Bangladesh has a lesson or two for India in schooling

Contrary to the popular narrative that Bangladeshis are coming to India for jobs, the opposite is happening now.

As opportunities spring, some Bangladeshis are moving back.

In fact, in 2019, 3,600 Indians went to Bangladesh for higher studies, with500 of them in enrolling in medical courses.

What this means is that this tiny nation has been building capacity for higher education and is even attracting students from India.  It also means that India hasn’t been able to build the capacities its people need.

And, Bangladesh has managed to do this at a fraction of money when compared to India. Bangladesh spends less on education as a percentage of GDP than India. It spends 40 percent of the money allocated for education on primary education, which is what India does too.

It did spend more on primary education earlier–it was 53.74 percent of the allocated expenses in 1993. The country’s success, however, lies in not the amount of money it spends but how it manages the funds.

That can explain why its literacy rate is a high 74 percent, and not just in terms of numbers. Bangladesh’s parameters are closer to the global definition of literacy than India’s.

Anyone who can read and write their name is defined as literate in India. Effective literacy in India is far lower.

India’s literacy rate was 74.37 % in 2018 but it could be close to around 40 percent if one goes by Pratham’s Annual Status of Education Report. In 2018, only 44.2 percent of the boys in Class5 could read the books meant for Class 2, the NGO’s latest report says. The score declined from 53.1 percent in 2008.

Poor quality of primary education in India has deleterious effects on the rest of the educational structure. It compels politicians to clamour for the “normalisation” of results at the board level examinations -- in case too many students fail. They invariably do.

A lack of understanding of basics not only takes a toll on students but even teachers in higher classes. And, no college can undo the damage that 10-12 years of bad school education inflict on a child –it ends up in wasted years and even unemployment.

So, what does Bangladesh do?

First, it does not tie itself into knots over language. At all levels of schooling, students can choose English or Bangla as the medium of instruction.

Private schools tend to teach in English while government-sponsored schools often opt for Bangla. Both students and parents thus know which language the child should opt for.

Then there is decentralisation of school management.

Non-government schools at higher secondary have school management committees (SMCs). At the intermediate college level, governing bodies (GBs), formed as per government directives, take care of non-government institutes.

They are responsible for mobilising resources, approving budgets, controlling expenditure, and appointing and disciplining staff.

A constant watch on outcomes at each level ensures that the quality of education is good.

One more advantage that Bangladesh enjoys is that students do not have to suffer substandard teachers.

There is reservation for the underprivileged student but not for teachers.

While teachers of non-government secondary schools are recruited by SMCs, teachers of government schools are recruited centrally by the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) through a competitive exam.

Thus, one can forgive the poor investment in education, which appears to be a key reason for India’s low ranking on human capital development but poor teaching and non-existent monitoring of outcomes are unpardonable.

One of the big reasons for the reelection of Arvind Kejriwal as the Delhi chief minister earlier this year was his commitment to school education.  He spent 26 percent of Delhi’s funds on education, unlike 3.1 percent for the government of India.

But, more importantly, he focussed on outcomes. His government paid attention to parent-teacher meetings to identify and weed out teachers who did not perform.

With better management of schools and improved infrastructure (because of better funding), children are learning better too.  Not surprisingly, one comes across anecdotal evidence of parents moving their children from private schools to (not-so-expensive) government schools.

If India does not want to be left behind by Bangladesh, or others, it must focus on primary education first. That creates more employable people, which leads to better wealth generation. And it needs to build medical colleges and focus on merit and excellence as well but that is for another day.

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The author is a consulting editor with Moneycontrol.