The National Education Policy 2010 is on its way out with the interim government describing it as “improper and unimplementable”. In fact, most education policies that have been implemented in the past were not particularly effective. While several variables contributed to how ineffective they were, a lack of foresight and enforcement were arguably the most prominent factors.
The National Education Policy 2010, unlike its predecessors, introduced mandatory pre-primary education, launched new subjects focusing on Bangladeshi history and culture, and stated that there will be no room for physical punishment in educational institutions. Other progressive policies included promises of training teachers, expanding scholarship opportunities, and plans to increase vocational education.
In as little as five years, it was evident that the groundbreaking experiment had not taken several confounding variables into account. The ambitious scheme to extend mandatory primary education to eighth grade was halted by resource shortage and complicated by the inauguration of the Junior School Certificate (JSC) and the Primary Education Completion (PEC) exams.
While both the national exams were scrapped in 2023, they introduced their fair share of burden in the education sector. Education specialists argued that they enforced rote memorisation among young learners and commercialised education through guidebooks and mushrooming coaching centres. Toxic competition also thrived among students and their parents as they raced to get the coveted GPA 5 by whatever means possible. In the process, question leaks for primary exams became a pervasive issue. The integrity was compromised within the exam hall as well with students resorting to cheating from their peers.
However, it would not be a fair analysis without acknowledging what the 2010 policy managed to achieve. Some notable ones include the commendable initiative to provide textbooks and monthly stipends to students, which did wonders to increase school enrolments and reduce the drop-out rate. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) education was implemented from secondary to higher secondary level to fulfil the government’s Digital Bangladesh dream. Women’s literacy rates remained consistently high across the nation.
