Education in Bahrain
Bahrain has the oldest public education system in the Arabian Peninsula. The system was established in 1930 when the Bahraini government assumed responsibility for operating two pre-existing primary public schools for boys. Subsequently, separate girls' schools and various universities were established in the 20th century. According to data from the 2010 census, the literacy rate of Bahrain stands at 94.6%. As of 2008, education expenditure accounts for 2.9% of Bahrain's GDP.[1]
History
Quran schools were the only source of education in Bahrain prior to the 20th century; such schools were primarily dedicated to the study of the Qur'an.[2] The first modern school to open in the country was a missionary elementary school setup in 1892 (according to one account) in Manamaby the American Dutch Reformed Church, with the school teaching English, Mathematics and Christianity. Leading merchants in the country sent their children to the school until it was closed down in 1933 due to financial difficulties.[3] The school reopened some years later under the name of Al Raja School where it operates till the present day.
Parents who could afford to fund their children's studies often sent them to schools in Bombay or Baghdad. Families of a predominately religious background often sent their children to religious institutions in the region, to madrasas in Mecca and Al-Hasa in mainland Arabia for Sunni students and to Najaf and Karbala for Shia students. As a result of this traditional religious education, there was a negative stigma attached to the American Mission School and only a few parents were bold enough to send their children to the school.[4] Prior to the establishment of a public school in the country, Shia and Sunni students did not interact often during their education. This can be attributed to different environments of learning; outside of religious institutions, Shia students acquired knowledge from matams whereas Sunni students did from majlises although neither matam nor majlis were officially recognised as educational institutions in their own right.[5]
Following the end of the First World War, Western ideas became more widespread in the country, culminating in the opening of the first public school of Bahrain, Al-Hidaya Al-Khalifia Boys school, in the island of Muharraq in 1919.[2] The school was founded by prominent citizens of Muharraq and was endorsed by the Bahraini royal family. The country's first Education Committee was established by several leading Bahraini merchants, headed by Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the son of the then-ruler of Bahrain Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa, who acted as the de facto Minister of Education. The Education Committee was also responsible for managing the Al-Hidaya Boys school.[2] The school was in fact the brainchild of Shaikh Abdulla, who suggested the idea after returning from post-WWI celebrations in England.[6]
In 1926, a second public school for boys opened up in the capital city, Manama. Two years later, in 1928, the first public school for girls was established. Due to financial constraints suffered by the Education Committee, the Bahraini government took control of the schools in 1930.[2]
Government schools
In the 1986–87 academic year, 88,152 students attended 139 public schools. Education in the public system, which included six-year primary schools, three-year intermediate schools, and three-year secular secondary schools, is free. Students receive supplies, uniforms, meals, and transportation to and from school at no charge. Almost all children in the six- to eleven-year-old age-group attend primary school, and about two-thirds of all twelve- to fourteen-year-olds are enrolled in intermediate schools. However, there was a significant drop-out rate, especially for girls, after the completion of intermediate school. In the 1986–87 academic year, only 41 percent of fifteen- to seventeen-year-olds attended secondary schools.
In the academic year of 2008/2009 the number of public classes in Bahrain ( including religious classes) are 4326, with the number of male students 62381 and female students 63233. with a distribution of 62172 in primary classes, 32327 in preparatory classes (junior high) and 31115 in secondary schools.
Private schools
In addition to the American Mission School, another foreign private school was opened in 1910; Al-Ittihad school, funded by the Persian community of Bahrain.[4]
In addition to the public education system, there are forty-eight private and religious schools, including the United States operated and accredited Bahrain School, which offers classes from primary school through secondary school. There were 5,000 teachers in 1988, of whom 65 percent were native Bahrainis. Egyptians constituted the largest group of foreign teachers. Bahrain also is home to St Christopher’s School,which the Guardian has named as one of the eight best international schools in the world, the only school in the Middle East to make the list. 10 universities provide internationally-recognized qualifications. Other notable schools include Al Noor International School, British School of Bahrain, The Indian School and Sacred Heart School
Higher education
In 1927 the first group of Bahrainis to receive a university education enrolled at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. The first institution of higher education in Bahrain, the Gulf Polytechnic, was established in 1968 as the Gulf Technical College. In 1984 Gulf Polytechnic merged with the University College of Art, Science, and Education (UCB), founded in 1979, to create a national university offering bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees. During the 1991–92 academic year, more than 4,000 students, half of whom were women, studied at the two campuses of UCB/Polytechnic.
In 2008 a new Bahrain Polytechnic opened on the University of Bahrain's old campus location at Isa Town.
