In quest of a dynamic and innovative education system

Many teachers do not have any cardinal training and there is no system of invigorating the teachers to acquire dexterity from their colleagues

The profession of teaching is such that unless one can uphold a standard of morality, it is not practicable for one to execute the responsibilities of this calling. In our country teachers are given many epithets like ‘architects of a nation’, ‘intellectual fathers of the students', 'guardians of civilization', etc. This is only a technique of telling consolatory words. In reality the people of this nonpareil profession do not get genteel appraisal from our state mechanism. The ill-clad and ill-paid teachers cannot engross in teaching for want of monetary solvencies and other facilities. Much money is being squandered and being invested in various sectors. Many budget allocations are being made needlessly, many opportunities are created to play ducks and drakes in many sectors, exports are increasing, the remittances are being increased and the net of taxes are widening. If elephantine investment is not made in education, if provision of necessary financing of the teachers is not made to enable them to lead a respectable life, next generation will face a macabre future. Because, if the foundation of a building is weak and magnificent installation is made thereon, it does not take time to crush down.
Most of the students in our schools cannot achieve expected qualifications and convincing proficiency in their class due to lack of qualitative standard of education and determinants of quality. The degree of tutoring in school is disappointing as well as varying. Nevertheless, the opportunities of getting education have swelled significantly. Teachers are the most assertive devisers of education system. But many teachers do not have any cardinal training and there is no system of invigorating the teachers to acquire dexterity from their colleagues. It leaves untoward repercussions upon the students. The quality of education can be augmented by using modern educational tools, by making adequate budgetary financial provisions and by appointing qualified, creative and devoted teachers who can offer good role models for the students to emulate. A lot of hue and cry has been made over the last few decades to allocate more financial resources for strengthening the academic institutions with good motivated teachers. The talented persons are unenthusiastic to take teaching as their major profession on account of the abysmally low salaries paid to the teachers in Bangladesh.
One of the policies of the education authority is to make frequent and thorough changes in the textbooks and exam system without consultation with parents and school teachers. Children have been deprived of the service of their parents, the natural best teachers in their education life. The government has been wasting this great resource by mismanaging the education system. Education should not only be immured to make the populace literate but it should be such through which one can assimilate good virtues like honesty, truthfulness, compassion, etc. and shuns bad habits and vices. This moral instruction starts very early in life, even before the child commences going to school. Our parents, teachers and peer groups have a very momentous role to play. The parents cannot only preach but also by percept inculcate bracing values in the child whose tender mind gets suitably mounded by the environment at home. The background of most incorrigible criminals reveals an unhappy and disturbed childhood that severely affects their character and personality traits.
Education is an astounding touchstone. Even iron or wood are turned into gold if they come into contact with touchstone. There are 40 Nobel laureates in Australia with a population of about two crore twenty lac. They have technological and strategic ability and brawny economy. They are proud of contriving the medicine of cervical cancer. Various subjects of science and many theories of commerce are taught in our schools, colleges and universities, but our students do not get pragmatic or life oriented education to be appointed in any job. Many brilliant students are not tempted to go to government service any more. Many shortcomings in the whole process of BCS (Bangladesh Civil Service) examination make many brainy students reluctant to take part in this examination. The question which is set in BCS preliminary examination is not connected between the studies of the candidate and the advertised posts. After lengthy process of written and oral examinations, one obtains job in custom having post graduation in physics and another joins in ministry of foreign affairs who studied engineering. In the country private sector is burgeoning. The local and foreign NGOs and the multinational companies decoy the talented youths with attractive emolument. As a result, many bright students prefer private service to government job.     
Results are satisfactory in secondary and higher secondary examinations. Festivities are observed throughout the country for getting GPA-5, morbid competition is made; but many of the successful students cannot meet the requirements of admission test conducted by the universities. The question has been broached concerning qualitative standard of our education. Sunny days, clean air, open sky, opportunities of family and social pleasures are no more for the children. Most guardians want to find their children's better results. The pressure of home work and private tutor, the burden of book and extra examination, running to and for coaching centre, superabundant expenditure have blotted out all pleasures of the children. They are not given chance to come to cultural field rather than making them fit for GPA-5. Mere production of intellectual giants without human wisdom, strong personality, development of character and compassion will lead the country to the brink of destruction.  
University education aims at achieving national integration, generation of stronger sense of unity and harmony among the people of various faiths and religious dominations. University education also aims at helping the learners develop scientific temper, reject the burden of unnecessary, dead, obsolete and man's  various unhealthy customs and rituals, yet honour the cultural heritage and historical past. All the students in the university are unquestionably grown up, have their civic and political sense and can present examples of patriotism. It was frequently necessary for the students to bounce without hesitation anywhere and wherever they found injustice, persecution and unfair in the country. They carried out the responsibilities of leadership during the language movement in 1952, upheaval in 1969, liberation war in 1971 and restoration of democracy in 1990.
Today our students are not in a position to retain their preceding achievements. It is plaintive to see the students being increasingly exploited by crafty politicians for their odious work to aggrandize own benefits. The political parties exhort the students to violence and use them as pawns in their internal squabbles. It portends a great peril to many a promising youth with future prospects becoming dim, a sense of frustration sets in which occasionally finds vent in violent outbursts.  As fortress of civilisation and independent thought, the universities do not play their veritable role in invigorating the students not to involve themselves in the rough and tumble of politics rather than devoting their time and endeavour to studies. Politics and studies are, in fact, diametrically opposite attributes and they are but incompatible. We have failed to present before our youths any dream which may make them reasonable and forbearing. We have failed to attach our youths to social binding which may fortify their relations with family and society. For this reason, one section of our youths gets associated with damnable works and another section rushes towards self destructive militancy.
The government's persistence for having graduation as the minimum qualification for government job has led to large-scale distribution of degrees. The over emphasis on awarding degrees on a variety of subjects from social science to music and dance is the root cause of disgruntlement in the youths today. We find students resorting to selective cramming, through theoretical examination obtaining excellent grades at the end of the year. After spending considerable time and money, thousands of graduates and post-graduates are not equipped to meet up industrial, technological and vocational needs. Thousands of youths get into labour market, but expert and experienced hands are rare in the field of employment. Thousands of unskilled youths with higher education are out of work, because our industries, factories or business organisations refuse accepting them. Their stomachs remain empty. An idle brain is the devil's workshop—goes a maxim. Hunger, the worst of diseases, is claimed to be the main-spring of depraved behaviour like violence, fabrication and misappropriation. Many of our youths become drug addicted and take illegal means of earning and many become aggressive and defiant and turn into terrorists because of their long standing torment of unemployment and lack of any means of livelihood.
Obtaining good result in the examination, getting certificates, having higher degrees or making money should not be the main objectives of education. None can reach into the peak of prosperity and glory without acquiring adequate knowledge and wisdom. Education makes a man dynamic and enlightens a man through his inner world.
The present system of education in Bangladesh is instrumental in neither bringing out the latent talents of the children nor enabling them to form their own opinions. A greater emphasis is given upon learning things than upon developing their talents. It is impossible to test the knowledge of a student within a period of three hours. It is difficult to evaluate the ideas of the children in terms of marks so accurately.
The present old-fashioned system of our education encumbers the students with a large number of subjects. We need to efface the shackles of antiquated education system devised by the British who ruled over this hapless country for over two hundred years. Only a dynamic and innovative education in accordance with the changing times and necessities can play a strong role in the materialization of an unbigoted and democratic Bangladesh.

