secondary level

As recently as 1991, the educational attainment of Bangladeshi women was among the lowest in the world.  Eighty percent were illiterate.  Equipped with few skills and uninformed about health care, family planning, and nutrition, they were trapped in a cycle of dependency.
To ensure that school-age girls, especially those in rural areas, receive an education, the Female Secondary School Assistance Project was set up in the early 1990s by the World Bank and the government of Bangladesh. The project provided incentives to keep girls in schools and resulted in a sharp rise in the number of girls enrolled in grades six through ten.
The girls brought into the program, mainly from poor rural families, receive a small cash stipend to ease the financial burden of their education. To further encourage schools to enroll girls, a tuition assistance payment has also been provided to schools that choose to participate in the program. In the areas targeted by the project, female enrollment more than doubled to more than 1 million in 2001 from 462,000 in 1994.  The overall proportion of females who married at an early age in areas served by the project declined between 1992 and 1995, to 14 percent from 19 percent for 13 to 15-year-olds, and to 64 percent from 72 percent for 16 to 19-year-olds.

Aggregate secondary enrollments, 1995–2005, by grade and gender
Year
Sex
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9
Grade 10
Total
1995
Total
1,426,399
1,209,619
1,009,321
782,371
630,899
5058,610
Girls
699,939
591,840
475,374
341,361
264,328
2,372,842
% of girls
49.07
48.93
47.10
43.63
41.90
46.91
1996
Total
1,575,237
1,335,684
1,114,419
863,862
696,604
5,585,806
Girls
775,021
655,252
526,307
377,890
292,604
2,627,073
% of girls
49.20
49.06
47.23
43.74
42.00
47.03
1997
Total
1,727,103
1,464,455
1,221,858
947,146
763,763
6,124,325
Girls
861,899
728,703
585,304
420,250
325,404
2,921,560
% of girls
49.90
49.76
47.90
44.37
42.61
47.70
1998
Total
1,841,802
1,559,274
1,308,464
1,102,025
957,513
6,769,078
Girls
951,782
812,855
685,637
557,078
457,390
3,464,742
% of girls
51.68
52.13
52.40
50.55
47.77
51.18
1999
Total
1,931,857
1,706,516
1,408,810
1,139,710
1,050,046
7,236,939
Girls
1,003,007
891,146
744,220
597,816
522,634
3,758,823
% of girls
51.92
52.22
52.83
52.45
49.77
51.94
2000
Total
1,957,398
1,722,863
1,524,492
1,348,770
1,093,362
7,646,885
Girls
1,023,700
914,050
843,088
699,164
540,235
4,020,237
% of girls
52.30
53.05
55.30
51.84
49.41
52.57
2001
Total
2,008,565
1,767,903
1,564,350
1,406,242
1,139,950
7,887,010
Girls
1,064,312
950,312
876,536
736,135
568,802
4,196,097
% of girls
52.99
53.75
56.03
52.35
49.90
53.20
2002
Total
2,079,712
1,831,573
1,618,924
1,445,296
1,186,629
8,162,134
Girls
1,106,329
987,708
910,537
765,425
590,479
4,360,778
% of girls
53.2
53.93
56.24
52.96
49.76
53.43
2003
Total
2,052,219
1,832,685
1,616,291
1,440,158
1,185,009
8,126,362
Girls
1,052,498
974,348
899,735
765,272
630,715
4,322,568
% of girls
51.3
53.2
55.7
53.1
53.2
53.2
2004
Total
1,926,409
1,700,118
1,517,666
1,364,296
994,758
7,503,247
Girls
1,001,007
904,147
812,256
706,788
500,917
3,925,110
% of girls
51.96
53.20
53.52
51.81
50.36
52.31
2005
Total
1,976,729
1,685,056
1,481,110
1,294,110
961,547
7,398,552
Girls
1,030,127
881,506
779,147
675,859
501,375
3,868,014
% of girls
52.11






Bangladesh has made impressive strides in a relatively short time in terms of achieving gender parity at both primary and secondary levels. The country has now surpassed target 4: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary school of the gender-related MDG 3 (Promote gender equality and empower women). It should be noted here that the broader goal of promoting gender equality and empowering women has certainly not been achieved, and the target 4 does not necessarily indicate progress towards the larger goal—especially as it focuses on enrollment rather than educational outcomes.


