Illiteracy still an issue

With the progress it is currently making, Bangladesh needs another 44 years to have an initial level of literacy skills for all its citizens and 78 years to attain the advanced level, according to a report of Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE). While the number of people in each level of literacy has increased, the main driver behind this increase has been the overall population growth. And although progress has been made in various levels of literacy, the pace of progress has remained sluggish — 0.7 percent annually.

This is obviously unsatisfactory as the progress made has clearly been stymied, most noticeably, by social constraints. One example would be the large number of children, who are still not attending schools in spite of the government making primary education free for all. Instead, they are being forced into child labour to economically support their struggling families.

But even when we do have individuals going through the education system for a long enough period of time, sometimes, their level of literary competency remains awfully low compared to what is acceptable. Not only does this cast a shadow on the quality of education that is being provided, but it also indicates to the existence of deep systemic problems within the entire system that needs addressing for there to be any substantial improvement.

And to identify these and address the most fundamental problems within our education system, the authorities must involve experts to devise a comprehensive strategy for improving the quality of education. Meanwhile, by removing the various social constraints, access to education can be increased significantly across the board.