The author is Education and Literary Secretary of Bangladesh Bouddha Kristi Prachar Sangha and Former Consular Specialist,
Embassy of Japan, Dhaka.
    

In quest of a dynamic and innovative education system

Many teachers do not have any cardinal training and there is no system of invigorating the teachers to acquire dexterity from their colleagues

The profession of teaching is such that unless one can uphold a standard of morality, it is not practicable for one to execute the responsibilities of this calling. In our country teachers are given many epithets like architects of a nation, intellectual fathers of the students, guardians of civilization, etc. This is only a technique of telling consolatory words. In reality the people of this nonpareil profession do not get genteel appraisal from our state mechanism. The ill-clad and ill-paid teachers cannot engross in teaching for want of monetary solvencies and other facilities. Much money is being squandered and being invested in various sectors. Many budget allocations are being made needlessly, many opportunities are created to play ducks and drakes in many sectors, exports are increasing, the remittances are being increased and the net of taxes are widening. If elephantine investment is not made in education, if provision of necessary financing of the teachers is not made to enable them to lead a respectable life, next generation will face a macabre future. Because, if the foundation of a building is weak and magnificent installation is made thereon, it does not take time to crush down. Most of the students in our schools cannot achieve expected qualifications and convincing proficiency in their class due to lack of qualitative standard of education and determinants of quality. The degree of tutoring in school is disappointing as well as varying. Nevertheless, the opportunities of getting education have swelled significantly. Teachers are the most assertive devisers of education system. But many teachers do not have any cardinal training and there is no system of invigorating the teachers to acquire dexterity from their colleagues. It leaves untoward repercussions upon the students. The quality of education can be augmented by using modern educational tools, by making adequate budgetary financial provisions and by appointing qualified, creative and devoted teachers who can offer good role models for the students to emulate. A lot of hue and cry has been made over the last few decades to allocate more financial resources for strengthening the academic institutions with good motivated teachers. The talented persons are unenthusiastic to take teaching as their major profession on account of the abysmally low salaries paid to the teachers in Bangladesh. One of the policies of the education authority is to make frequent and thorough changes in the textbooks and exam system without consultation with parents and school teachers. Children have been deprived of the service of their parents, the natural best teachers in their education life. The government has been wasting this great resource by mismanaging the education system. Education should not only be immured to make the populace literate but it should be such through which one can assimilate good virtues like honesty, truthfulness, compassion, etc. and shuns bad habits and vices. This moral instruction starts very early in life, even before the child commences going to school. Our parents, teachers and peer groups have a very momentous role to play. The parents cannot only preach but also by percept inculcate bracing values in the child whose tender mind gets suitably mounded by the environment at home. The background of most incorrigible criminals reveals an unhappy and disturbed childhood that severely affects their character and personality traits. Education is an astounding touchstone. Even iron or wood are turned into gold if they come into contact with touchstone. There are 40 Nobel laureates in Australia with a population of about two crore twenty lac. They have technological and strategic ability and brawny economy. They are proud of contriving the medicine of cervical cancer. Various subjects of science and many theories of commerce are taught in our schools, colleges and universities, but our students do not get pragmatic or life oriented education to be appointed in any job. Many brilliant students are not tempted to go to government service any more. Many shortcomings in the whole process of BCS (Bangladesh Civil Service) examination make many brainy students reluctant to take part in this examination. The question which is set in BCS preliminary examination is not connected between the studies of the candidate and the advertised posts. After lengthy process of written and oral examinations, one obtains job in custom having post graduation in physics and another joins in ministry of foreign affairs who studied engineering. In the country private sector is burgeoning. The local and foreign NGOs and the multinational companies decoy the talented youths with attractive emolument. As a result, many bright students prefer private service to government job. Results are satisfactory in secondary and higher secondary examinations. Festivities are observed throughout the country for getting GPA-5, morbid competition is made; but many of the successful students cannot meet the requirements of admission test conducted by the