South Asian Network on Economic Modeling
Increase allocation for education in budget: Experts
Experts on Monday urged the government to increase allocation for education, noting that the primary reason for most of the problems in the sector is allocation.
They also apprehend that the dropout rate of children would go up due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Their opinions came from a webinar titled “Tackling the Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Education Sector of Bangladesh” organised by South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM).
"The primary reason for most of the problems in education sector being the allocation in education, this allocation must be increased, and primary teachers must be provided with more support in terms of salary and responsibilities," said Professor Dr Syed Manzoorul Islam of Dhaka University’s English department.
SANEM’s Executive Director and Professor of Economics at DU Dr Selim Raihan conducted the webinar through video conferencing app ZOOM. Around 70 educators, students, development practitioners, researchers, and journalists joined the webinar.
"Education must not be deprioritised in the upcoming budget; rather, the allocation for education should be increased," Executive Director of Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) Rasheda K Choudhury said.
She expressed her concern as well that the dropout rate will increase due to the economic crisis brought forward by the current pandemic. She also pointed out that the increase in the dropout rate will increase child labour and child marriage in turn.
She expressed her concern that non-governmental teachers will face problems in getting a regular salary.
Rasheda K Choudhury said that in the post-pandemic scenario, schools and educational institutions will have to follow all health protocols, especially the guidelines provided by WHO and urged the government to start acting now in these regards.
She opined that allocation for research in tertiary education should be increased as well.
She also said that mobile service operators and internet providers must come forward in these times of crisis and provide free internet support for education.
Dr Syed Manzoorul Islam assumed that almost 30 percent of students will not be able to return to schools after the pandemic. He also expressed concern that many will face hardship in procuring educational materials and necessities.
Pointing out that online education is increasing the existing inequality in the education sector; he opined that Public-Private Partnership is necessary to address these issues.
He discussed the detrimental effects of coaching centres and the subsequent obstacles in ensuring creative education. It is necessary to stop the coaching business and implement the education policy passed by the Parliament in 2010.
Dr Islam said that to implement the education policy effectively, the Ministry of Education should seek the leadership and assistance of the youth as a more dynamic solution can be provided by them.
He made some recommendations for the speedy and smooth resumption of educational activities after the pandemic, which included redesigning of semesters and school years and cancelling JSC and PSC.
He hoped that if the youth are involved than the challenges and problems in the education sector will be overcome.
Youths affected in 6 transmission mechanisms due to COVID-19: SANEM
A research conducted by the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) identified six transmission mechanisms through which the youths of the country are being affected - health, education, employment, income, poverty, and domestic violence – due to COVID-19.
SANEM Executive Director Dr Selim Raihan on Saturday presented recommendations to overcome the problems at a webinar titled “Youth Perspective on Covid-19 Crisis in Bangladesh: Response Through National Budget and Planning”, jointly organised by SANEM and ActionAid Bangladesh.
Chaired by Farah Kabir, Country Director of ActionAid Bangladesh, university teachers, private sector representatives, development practitioners and students took part in it.
The recommendations are – provide health coverage and engage the most vulnerable youth group in the health care packages to meet up their basic needs; inclusive education, public-private partnerships to widen access to distance learning tools free of cost, expand capacity of networks without demand surges.
SANEM also suggested extending social safety net to include unemployed youths, creating employment retention schemes, and tax reliefs or interest-free loans to SMEs operated by youths.
Dr Raihan hoped that with collaboration at all levels Bangladesh will be able to get through this crisis.
Farah Kabir shared her observations on the coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent effects on the youth of Bangladesh.
“One of the most important aspects of any crisis is the effect of the crisis on the youth. In tackling the challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it is important to take into consideration the issues of the youth. These issues have social and economic aspects as well as the mental health aspects,” she added.
She stressed the requirement of national planning and targeted policy interventions to address the issues of the youth in the current context.
Dr Sayema Haque Bidisha, Research Director of SANEM and Professor of Economics department at Dhaka University, Mahtab Uddin, Research Fellow of SANEM and lecturer of the department, Zubayer Hossen, Research Economist of SANEM and Nazmul Ahsan, Manager-Young People of ActionAid Bangladesh took part as panelists.
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