Primary school enrollment and completion rates in Bangladesh have increased in the last 20 years. Bangladesh’s Primary Education Development Program introduced innovative approaches that changed the face of basic education in the country—from the adoption of multimedia, reward schemes to encourage kids to stay in school, and teacher training, among others.
Many schools in Bangladesh experience low attendance and high dropout rates. Moreover, especially at the time of the program, many teachers were poorly paid, untrained, and unqualified.
Interventions
The first phase of the Primary Education Development Program (PEDP) in 1990, financed solely by ADB, improved the quality of primary education in Bangladesh. The second and third phases, approved in 2003 and 2011 respectively, continued this work, this time with the support of various partner organizations. Financing development partners were Australia, Canada, the European Union, the Global Partnership for Education, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom, UNICEF, and the World Bank.
The PEDP series of projects introduced innovative approaches to increase enrollment and participation rates. Multimedia livened up discussions, reward schemes for parents and students encouraged kids to stay in school, and debate competitions were held to develop the students’ skills and knowledge. New classrooms were built and dilapidated ones were repaired. Teachers were also trained. Frequent and constant in-service training was offered to improve teachers’ basic competencies. The education sector’s two-shift system was also dropped in favor of a one-shift system to give teachers more time for each pupil.
Results
The PEDP has made primary education more accessible. Gross and net enrollment rates in the primary education sector, as well as attendance rates, have steadily increased, and completion rates have soared.
From 98% in 2000, gross enrollment rose to 108% in 2010 and then to 112% in 2017. Net enrollment rates increased from 83% in 2000 to 95% in 2010, and to 98% in 2017. The primary net attendance rate for the poorest quintile of households improved from 58% in 2005 to 80% in 2014, and for the richest quintile, from 80% to 88% in the same period. The primary education completion rate reached 81% in 2016, from 60% in 2010.