Bahrain had three additional institutions of higher education in 1993. The College of Health Sciences, established in 1959, offers various medical technology and nurses' training programs. The Hotel and Catering Training Center offers postsecondary vocational courses in management and culinary arts. The newest institution, the Arabian Gulf University (AGU), was established outside Riffa in 1984 and funded by the six member countries of the GCC. Construction of AGU facilities, however, was delayed by the decline in oil revenues experienced by all GCC states in the mid-1980s. The first faculty, the College of Medicine, opened in the fall of 1989 and provided medical education for fifty-eight aspiringphysicians. The projected completion date for the AGU campus is 2006; officials anticipate that AGU will accommodate 5,000 students annually, once the university becomes fully operational.
The AGU campus has been completed to contain a faculty of medicine, faculty of agriculture and Princess Jawhara of Saudi Arabia donated a centre for molecular biology & inherited disorders. Built right across the street from the campus to encourage the development of regional research in this issue.
Further liberalisation of the education sector has occurred in Bahrain. New private universities are sprouting up by the day, which has led to a low standard of education in some of these private establishments. This low standard has led to the establishment of the Quality Assurance Authority for Education and Training, which primarily focuses on scrutinising all the programs offered by each university.
Education in Bangladesh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ministry of Education | |
|---|---|
| Minister/ Adviser for Education | Nurul Islam Nahid |
| National education budget (2006) | |
| Budget | US$7.7 billion (2.4% of GDP) |
| General details | |
| Primary languages | Bengali, English |
| Established Compulsory Education | 1972 12 yrs |
| Literacy (15+) | |
| Total | 71.1 |
| Male | 63 |
| Female | 68 |
| Enrollment | |
| Total | 23,907,151 |
| Primary | 16,230,000 |
| Secondary | 7,400,000 |
| Post secondary | 277,151 |
| Attainment | |
| Secondary diploma | 335,454 |
| Post-secondary diploma | 86,948 |
"Bangladesh Education Stats". Central Database.NationMaster. 2007-03-21. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
"Bangladesh". World Fact Book. CIA. 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-16."Statistical Pocket Book-2006" (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-16. | |
The educational system in Bangladesh is three-tiered and highly subsidized.
The government of Bangladesh operates many schools in the primary, secondary, and higher secondary levels.
It also subsidizes parts of the funding for many private schools. In the tertiary education sector,
the government also funds more than 15 state universities through the University Grants Commission.
Bangladesh conforms fully to the Education For All (EFA) objectives, the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
and international declarations. Article 17 of the Bangladesh Constitution provides that all children between
the ages of six and eighteen years receive secondary education free of charge.
Contents
- 1 Education system
- 1.1 Tertiary education in Madrasah Education System
- 1.2 Tertiary education in Technical Education System
- 2 Educational management
- 2.1 Primary and secondary level management
- 2.2 Tertiary education management
- 2.3 Technical and Vocational education management
- 2.4 General Purpose Universities
- 3 English medium education in Bangladesh
- 4 Non-formal primary education
- 5 Current status
- 5.1 Concerns
- 6 Environmental education
- 7 See also
- 8 References
- 9 Further reading
- 10 External links
Education system
The three main educational systems in Bangladesh, ordered by decreasing student numbers, are:
- General Education System
- Madrasah Education System
- Technical - Vocational Education System
Other systems include a Professional Education System.
Each of these three main systems is divided into five levels:
- Primary Level (years 1 to 5)
- Junior Level (years 6 to 8)
- Secondary Level (years 9 to 10)
- Higher Secondary Level (years 11 and 12)
- Tertiary Level
Tertiary education in Bangladesh takes place at 34 government and 54 private universities.
Students can choose to further their studies in engineering, technology,
agriculture and medicine at a variety of universities and colleges.
At all levels of schooling, students can choose to receive their education in English or Bangla.
Private schools tend to make use of English-based study media while government-sponsored schools use
Bangla.
Cadet colleges are important in the education system of Bangladesh. A cadet college is a room and board
collegiate administered by the Bangladesh. Military discipline is compulsory at all cadet colleges.
Faujdarhat cadet college was the first cadet college in Bangladesh, established in 1958 over an area of
185 acres (0.75 km2) of land at Faujdarhat in the district of Chittagong. At present there are 12 cadet colleges
in Bangladesh.
The Madrasah Education System focuses on religious education, teaching all the basics of education in a
religious environment. Religious studies are taught in Arabic and the students in some areas also serve the
local
area masjids. Students also study are required by law to complete all of the courses from the General
Education
System.
Many privately licensed Madrasas take in homeless children and provide them with food, shelter and education,
e.g. Jamia Tawakkulia Renga Madrasah in Sylhet.
The Technical and Vocational Education System provides courses related to various applied and practical
areas of
science, technology and engineering, or focuses on a specific specialized area. Course duration ranges from
one
month to four years.
