Prioritise education over everything
We have noticed with concern that the whole education sector in Bangladesh is passing through a turbulent period. The Bangladesh Government Primary School Headmasters Association (BGPHA) announced that they would go for a non-stop no-work from October 6. In another development, teaching at 307 government colleges across the country on Saturday was paralysed as the teachers kept their offices under lock and key and observed work abstention. Even more seriously admission tests in public universities have become uncertain, as teachers are yet to get any concrete assurance from the government that their demands, including that of a separate pay scale, will be met.
This time of the year is deciding time for higher education seekers. For many who are seeking admission in top public universities, the undergraduate admission tests come as the culmination of months of cramming, coaching and some sort of restricted lifestyle. So much steep is the competition that many of them usually go through a sense of restlessness. Now, these students are not even sure when they will get an opportunity to participate in admission tests.
What has added to the already grim scenario in the education sector is the fact that admission seekers to the public medical colleges are protesting for two weeks demanding cancellation of the results of the admission tests of MBBS and Bachelor of Dental Surgery claiming that question papers of the tests were leaked.
Unfortunately the leaking out of question papers, in any public recruitment examination, is not new in the country. On numerous occasions, since the independence of the country, question papers were leaked out. Yet rarely, if ever, any person could be brought to book. In the latest case of leak, the government vociferously denied that any irregularity took place in medical entrance examination. Naturally the question arises why then certain officials involved were suspended? We urge the education minister to admit that leakage of question papers has become a pervasive problem now and take responsibility for it and assure all that urgent and effective actions would be taken to prevent it in the future.
Apparently all sides have taken an intransigent stance. We wonder whether the concerned people have taken any lessons from the recent turmoil over the imposition of VAT in private universities. At the end of all, stakeholders must come to terms with the fact that the interest of the students must supersede other factors. The government should be sensitive to the teachers demands and initiate a dialogue at the soonest. And if indeed question papers were leaked in medical admission tests, these tests should be held again. After all, there should be no compromise on the quality of higher education.
