In the backdrop of such a worsening situation repeating every year in the realm of primary and secondary education especially in the rural schools, the explanation given by the education secretary, attributing the debacle to teachers' strike for a tangible period at non-government schools does not hold much water. It would be highly unfair to absolve ourselves of the responsibility of gross mismanagement, total neglect and indifference to the debilitating ailments that had long been creeping in the system.

It is true that students in the city-based schools in the country are faring well because the guardians here are conscious and mostly solvent to afford private tutors for their wards while guardians in the rural areas having little awareness and no means cannot buy education for their children that is now virtually sold as a commodity. The fact is that school authorities, meaning the ministry of education in the past government, and management bodies of school including the headmaster both at the primary and secondary level have failed miserably in their obligations to the nation.

Some high ups in the administration feel complacent that the success rate has soared to a lofty 60 percent from say some 50 percent years back. But the question is with such high investment in the education sector these days why should students cut a sorry figure at the secondary stage at all? While we brag about our educational system making a leap forward because of the higher allocation we continue to make in this sector, we ignore the fact that it needs constant monitoring to achieve tangible result. We tend to lose sight of the fact that teachers don't teach, students don't learn, libraries are empty of books and old schools with a rich legacy are crumbling down. When our people's representatives meaning the MPs recommend appointment of incompetent teachers in schools and colleges in exchange of kick back, then it should be anybody's guess how far the quality of education their could improve.

As reports indicated this happened with a Jhenaidha MP and another one in Jessore now arrested. Jhenidah MP it is learnt, made a confessional statement while on remand after being indicted by ACC that he took money to the tune of several lakh from some candidates seeking job in teaching in a college. Reports published in the dailies indicate that members of the managing committees of some schools in Chuadanga made crores of taka by appointing ineligible candidates as teachers in collusion with some high ups in the education directorate without complying with the formalities laid down for such appointment in non-government schools.

These teachers appointed through such corrupt means are least inclined to the teaching job and their attendance in schools is a matter of their own choice and their commitment to teaching is the last thing one could expect in a situation when they enjoyed protection and patronage from their political masters. The question now arises whether we are conscious about this disgraceful collapse and indifference of the teachers as well as authorities of the schools and even colleges that have ultimately led to an appalling dropout problem.

Report published in The Daily Star on July 23 last on 'Post Primary Education Survey 2005' by Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (Banbeis) indicated an alarming situation in the dropout rate at the secondary school level studies.

The director of Banbeis revealed in a workshop held recently in its central office that a total of 76.54 percent male students and 83.29 percent female students had quit schools that year. The dropout rate average about 82 percent during the last five years.

This must be construed as a pitfall in the whole system of education. Shockingly, all sections of people in the country including the educational administrators, teachers and guardians have been shortsighted about taking adequate measures to prevent such a disaster that is pushing such an unbelievably large cohort of potential future builders of the nation away from the academic life. Poverty of the parents in rural areas and lack of interest in teaching by such de-motivated teachers are the twin factors contributing to this malaise. Sure enough, the struggle to raise a nation's standard is fought first and foremost in the classroom.

It needs hardly any repetition that on the threshold of the new millennium the key to economic progress is deeply rooted in the nation's advancement in scientific learning, skill in the application of technical knowledge and a free and unfettered atmosphere for the growth of such skills. But in the backdrop of the alarming dropout rate our claim that the literacy rate in the country has soared to a lofty 64 per cent would appear to be a hollow one. The analysis of the just announced SSC result or rather the list of GPA-5 securing students, all of them coming of affluent families in the metropolitan cities has made it abundantly clear that education today in Bangladesh is a commodity and only the affluent people can afford it or rather buy it.

The situation has come to such a pass that teachers in the rural schools are not teaching their students in the classroom and many of them are not even attending schools regularly, on the other hand coaching centres and tutorial homes run by these teachers have sprung up either in their house premises or in rented houses, even in rural areas. But almost 80 per cent of the students born of poor parents or families cannot afford it and ultimately they are thrown away from the mainstream of the national rejuvenation activities and the end result is disastrous because away from school these vibrant youths are being exploited by the unscrupulous politicians and godfathers to serve their vile ends.

In most of the primary schools in rural Bangladesh, they have students on their rolls yet most drop out after a year or two. Most primary schools have no buildings and no teaching tools. Teachers are most reluctant to perform their jobs but are drawing their salaries. Report published in the daily Prothom Alo on July 18 last indicates that worn out CI sheet roofing of dilapidated Judi primary school in Moulvibazar has fallen down and students have to take shelter in the verandah of an adjacent house during monsoon rain, on the other hand almost 10 decimal out of 17 decimal land donated by a local philanthropist has been grabbed by local influential and politically backed people.

Shockingly, the country is failing in the crucial test of providing sound education for all. While there is much truth in the saying that buildings don't make institutions, the infrastructure for an educational institution cannot be completely ignored. In many places outside Dhaka, Schools exist in name, teachers draw salaries but do not teach in the classes and student absenteeism is rampant. Precisely speaking, there is no supervisory activities and no inspection about how a school is functioning throughout the year. A survey conducted by an NGO with the support of UNDP has revealed that primary education in the country remains most neglected.

Economists are now convinced that higher investment in education with proper monitoring coupled with the initiative to develop human resources has helped South Korea to reach the top. Incidentally one might recall starting 1998 Koreans have been banned to hire private tutors or 'kwawoe' in their version in subjects other than art and music for all students below university level. Seoul, it is learnt, wants to curb excessive spending on tutors and reduce a burgeoning, mostly untaxed, service industries dominated by foreigners. More important, it seeks to promote egalitarianism among students by disallowing parents a chance to buy their children a 'superior' education.

In Bangladesh many families, especially in the cities and towns are said to spend half of their income on private teachers. Undeniably true, private tuition or coaching centre based education in the country is chipping away at the edifice of the education system and destroying merit and growth of intelligence of the students. Without allowing the present situation to precipitate into a total crisis, the present caretaker government could a make a beginning through proper monitoring of the school education in the rural areas by a special task force comprising eminent educationists in the country. The government must work on improving the nation's quality of education as well as access to it. The government must provide in public education what parents are obliged to buy privately.

Admittedly, corruption has eaten into the vitals of the nation and that's the reason the country remains perpetually mired in grinding poverty and any effort to lift the masses from this depth of misery during the alliance rule or even earlier was just cosmetic.

Poverty has become a constituency which was carefully nurtured by politicians of every hue, but now with the turn of events, there could be a glimmer of hope on the horizon. During the past years vast funds were spent on gradiose schemes that amounted to little more than charity. Since in our country charity begins at home, most of the money got funneled directly into every capacious pockets of politicians and officials right down to the village level. Naturally poverty continues to exist and grow in a monstrous scale. But even if all the money channeled through various schemes did reach the people it was meant for, they would continue to be poor because no government has given people the tools with which they can themselves improve their lives.

Md Asadullah Khan can be reached over e-mail: asad_k@bangla.net