Tertiary education in Madrasah Education System[edit]
In Madrasah Education System, after passing 'Alim' (12th Grade), student can enroll in for 3years long study,
for obtaining a 'Fazil' level (14th Grade)as well as they can go for further general education like earning all over
the universities degree, And after passing successfully they can further enroll into another 2 years long study
system to obtain a 'Kamil' level (16th Grade) degree.
Tertiary education in Technical Education System
In the Technical Education System, after obtaining Diploma-in-Engineering degree (four years long curriculum),
students can further pursue their educational carrier for obtaining a Bachelor degree from
Engineering & Technology Universities, and normally it takes two and half or three years long courses
for students with a Diploma-in-Engineering degree, to obtain a Bachelor degree, but often in some cases these
students take more than three years to complete their bachelor degree(undergraduate degree) (16th Grade) in
Engineering. Then they can enroll into post-graduate studies.
Educational management
The overall responsibility of management of primary education lies with the Primary and Mass Education Division
(PMED), set up as a separate division with the status of a Ministry in 1992. While the PMED is involved in
formulation of policies, the responsibility of implementation rests with the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE)
headed by a Director General.
The Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) and its subordinate offices in the district and upazila are solely
responsible for management and supervision of primary education. Their responsibilities include recruitment,
posting, and transfer of teachers and other staff; arranging in-service training of teachers; distribution of free
textbooks; and supervision of schools. The responsibility of school construction, repair and supply of school
furniture lies with the Facilities Department (FD) and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED).
The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) are responsible for the development of curriculum and
production of textbooks. While the Ministry of Education (MOE) is responsible for formulation of policies,
the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) under the Ministry of Education is responsible for
implementing the same at secondary and higher education levels. The NCTB is responsible for developing
curriculum and publishing standard textbooks.
Primary and secondary level management
The primary and secondary levels of education are controlled by the seven General Education Boards, each
covering a region. The boards' headquarters are located in Barisal, Comilla Chittagong, Dhaka, Dinajpur Jessore,
Rajshahi and Sylhet . In addition, the Madrasah Education Board covers religious education in
government-registered Madrasahs, and the Technical Education Board controls technical and vocational
training in the secondary level.
Eight region-based Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) are responsible for conducting
the three public examinations, Junior School Certificate (JSC), Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and
Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC), in addition to granting recognition to non-government
secondary schools.
At the school level, in the case of non-government secondary schools, School Management
Committees (SMC), and at the intermediate college level, in the case of non-government colleges,
Governing Bodies (GB), formed as per government directives, are responsible for mobilizing resources,
approving budgets, controlling expenditures, and appointing and disciplining staff. While teachers of
non-government secondary schools are recruited by concerned SMCs observing relevant government rules,
teachers of government secondary schools are recruited centrally by the DSHE through a competitive examination.
In government secondary schools, there is not an SMC. The headmaster is solely responsible for running
the school and is supervised by the deputy director of the respective zone. Parent Teachers Associations (PTAs),
however, exist to ensure a better teaching and learning environment.
Tertiary education management
At the tertiary level, universities are regulated by the University Grants Commission. The colleges providing
tertiary education are under the National University. Each of the medical colleges is affiliated with a public
university. Universities in Bangladesh are autonomous bodies administered by statutory bodies such as
Syndicate, Senate, Academic Council, etc. in accordance with provisions laid down in their respective acts.
Technical and Vocational education management
The Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation
of technical and vocational education in the country. Curriculum is implemented by BTEB. Best Engineering
Universities in Bangladesh:
- Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka
- Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, Dhaka
- Islamic University of Technology, Gazipur
- Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna
- Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology, Rajshahi
- Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, Chittagong
- Military Institute of Science and Technology
- Bangladesh University of Textiles, Dhaka
- Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet
General Purpose Universities
Some universities provide Arts, Pure Science, Commerce as well as Engineering subjects. Most famous
universities are:
- University Of Dhaka
- University Of Rajshahi
- Islamic University , Chittagong
Engineering Colleges of Bangladesh:
- Sylhet Engineering College
- Mymensingh Engineering College.
- Begumgonj Textile Engineering College, Noakhali
- Pabna Textile Engineering College
- Bangladesh College of Leather Engineering and Technology
English medium education in Bangladesh
A vast number of schools in Bangladesh are English Medium schools. English Medium schools are mainly
private schools where all the courses are taught in English except one Bengali Language subject at ordinary level
(O Level). These schools in Bangladesh follow the General Certificate of Education (GCE) syllabus where
students are prepared for taking their Ordinary Level (O Level) and Advanced Level (A Level) examinations.
The General Certificate of Education system is one of the most internationally recognized qualifications,
based from the United Kingdom. The Ordinary and Advanced Level examinations are English equivalent to the
Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) examinations respectively.
Most students sit for these exams from the registered schools in Bangladesh who follow the GCE syllabus.