universities. The question has been broached concerning qualitative standard of our education. Sunny days, clean air, open sky, opportunities of family and social pleasures are no more for the children. Most guardians want to find their childrens better results. The pressure of home work and private tutor, the burden of book and extra examination, running to and for coaching centre, superabundant expenditure have blotted out all pleasures of the children. They are not given chance to come to cultural field rather than making them fit for GPA-5. Mere production of intellectual giants without human wisdom, strong personality, development of character and compassion will lead the country to the brink of destruction. University education aims at achieving national integration, generation of stronger sense of unity and harmony among the people of various faiths and religious dominations. University education also aims at helping the learners develop scientific temper, reject the burden of unnecessary, dead, obsolete and mans various unhealthy customs and rituals, yet honour the cultural heritage and historical past. All the students in the university are unquestionably grown up, have their civic and political sense and can present examples of patriotism. It was frequently necessary for the students to bounce without hesitation anywhere and wherever they found injustice, persecution and unfair in the country. They carried out the responsibilities of leadership during the language movement in 1952, upheaval in 1969, liberation war in 1971 and restoration of democracy in 1990. Today our students are not in a position to retain their preceding achievements. It is plaintive to see the students being increasingly exploited by crafty politicians for their odious work to aggrandize own benefits. The political parties exhort the students to violence and use them as pawns in their internal squabbles. It portends a great peril to many a promising youth with future prospects becoming dim, a sense of frustration sets in which occasionally finds vent in violent outbursts. As fortress of civilisation and independent thought, the universities do not play their veritable role in invigorating the students not to involve themselves in the rough and tumble of politics rather than devoting their time and endeavour to studies. Politics and studies are, in fact, diametrically opposite attributes and they are but incompatible. We have failed to present before our youths any dream which may make them reasonable and forbearing. We have failed to attach our youths to social binding which may fortify their relations with family and society. For this reason, one section of our youths gets associated with damnable works and another section rushes towards self destructive militancy. The governments persistence for having graduation as the minimum qualification for government job has led to large-scale distribution of degrees. The over emphasis on awarding degrees on a variety of subjects from social science to music and dance is the root cause of disgruntlement in the youths today. We find students resorting to selective cramming, through theoretical examination obtaining excellent grades at the end of the year. After spending considerable time and money, thousands of graduates and post-graduates are not equipped to meet up industrial, technological and vocational needs. Thousands of youths get into labour market, but expert and experienced hands are rare in the field of employment. Thousands of unskilled youths with higher education are out of work, because our industries, factories or business organisations refuse accepting them. Their stomachs remain empty. An idle brain is the devils workshopgoes a maxim. Hunger, the worst of diseases, is claimed to be the main-spring of depraved behaviour like violence, fabrication and misappropriation. Many of our youths become drug addicted and take illegal means of earning and many become aggressive and defiant and turn into terrorists because of their long standing torment of unemployment and lack of any means of livelihood. Obtaining good result in the examination, getting certificates, having higher degrees or making money should not be the main objectives of education. None can reach into the peak of prosperity and glory without acquiring adequate knowledge and wisdom. Education makes a man dynamic and enlightens a man through his inner world. The present system of education in Bangladesh is instrumental in neither bringing out the latent talents of the children nor enabling them to form their own opinions. A greater emphasis is given upon learning things than upon developing their talents. It is impossible to test the knowledge of a student within a period of three hours. It is difficult to evaluate the ideas of the children in terms of marks so accurately. The present old-fashioned system of our education encumbers the students with a large number of subjects. We need to efface the shackles of antiquated education system devised by the British who ruled over this hapless country for over two hundred years. Only a dynamic and innovative education in accordance with the changing times and necessities can play a strong role in the materialization of an unbigoted and democratic Bangladesh. The author is Education and Literary Secretary of Bangladesh Bouddha Kristi Prachar Sangha and Former Consular Specialist, Embassy of Japan, Dhaka.