2.4 lakh drop out after 2014 JSC

SSC, equivalent exams begin today

Around 2.4 lakh students, who had passed the Junior School Certificate (JSC) examinations in 2014, have dropped out before the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent exams beginning today, despite government steps to retain students.

Sources in the education ministry said, a total of 1,845,732 students passed the JSC and equivalent examinations in 2014, and it was expected these regular students would take part in the SSC and equivalent exams two years later. 
But, 1,695,467 students got registered in Class IX in 2015 and 1,607,124 of them are appearing at the SSC and equivalent exams beginning today, indicating a dropout of 238,608 students, the sources said.
Though the government has taken several initiatives including the holding of more exams, distribution of free textbooks, stipends, discouragement of early marriage and taking additional classes in English, science and mathematics to curb dropout, the results have been disappointing.
Experts held the privatisation of education, economic problems, a rural-urban divide in education, and social degradation for the persisting problem.
The dropout rate in the char lands, hills, and other inaccessible areas was still a matter of concern.
The government is giving free textbooks since 2010, taking additional 18 classes for one hour in English, mathematics, and the science subjects under the project of the Secondary Education Sector Investment Project (SESIP), since 2013, while teachers have been employed in 1,000 schools, on a monthly salary of Tk 25,000. But the dropout rate remains worrisome.
Sufia Khatun, principal of the Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, said, “Students in this stage generally dropped out due to poverty and early marriage. Many students find jobs in garment factories and in other occupations.”
She said guardians have to be made aware so that they send their children to school, while the state has to provide social protection.
Professor emeritus of Dhaka University, Serajul Islam Chowdhury, told The Independent, “A kind of business is going on in the education sector, starting from education materials to coaching centres, to guidebooks. The government provides free books. That’s good, but it's still quite difficult for the guardians to bear the other expenses.”
He said, “Classroom teaching is very important but students are dependent on guidebooks and coaching centres. As a result, most of the poor guardians are unable bear the expenses and the students dropped out.”
He said the government was not going deeper into this problem and seemed to be contended with the passing rate and GPA-5.
Former director of the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS), Dr Ekramul Kabir, said, “The discrimination in education between rural and urban areas and social degradation are factors encouraging dropout. Students in rural areas quit education and find jobs, while girls are married off, putting an end to their studies.” He also said that eve-teasing was a factor responsible for girls dropping out and parents finding it unsafe to send their daughters to school and choosing to marry them off.

“If exemplary punishments with quick disposal of cases can be ensured for eve-teasing, parents would feel encouraged to send their girls to school,” he added. He also said the government should take stern measures against coaching centres for charging exorbitant fees and, thus, contributing to the dropout problem.
Prof. Md Elias Hossain, director (secondary), Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), said, “We have started giving stipends to retain students at the secondary level. We are also taking additional classes and initiatives have been taken to discourage early marriage. The number of dropouts has gone down because of such steps.”
Secretary of secondary and higher education division of the education ministry, Md Sohorab Hossain, said, “The rate of dropout has decreased to a great extent. But it is not satisfactory, despite taking various steps.” He said that the government would take initiatives to further reduce the number of dropouts.
Meanwhile, Meanwhile, 1,786,613 students are going to sit for the SSC and equivalent examinations under 10 education boards from today. The number of boys appearing in the exams is 910,501, while the number of girls is 876,112. 
However, under the eight general education boards, there are 1,425,900 examinees and the number of girls is more than that of boys. The girls are 723,601 and boys are 702,299.
Under the Madrasa education board, a total of 256,502 students would sit for the Dakhil examinations. Of them, 130,585 are boys and 125,916 are girls. Under the technical education board, a total of 104,212 examinees would appear in the SSC (Vocational) and, of them, 77,617 are boys and 26,595 are girls.
Under the eight overseas centres, a total of 446 students would take part in the SSC exam and equivalent examinations. At a time when the government is stressing the development of science and technology in the country, the number of students in the science stream under eight general boards is not encouraging.
This year, a total of 422,287 students from the science group would appear in the SSC exams, while the number of examinees in the humanities is 607,538 and in business studies, 396,075. However, the number of science students has increased by 44,317, compared to last year. The Dhaka board has topped in the science group with the highest number (1,32,443) of examinees, while the Sylhet board has sent up the lowest number (18,764) of science students.