Those who do not attend a school that follows the GCE syllabus may also sit for their Ordinary and Advanced
Level examinations from British Council. These examinations are conducted under the supervision of British
Council in Bangladesh.The GCE examination conducted by the British Council takes place twice a year.
Currently there are two boards operating from Bangladesh for Ordinary and Advanced Level Examinations,
which are Edexcel and University of Cambridge International Examinations.[1]
Non-formal primary education
There exists a substantial number of NGO-run non-formal schools, catering mainly to the drop-outs of the
government and non-government primary schools. Very few NGOs, however, impart education for the
full five-year primary education cycle. Because of this, on completion of their two-to three-year non-formal
primary education in NGO-run schools, students normally re-enter into government/non-government primary
schools at higher classes.
There are Non-Governmental Schools (NGO) and Non-Formal Education Centers (NFE) and many of these are
funded by the government. The largest NFE program is the much reputed BRAC program. However, all NFE
graduates do not continue on to secondary school.
NGO-run schools differ from other non-government private schools. While the private schools operate like private
enterprises often guided by commercial interests, NGO schools operate mainly in areas not served either by the
government or private schools, essentially to meet the educational needs of vulnerable groups in the society.
They usually follow an informal approach to suit the special needs of children from these vulnerable groups.
But nowadays, some NGO schools are operating into places where there are both private and government schools.
Similarly, in NGO-run schools there does not exist any SMC. The style of management differs depending upon
differences in policies pursued by different NGOs. Some are centrally managed within a highly bureaucratic
set-up, while others enjoy considerable autonomy.
Different NGOs pursue different policies regarding recruitment of teachers. Some prepare a panel of prospective
teachers on the basis of a rigorous test and recruit teachers from this panel. Other NGOs recruit teachers rather
informally from locally available interested persons.
Current status
Concerns
Current government projects to promote the education of children in Bangladesh include compulsory primary
education for all, free education for girls up to grade 10, stipends for female students, a nationwide integrated
education system and a food-for-education literacy movement. A large section of the country’s national budget
is set aside to help put these programs into action and to promote education and make it more accessible.
Recent years have seen these efforts pay off and the Bangladesh education system is strides ahead of what it
was only a few years ago.
The educational system of Bangladesh faces several problems. In the past, Bangladesh education was primarily
a British modeled upper class affair with all courses given in English and very little being done for the common
people. The Bangladesh education board has taken steps to leave such practices in the past and is looking
forward to education as a way to provide a poverty-stricken nation with a brighter future. Bangladesh has one of
the lowest literacy rates in South Asia. One study found a 15.5% primary school teacher absence rate.[2]
The low performance in primary education is also matter of concern. School drop-out rates and grade repetition
rates are high.[3] Poor school attendance and low contact time in school are factors contributing to low level
of learning achievement. Further, the system lacks a sound Human Resource Development and deployment
system[4] and this has demoralized the primary education sector personnel, including teachers, and contributes
to poor performance. Poverty is a big threat to primary education.
In Bangladesh, the population is very high. The number of seats available in colleges is less than the number
of students who want to enroll, and the number of seats available in universities is also less than the number
of students who passed higher secondary level and want to join in a university. Besides, the cost of education
is increasing day by day, as a result many students are unable to afford it.
Environmental education
It is very important to overcome ignorance and mindset of the current generation regarding the climate change
issues facing the nation. Certain knowledge needs to be instilled in the youth through better standardized
education in a country already struggling with illiteracy and with providing basic education to the masses.
Main focus should be placed on collegiate and university level curriculum as promoted by the Stockholm
Conference of 1972 as the Environmental Education (EE) through the United Nations. UNESCO and UNEP
joint International Environmental Education Program (IEEP) was established three years later to lead the
process. In 1992, the Rio Summit adopted Agenda 21 as a blueprint of action for achieving sustainable
development. The thirty-sixth chapter of the same agenda is devoted to the promotion of education, public
awareness and training. This educational component ranges from structured formal education to occasional,
informal vocational training and courses. Focus is constantly changing from analysis to synthesis so it is
vital for everyone to understand the implications of global climate change and how their decisions and actions
affect their surroundings. However, Bangladesh is having serious problems in implementation.
Although various universities have opened Environmental Science Departments since the 1990s and Khulna
University is the first public university to start Bachelor program in Environmental Science in 1997. UNDP
supported a holistic and comprehensive environmental science program as the Sustainable Environmental
Management Program at various school levels. The main barrier was the lack of awareness among parents,
which as a result affect the awareness levels of students. At times, even the teachers were not affiliated with
general know-how. Most of the programs are not a standard curriculum nor are they up to the mark with the
required levels. Another major road block is the lack of support from the government and the absence of senior,
experienced environmental professionals, educators and other personnel.[5]
Sources:
