Bangladesh schools found wanting

Nearly 70 per cent of the government and non-government educational institutions in Bangladesh are substandard, an education ministry survey has said.

According to the survey, which covers 23,000 non-government schools and colleges, 597 institutions, or 2.6 per cent, are of high standard; 6,939, or 30.26 per cent are standard; while more than 66.82 per cent, or 15,397, are below standard.

The grading was based on performance in public examinations, teacher-student ratio, physical infrastructure, and library and laboratory facilities.

"The survey was conducted recently to assess the standard and infrastructure of educational institutions in the country," Education Minister, Dr. Osman Farruk, told journalists at a briefing Sunday where he revealed the findings of the survey.

The minister said the survey, undertaken as part of the prime minister's 100-day programme, covered nearly 87 per cent of some 30,000 government and non-government schools and colleges in the country.

"The government has taken up a massive restructuring programme to improve the standard of education in different educational institutions," Farruk said.

The minister said in some schools only 15 students appear for the public examinations, of which only five pass. On the other hand, there are some schools where none of those sitting for the public examinations have been successful for years together.

Schools performing below par will be excluded from the monthly pay order (MPO), he warned. "The MPO is not a permanent settlement."