2.4 lakh drop out after 2014 JSC

SSC, equivalent exams begin today

Around 2.4 lakh students, who had passed the Junior School Certificate (JSC) examinations in 2014, have dropped out before the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent exams beginning today, despite government steps to retain students. Sources in the education ministry said, a total of 1,845,732 students passed the JSC and equivalent examinations in 2014, and it was expected these regular students would take part in the SSC and equivalent exams two years later. But, 1,695,467 students got registered in Class IX in 2015 and 1,607,124 of them are appearing at the SSC and equivalent exams beginning today, indicating a dropout of 238,608 students, the sources said. Though the government has taken several initiatives including the holding of more exams, distribution of free textbooks, stipends, discouragement of early marriage and taking additional classes in English, science and mathematics to curb dropout, the results have been disappointing. Experts held the privatisation of education, economic problems, a rural-urban divide in education, and social degradation for the persisting problem. The dropout rate in the char lands, hills, and other inaccessible areas was still a matter of concern. The government is giving free textbooks since 2010, taking additional 18 classes for one hour in English, mathematics, and the science subjects under the project of the Secondary Education Sector Investment Project (SESIP), since 2013, while teachers have been employed in 1,000 schools, on a monthly salary of Tk 25,000. But the dropout rate remains worrisome. Sufia Khatun, principal of the Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, said, Students in this stage generally dropped out due to poverty and early marriage. Many students find jobs in garment factories and in other occupations. She said guardians have to be made aware so that they send their children to school, while the state has to provide social protection. Professor emeritus of Dhaka University, Serajul Islam Chowdhury, told The Independent, A kind of business is going on in the education sector, starting from education materials to coaching centres, to guidebooks. The government provides free books. Thats good, but its still quite difficult for the guardians to bear the other expenses. He said, Classroom teaching is very important but students are dependent on guidebooks and coaching centres. As a result, most of the poor guardians are unable bear the expenses and the students dropped out. He said the government was not going deeper into this problem and seemed to be contended with the passing rate and GPA-5. Former director of the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics(BANBEIS), Dr Ekramul Kabir, said, The discrimination in education between rural and urban areas and social degradation are factors encouraging dropout. Students in rural areas quit education and find jobs, while girls are married off, putting an end to their studies. He also said that eve-teasing was a factor responsible for girls dropping out and parents finding it unsafe to send their daughters to school and choosing to marry them off. If exemplary punishments with quick disposal of cases can be ensured for eve-teasing, parents would feel encouraged to send their girls to school, he added. He also said the government should take stern measures against coaching centres for charging exorbitant fees and, thus, contributing to the dropout problem. Prof. Md Elias Hossain, director (secondary), Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), said, We have started giving stipends to retain students at the secondary level. We are also taking additional classes and initiatives have been taken to discourage early marriage. The number of dropouts has gone down because of such steps. Secretary of secondary and higher education division of the education ministry, Md Sohorab Hossain, said, The rate of dropout has decreased to a great extent. But it is not satisfactory, despite taking various steps. He said that the government would take initiatives to further reduce the number of dropouts. Meanwhile, Meanwhile, 1,786,613 students are going to sit for the SSC and equivalent examinations under 10 education boards from today. The number of boys appearing in the exams is 910,501, while the number of girls is 876,112. However, under the eight general education boards, there are 1,425,900 examinees and the number of girls is more than that of boys. The girls are 723,601 and boys are 702,299. Under the Madrasa education board, a total of 256,502 students would sit for the Dakhil examinations. Of them, 130,585 are boys and 125,916 are girls. Under the technical education board, a total of 104,212 examinees would appear in the SSC (Vocational) and, of them, 77,617 are boys and 26,595 are girls. Under the eight overseas centres, a total of 446 students would take part in the SSC exam and equivalent examinations. At a time when the government is stressing the development of science and technology in the country, the number of students in the science stream under eight general boards is not encouraging. This year, a total of 422,287 students from the science group would appear in the SSC exams, while the number of examinees in the humanities is 607,538 and in business studies, 396,075. However, the number of science students has increased by 44,317, compared to last year. The Dhaka board has topped in the science group with the highest number (1,32,443) of examinees, while the Sylhet board has sent up the lowest number (18,764) of science students.