The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on The Education Sector in Bangladesh: Challenges and Solutions

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One of the famous human rights activists, Malcolm X said, “Education is the passport to the future for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”.?Educational sustainability plays a very significant role in the day-to-day life as well as the economic life of a nation. Education builds our dream, identity, and values and helps to identify what is wrong and what rights. Everyone has known education plays a direct role in nation-building and also the advancement of the country. We know, the globe is facing a great crisis during this pandemic session as well as Bangladesh is also causing Covid-19. As a result, all activities of the educational sector in Bangladesh are locked down since March 2020. Hence, this is having a devastating effect on the educational sector. All educational intuitions have been closing and most of the students are out of study which can have long-term effects. Therefore, the special need to think about the education sector is going to be realized and from now we have to restructure our whole education system to ensure educational sustainability.

Picture of the education sector in Bangladesh: It is not that the education system of our country was good before the epidemic. The education system of the developed countries is completely different from ours and even India is far ahead of us in this regard. This epidemic has further challenged our education system. We have not yet developed a digital and advanced technical education system. As a result, we are not able to create skilled workers and this is increasing our unemployment rate. According to the Ministry of Education, “Currently, the student enrolment rate in technical education is 14%(2018)”. On the other hand, America, China, Germany, and India are far ahead of Bangladesh. The great news is, Bangladesh performed well in primary and secondary education day by day. But, this epidemic is slowing down the growth rate of Education.??

Current Challenges on Education Sector in Bangladesh: Cause of COVID-19, Not only Bangladesh but also the whole world is facing a great crisis in all sectors like agriculture, industrial, banking, medicine, etc. and the education sector will be no exception. Schools, colleges, universities, and all other educational institutions are locked down for many days for the safety of students. As a result, students cannot continue their classes as well as exams. Some students attend digital classes but most of them wait. That’s why it is creating several challenges that we have to face are given below:

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I.?????????????????Dropout ????????Rate: ??Most of experts apprehend that the dropout rate of children in schools would go up due to the coronavirus pandemic which is a threat to the education sector. Bangladesh has not been able to overcome the dropout problem of these students for a long time. “In 2018, Boys' dropouts were highest in the last seven years. In 2011, around 47 percent of boys dropped out before completing the secondary level but the rate fell to 34.9 in 2012. It postpones between 33 to 34 percent till 2017, before growing to 36.01 percent last year, showed the draft report styled "Bangladesh Education Statistics2018", ????????which was ????prepared ????????by ????????????the Bangladesh ??????????Bureau ????????????of ????????????Educational

Information and Statistics. I have given a picture of the dropout rate in primary and secondary education including boys and girls. Stopping dropouts after Corona Pandemic will be a big challenge for the government and concerned authorities.

II.??????????????Session gap:?Already it has taken three months and anybody doesn’t know when the educational institutions will be open for class. Students are getting session gaps, especially Public University students. Private Universities started online classes, exam but Public Universities can’t. Not only universities student but also HSC exam candidates are facing these problems. They are very much concerned about their exam as well as they don’t know when can they admit to the university.?

III.????????????Forgetting Previous Studies: Cause of the long break, most of the students are going to forget their previous studies. Where maximum students are not practicing their previous study, the new study is far away. Our government and different organizations have been starting classes on Television but it is questionable how many students participate in those classes. This is a matter of great concern, especially for schoolchildren.

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IV.????????????Frustration: The body of the youth is full of energy but whenever this energy is not expended, frustration will come. In this pandemic, most students are passing their time on the internet, gaming, sleeping all day long, and doing nothing at all. When they could go to school, college, or university, they could hang out with friends and play games that kept them from getting frustrated. But as the epidemic shuts down to hang out and all these facilities as well as keep them from the study, there is now frustration among them. Even those who thought they would get a job after their studies are drowning in despair.?

V.???????????????Financial Crisis: Most of the students are from the middle class and poor families. Most families are in financial crisis and many of the members of these families are losing their jobs. In this situation, the education of the children of these families seems to be a luxury to them. University and college students who are used to studying at their own expense are also at risk. They are worried about how they will pay their rent and other expenses.?

Probable solutions for the above Challenges: To overcome the problems in the education sector, government, private organizations and every conscious citizen must come forward. I have tried to highlight some possible solutions in below to deal with the challenges that will connect us with the situations of recovery as well as these can ensure educational sustainability:?

I.????????????????Creating a special committee: It is the first and most crucial step in the beginning. The government must be creating a special committee under the Ministry of Education including Education specialists who survey and research how to develop the situation. They have to make a recovery plan for a certain period like a project. It may be a two or three-year timed project. They have to take full of responsibility for the challenges and the government will take feedback from them.

II.??????????????Online Education: It is the first probable solution for taking the class through the internet that already has been started in different institutes. Its use in developed countries began a few years ago and has met with success. Digital content needs to be created and strong networks need to be established to spread online education. We know that online classes require modern learning materials that will be difficult for many teachers and students to acquire. So, modern educational materials need to be marketed t low prices and tax-free. Governments have to control the internet bill and other related issues. The system of giving exams should be started digitally which will make the students concentrate on their studies. The sooner students can return to their studies, the sooner their frustration, as well as the secession gap, can be reduced.

III.???????????Restructure Education Curriculum: It’s a great challenge for the policymakers who are directly connected to making the curriculum.?It is not possible to improve the education system by continuing the old curriculum after this pandemic. We have to move forward by changing the curriculum and it will be a challenge for every student also. Governments must have to create a modern curriculum that will help to adapt students to the upcoming job sectors as well as to be good entrepreneurs.

IV.????????????The appropriate budget has to be allocated: This is the most crucial part of the discussion. Allocate appropriate funds required for the implementation of all plans. More money will have to be allocated for education this year as compared to previous years. Only then will it be possible to implement digital education and also prevent student dropouts through financial aid.

Education is one of the essential elements of our entity as we need blood to live. As long as blood is in circulation the organs will remain sound and healthy. If the blood is not supplied to any organs then that part would become useless. To keep the wheel of the economy moving, the next generation must be well-educated. After that epidemic, Bangladesh will face a severe crisis in education. To overcome this problem, we need to raise awareness of all in combination with what I have already discussed. We need to work hard with our governments, experts, and also all stakeholders. With the courage to make the right decision at the right time, we can overcome this epidemic situation and also save our country from danger and brighten the image of the country on the face of the earth by ensuring agricultural sustainability.