Non-uniform primary education discriminatory

By failing to establish a uniform primary education system for all and prevent the commercialisation of education, the state itself has discriminated against its citizens, speakers told a seminar yesterday.
Geographical, linguistic and regional discriminations exist in primary education, as people of all areas and ethnic and socio-economic are not provided with equal facilities and education of the same quality, they said.
The seminar was organised in the capital's Cirdap auditorium by Amader Odhikar Foundation, a platform of 40 voluntary organisations, funded by Oxfam.  
In his paper, Prof Salimullah Khan of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), criticised non-formal education, which is given to children between ages 8 and 14 deprived of formal education, as an "emergency arrangement" to cut literacy rate rather than educate people.
He also said the national education policy 2010 encouraged religious studies and vocational education for the underprivileged class, and alleged that it was influenced by donor agencies.
Khan said primary education should be public, uniform, secular and national, and it was the state's responsibility to ensure it for all.
Former caretaker government adviser Rasheda K Chowdhury, however, said it was not possible for the state to do everything alone. She urged the people to come forward.
She, however, criticised the government for its failure to stop the "admission business"--charging of large sums of money apart from admission fees at many educational institutions.