Higher/Tertiary level

Tertiary education in Bangladesh takes place at 34 government and 54 private universities. Students can choose to further their studies in engineering, technology, agriculture and medicine at a variety of universities and colleges.

The benefits of educating girls have reached far beyond increasing individual opportunity. Higher education levels for girls have been shown to alleviate problems such as high birth rates, poor health practices and high maternity and infant mortality. This project is providing continued support to a very effective effort on the part of the Bangladeshi government to enable poor rural girls to improve not only their own lives, but the well-being of the country.

Now-a-days girls enrolment is almost equal or more than boys in higher education in Bangladesh.



Barriers, Cause, Strategies and Possible Intervetion in girls’ education


  

An Action Aid nation-wide study on gendered violence in education, which included responses (n=856) from adolescent boys, girls, teachers, parents, and civil society groups, found that 86% of girls reported that they faced harassments on the way to school, and 97% of boys reported that they harassed girls on the way to school. While this is obviously intimidating for girls, 78% said that they felt intimidated while 54% stated that it would not stop them from studying. Parents, however, did not necessarily agree. With the burden of marrying off their daughters firmly in mind, 73% said that ‘eve-teasing’ was the reason enough to stop education of their daughters. Household data from Education Watch 2005 found that 4% of drop-outs among rural girls are due to security concerns. Moreover, if the distance to school is too far, or the route too public, a girl may not be allowed to attend.



 


   Activities for increasing girls’ education
 








Steps taken by Government

  1. Emphasis has been given on reducing disparity between male and female in education sector. In order to expand women's education, nurture empowerment and ensure women's participation in development activities, female students have been provided stipends in secondary schools in 460 rural upazillas.
  2. Stipend programs have been able to play a landmark role in reducing dropout and increasing enrollment in secondary education. As an outcome of stipend program the rate of teenage marriage has decreased rapidly.
  3. In order to empower women in education sector, different development projects are being implemented, such as, Female Secondary Stipend Project, Female Secondary School Assistance Project (2nd phase), and Establishment of 3 Mohila Polytechnic Institutes at 3 Divisional Headquarters. EU assisted Program to Motivate, Train, and Employ Female Teachers in Rural Secondary schools (PROMOTE).
  4. Poor students, especially female ones are being benefited more from the projects. Their participation in schools has increased satisfactorily. This is really expected because they are more neglected in their family. The stipend projects are helping in assuaging the burden of the poor parents in carrying out educational costs.
  5. On the other hand, PROMOTE project has brought opportunities for the unemployed women to have teachers training in rural areas and to get employment in rural schools. This project is working with the objective of employing 1000 women in rural secondary schools. With this end in view, several female hostels have been made in District and in Thana levels to provide accommodation to the female trainees. This project will offer 839 scholarships as well. This initiative has created inspiration among the female trainees, who are looking for teacher ship.






Steps taken by NGOs, International Organizations etc:
BRAC

This tremendous improvement of female education is largely due to an organization called BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) which introduced its Non-Formal Primary Education Program (NFPE) in 1985. This program emphasized mainly on the education of girls in rural areas giving them the opportunity to attain higher levels of education by providing flexible learning hours and scholarships depending on educational performances. The program started with 22 experimental schools. Today, the number of schools surpasses 34,000, catering over 1.1 million students where 70 percent of them are girls.
BRAC teachers are chosen among the most educated the village. Teachers must have at least nine years of schooling to be employed. Presently, 97 percent of all teachers are women. Each year, almost 90 per cent of the students who graduate from the BRAC schools go on to the formal schools in higher classes. 
Additionally, BRAC has also undertaken projects to provide villages with libraries and community centers. The organization offers all this to villagers with funds from foreign countries and by collecting minimal fees from the students to supply them with books and other materials.

UNICEF :
UNICEF worked with the government to support the Intensive District Approach to Education for All (IDEAL) – a project which was concluded in 2004. This initiative was designed to promote child-friendly and gender-sensitive schools with a massive coverage. By 2002, the coverage had expanded to 9.3 million children with 144,306 teachers in 36,109 schools (UNICEF, 2003). Now PEDP-II is taking forward the approach developed by the IDEAL project. The project promoted MWTL (multiple ways of teaching–learning) which rested on the theoretical premise of multiple intelligence developed by Professor Howard Gardner, a cognitive psychologist at Harvard University. Stories of teachers’ teaching experiences in the project schools suggest that the approach to pedagogy was highly methodological and theory driven. Claims that there had been a dramatic change in the way students learned fell short of students’ personal expressions of how they felt about the learning process.

