End of education project to hit students, warn teachers

The non-extension of the Secondary Education Quality Access and Enhancing Project (SEQAEP) would severely affect the teaching of English, mathematics and general science to thousands of secondary school students in the backward upazilas of the country, according to teachers involved in the project.

Moreover, the jobs of over 5,000 secondary level teachers will become uncertain after the scheduled end of the project’s tenure this December, the teachers said.

As it is, the teachers have not been receiving their salaries for the last four months, they added.

The government had appointed more than 5,000 teachers for English, general science and mathematics in rural and backward upazilas in order to strengthen the education of poor students there. The teachers were appointed under the SEQAEP Act (additional class teacher) in March 2015 and the project period will be ended in next December of 2017.

Talking to The Independent, a teacher associated with SEQAEP said: “Students in rural areas are at a disadvantage compared to their counterparts in urban areas for various reasons. They suffer from the lack of good environment, balanced food, infrastructure and skilled teachers as well as the ignorance of their parents.”

The teacher also said the number of school dropouts in rural areas was also alarming. “Many students cannot continue with their studies till the SSC level. One major reason for this is their weakness in the three subjects. That is why the government launched this programme to reduce the dropout rate,” he said. “There is already a positive change in rural schools after the implementation of the programme,” he added.

Following the launch of SEQAEP, the government had recruited brilliant students after scrutiny on the basis of their marks and results. Teachers said two years of the project have had a good impact on the JSC and SSC results in rural schools.

ASM Sadek, a teacher associated with the project, said: “The government appointed us to boost the education of students in backward regions. We put in our best efforts to improve their weakness in the three major subjects. If you scan the results of the past few years in the three subjects, you can easily compare the changes.

If the project is to continue for a few more years, the weakness of rural students in English, science and mathematics would surely improve.”

Khondokar Golam Kader, the assistant head teacher of Kanteshwar Barmon Girl High School and College in Aditmari upazila, said the students in rural schools are performing as per the project objectives and it should continue for some time more.

SEQAEP's deputy director said the project will end in December. “The performance of the programme has been very satisfactory, but the future of the project and teachers will depend on the government’s decision.”

 

End of education project to hit students, warn teachers

The non-extension of the Secondary Education Quality Access and Enhancing Project (SEQAEP) would severely affect the teaching of English, mathematics and general science to thousands of secondary school students in the backward upazilas of the country, according to teachers involved in the project. Moreover, the jobs of over 5,000 secondary level teachers will become uncertain after the scheduled end of the projects tenure this December, the teachers said. As it is, the teachers have not been receiving their salaries for the last four months, they added. The government had appointed more than 5,000 teachers for English, general science and mathematics in rural and backward upazilas in order to strengthen the education of poor students there. The teachers were appointed under the SEQAEP Act (additional class teacher) in March 2015 and the project period will be ended in next December of 2017. Talking to The Independent, a teacher associated with SEQAEP said: Students in rural areas are at a disadvantage compared to their counterparts in urban areas for various reasons. They suffer from the lack of good environment, balanced food, infrastructure and skilled teachers as well as the ignorance of their parents. The teacher also said the number of school dropouts in rural areas was also alarming. Many students cannot continue with their studies till the SSC level. One major reason for this is their weakness in the three subjects. That is why the government launched this programme to reduce the dropout rate, he said. There is already a positive change in rural schools after the implementation of the programme, he added. Following the launch of SEQAEP, the government had recruited brilliant students after scrutiny on the basis of their marks and results. Teachers said two years of the project have had a good impact on the JSC and SSC results in rural schools. ASM Sadek, a teacher associated with the project, said: The government appointed us to boost the education of students in backward regions. We put in our best efforts to improve their weakness in the three major subjects. If you scan the results of the past few years in the three subjects, you can easily compare the changes. If the project is to continue for a few more years, the weakness of rural students in English, science and mathematics would surely improve. Khondokar Golam Kader, the assistant head teacher of Kanteshwar Barmon Girl High School and College in Aditmari upazila, said the students in rural schools are performing as per the project objectives and it should continue for some time more. SEQAEPs deputy director said the project will end in December. The performance of the programme has been very satisfactory, but the future of the project and teachers will depend on the governments decision.