Bangladesh

 

Maddipatla Foundation believes education is a fundamental right of every citizen

Primary education is free for all children in Bangladesh, from grades one through five. By law, children between the ages of six and ten must attend school. However, the quality of education remains a barrier to education levels.

Enrollment

The Government of Bangladesh has made significant progress in recent years to increase primary-school-age enrollment rates to cover 89 percent of boys and 94 percent of girls. However, access to education remains a challenge for vulnerable groups, mainly working children, disabled children, indigenous children and those in remote areas or living in extreme poverty. Only half of all children living in slums attend school, a rate 18 percentage points lower than the national average.

Attendance

Drop-out rates have made substantial progress wherein 2006 the proportion of pupils starting grade one who reaches grade 5 was 63.6 percent, in 2009 this has increased to 79.8 percent. However, development required in this area. Absenteeism is also a significant problem. Parents often withdraw their children from school as a strategy for coping with natural disasters or economic difficulties, such as rising food prices. Recent studies show that boys are more likely to drop out of school than girls, or not enroll at all, pointing to an emerging gender imbalance.

Teaching

At least ten percent of primary school teaching posts are vacant. To compensate for the lack of teachers, high-school graduates can apply for teaching positions. One-third of staff at government schools teach without a Certificate in Education.

Learning

Promoting interactive and inclusive education is difficult in the face of traditional teaching methods that require students to memorize facts. Students regularly fail to meet required curriculum competencies, so repetition rates are high. It currently takes an average of 8.5 years for a child to complete grades one through five. 10 percent of primary school students are above prime school age (11+).

School hours

Primary schools often do not have enough space to accommodate all local children. To combat the problem, 90 percent of government schools run a ‘double shift,’ half the students attend school in the morning, and the other half attend in the afternoon. A child in a double-shift school is typically in the classroom for between three and four hours a day. Regular school closures further reduce class time.

School environment

The Government is working to improve learning environments, building 17,277 new classrooms between 2005 and 2007, improving ventilation and lighting, and increasing access for disabled children. In those schools that are still waiting for these improvements, dark and cramped classrooms continue to hamper learning.

Child Labor

Poverty causes families to send children to work, often in hazardous and low-wage jobs, such as brick-chipping, construction, and waste-picking. Children are paid less than adults, with many working up to twelve hours a day. Full-time work frequently prevents children from attending school, contributing to drop-out rates.

Regulation

According to the Labour Law of Bangladesh 2006, the minimum legal age for employment is 14. However, as 93 percent of child laborers work in the informal sector – in small factories and workshops, on the street, in home-based businesses and domestic employment – the enforcement of labor laws is virtually impossible.

Dangers and risks

Long hours, low or no wages, mediocre food, isolation and hazards in the working environment can severely affect children’s physical and mental health. Child laborers are also vulnerable to other abuses such as racial discrimination, mistreatment, and sexual abuse. Some work, such as domestic labor, is commonly regarded as an acceptable employment option for children, even though it too poses considerable risks.

Camel jockeys and trafficking

Although trafficking is usually an issue for older children, small boys from Bangladesh have been trafficked to the Middle East to work as camel racing jockeys. These children are often deliberately starved to prevent weight gain and can be subject to sexual and physical abuse. In 2005 the United Arab Emirates banned children (under 18) from working as camel jockeys.

Quality of Water

As the world celebrates World Water Day today, UNICEF urges governments, civil society, and ordinary citizens to remember that behind the statistics are the faces of children.

Globally, an estimated 2,000 children under the age of five die every day from diarrhea-related diseases and of these some 1,800 deaths are linked to water, sanitation, and hygiene.

“Sometimes we focus so much on the big numbers, that we fail to see the human tragedies that underlie each statistic,” says Sanjay Wijesekera, global head of UNICEF’s water, sanitation and hygiene programme.

“If 90 school buses filled with kindergartners were to crash every day, with no survivors, the world would take notice. But this is what happens every single day because of poor water, sanitation, and hygiene.”

Almost 90% of child deaths from diarrhoeal diseases are directly linked to contaminated water, lack of sanitation, or inadequate hygiene. Despite a burgeoning global population, these deaths have come down significantly over the last decade, from 1.2 million per year in 2000 to about 760,000 a year in 2011. UNICEF says that is still too many.

How can you support Maddipatla Foundation?

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