The large majority of the roundtable participants had little difficulty in agreeing on several critical concerns and the need for a new kind of government leadership that harnessed all of the capacities and assets in the nation, within and outside the public sector, to address the concerns.

Broad categories of actions were identified as the priorities related to expanding access, reversing inequities in opportunities and guaranteeing acceptable quality. These also included norms and practices in education governance, building capacities of teachers and managers, and reforms in the organizational structures and human resource management in the education system.

Ensuring minimum quality standards in all streams
The parallel streams of education at the primary and secondary stages -- represented by mainstream schools, madrasahs, and private English medium schools -- symbolised the inequity in society and the education system. Moving towards minimum standards of quality in primary and secondary education in all the streams is an obvious priority.

The strategies for achieving common quality standards, most participants agreed, will include a core curricular framework and minimum criteria for facilities and teachers in all streams. Serious efforts have to be made to ensure bilingual proficiency in Bangla and English, with math, science and computer literacy for all. Expanding early childhood opportunities, especially for children from disadvantaged groups, would help in establishing a common level of preparedness for formal education.

Major decentralisation
Highly centralised management of the public education system has been identified as an obstacle to reforms in education, but rhetoric galore about it has not been translated into concrete measures. Taking steps towards major decentralisation, local planning and greater school level authority with accountability constitute essential measures for improving quality and equity and fulfilling the right to education.

To ensure success in this effort, it would be necessary to undertake piloting in each division for school, upazila and district planning, decision-making and devolution of authority with accountability. This initiative has to involve NGOs and academic institutions in piloting, research and development.

Information for good education governance
Lack of information about plans and budgets in government projects at national and local levels contributes to corruption and waste. Updated information on websites, regular public discussion and reporting about plans, progress and spending in development activities at school, union, upazila, and district levels can be the means of better monitoring and public participation in educational development, especially in the context of decentralised management.

Resources for education
Inadequacy of resources for essential quality inputs in primary and secondary education, the criteria and rationale for allocation of public resources and their effective utilization are all problem areas. Apart from substantially increasing public resources, serious consideration needs to be given to allocations on the basis of child population in each upazila, and utilizing these, together with non-public resources, to achieve quality and equity objectives based on local, decentralized and school-level planning.

Relevant vocational/ technical skills and lifelong learning
This has been a neglected area. A new programme needs to be initiated to expand vocational/technical skills at the basic level through a network of community and NGO-managed multipurpose learning centres, and at a higher level, through institutions with authority to offer flexible courses according to market needs, in partnership with employers and the private sector.

Professional capacity building
Management of human resources in the education system has remained archaic, without regard to the need for professionalisation of specialised functions. To achieve the necessary changes in personnel policies and practices, a ten-year plan is necessary to encourage professionalism with greater authority in key operational and support agencies, such as, the Directorates, Boards of Education, Nape, Naem, Curriculum Authorities etc., along with general devolution of authority to local and school levels.

A permanent national education commission
"Adhocism," lack of transparency, and scant follow-up of recommendations have been the characteristics of the education policymaking process and policy recommendations. The solution that has been adopted in many countries, including India, Thailand and Indonesia, is a statutory permanent National Education Commission, or a similar body (answerable to the Parliament), to guide, monitor and assess on a continuing basis major reforms and changes that government has to embark on.

One National Ministry of Education
The well-intentioned separation of primary and mass education from the Ministry of Education and its placement in the prime minister's office led to a higher degree of polticistation of education decisions and created problems of coordination and articulation.

A National Ministry of Education, with responsibility for all education, to ensure continuity in curriculum, teacher training and assessment of learning, and to achieve educational reforms and human resources goals in an integrated manner, must considered.

Each of these areas of priority action calls for a serious step-by-step process of deliberation, planning and implementation. Some organisational changes, such as a national Ministry of Education and a statutory National Commission on Education, may have to await decisions by a future elected government. But pragmatic and interim solutions can be found.

Under the present caretaker government, one adviser, in any event, is in charge of the entire education sector. An interim body can be appointed anticipating a statutory National Commission in the future.

The ongoing education development programmes and projects need to be re-examined in the light of the priorities outlined above. The mid-term review of PEDP II, planned for October this year, offers an opportunity in this respect. The major challenge is to find new modalities of partnership between the government and NGOs and the academic and research institutions so that all experiences and capacities in the country can be put to use fully to achieve the national goals.

In other cases, such as the secondary education and non-formal education projects assisted by external funding, the development partners are likely to be supportive of any serious effort by the government to plan actions and their effective implementation with a clearer articulation of priorities.

Dr. Manzoor Ahmed is Director of BRAC University Institute of Educational Development (BU-IED).