To fulfill its mandate for girls’ education in Bangladesh, a number of strategies will be employed by UNICEF to meet both its programmatic objectives as well as to contribute to the fulfillment of the girls’ education goals in Bangladesh by 2005 and 2015. The key strategies:
  1.      Promoting girls’ education and empowerment in national policies
  2.      Networking and building alliances and partnerships  
  3.      Promotion of multi-dimensional and cross-sectoral approaches  
  4.      Support to formal and non-formal channels
  5.      Promotion of girls’ education at every stage of the life cycle
  6.      Promotion of girls’ participation and empowerment
  7.      Inclusion of boys
  8.      Monitoring of progress
To meet these objectives the Child Development and Education (CDE) Section had three projects as part of the current Country Program.  The Early Childhood Development (ECD) Project was introduced in this Country Program and works with the government and NGO partners to promote the cognitive, emotional and social development of the young child.  The Intensive District Approach to Education for All (IDEAL) Project has covered 36 of the 64 districts of Bangladesh.  In-service teachers’ training on child centered active learning methods and the promotion of community participation in schools are cornerstones of the project.

Grameen Bank:
Grameen Bank in recent years has not only expanded its credit operations which are targeted at the poorest of the poor in rural Bangladesh, it has also rapidly diversified its activities. Grameen today is the focal point of a global network of institutions and individuals who provide micro-credit to fight poverty. Within Bangladesh, the Bank has undertaken major investment initiatives in those sectors where the poor have the comparative advantage in terms of their skills, enterprise and productive capacity. A number of social development oriented companies have been established under the Companies' Law to boost economic growth of vital economic sectors like agriculture, fisheries and rural industries. Through they are providing necessary advice and tasks to poor and rural women to develop their selves.

World Vision Bangladesh:
This is a worldwide NGO which enable the society to become free from the curse of illiteracy. Emphasis is given of education (formal, non-formal, functional and vocational) focus on the needs of the children. Build capacity of the community so that they can manage primary education and increasingly support the vocational and selective higher education for their children. They are providing University Girls Scholarship for higher education of university level girls. They are also providing various training and workshop program for development of girls for working sector.

Other Projects
The figures for the first decades of the 21st century are vastly different in the primary sector, gender parity in enrollment has been achieved and in 2002, the secondary sector enrollment of girls exceeded the enrollment of boys at 53%. A number of policy interventions are credited for this dramatic change, including the Food for Education Program sponsored by World Food Program, the rise in non-formal education pushed by NGOs and the increase in formal sector employment opportunities for women that require secondary education, especially the garment sector. In addition, one of the most accredited drivers of this change is the Female Secondary School Stipend Project (FSP) launched nationally in 1994 and funded by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the governments of Norway and Bangladesh. The project pays tuition-fees and provides monthly stipends for unmarried rural girls up to class 10 who attend recognized institutions, remain unmarried, maintain at least 75% attendance, and secure at least 45% marks in the annual examinations (a pass requires 35%). In 2005, nearly 2.3 million girls were enrolled in the program.
Facilities to ensure a clean, healthy and gender-friendly school environment, but most SMCs are found to be ineffective (USAID, 2002). The findings of PSPMP 2000 revealed that 38 percent of rural schools had inadequate toilets and 57 percent lacked potable water for students. In the schools where second toilets were constructed for girls, teachers locked them up for their own use (USAID, 2002).
In regard to female teachers, again according to USAID (2002), it is only in urban areas or NGO supported schools that most teachers are female – they make up 58 percent in urban areas, 29 percent in rural areas and 93 percent in NGO schools compared with 48 percent in government, 39 percent in private and 7.6 percent in madrasa schools.


                                               
Conclusion

In conclusion, it must be duly noted that Bangladesh is still one of the poorest countries of the world. However, it has come a long way from being the "International Basket Case". Faced with insurmountable odds, the people of the nation have learned to cope with annual natural disasters. Today, Bangladesh might be poor but the people are proud of their achievement and tenacity towards success.





References:


2.    www.moe.gov.bd
4.    Gender Studies by Md Amzad Hossain
5.    www.unicef.org