Future Plans:

• The Government of Bangladesh has made commitments in the World Education Forum (Dakar, April 2000) towards achievement of Education for All (EFA) goals and targets for total literacy by 2015.

• In line with that, the country has prepared a National Plan of Action for EFA (draft) with a specific set of targets to be achieved by 2015. The National Plan of Action for Education for All (2003-2015) embraces all the goals of EFA for making quality education accessible to all.

• The largest programme in the primary education sub-sector entitled “Second Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-II)” has been prepared in line with the Dakar Framework EFA and proposed National Plan of Action (NPA). The main objectives of the    PEDP-II (2003-2009) are as follows:

i)        Increase primary schools’ access, participation and completion in accordance with Government’s Policy related to EFA and other commitments.

ii)       Improve the quality of student learning and performance outcomes.

• The estimated cost of the programme is US$ 1.8 billion. GOB’s own contribution to this programme is about 67%. The remaining pooled fund will be coming from 11 development partners. The programme is likely to be completed by December 2009.

• Massive development activities in the primary education sector will be accomplished through this programme. A total of 35,000 posts of assistant teachers, 1,000 Assistant Upazila Education Officers (AUEOs), 216 PTI Instructors, 491 Accountants, 128 Computer Operators and other related post of auxiliary staff will be created under revenue head.

• In order to increase infrastructural facilities, repair and renovations of PTI, extension works of district and upazila primary education offices, and construction works of 397 URCs will be completed. To increase school contact hours 30,000 additional classrooms will be constructed with provision of matching furniture (including meeting inadequacies in existing class rooms). In 15,000 schools, toilets will be constructed and arsenic free tube-well will be sunk.

• Within the project tenure of six years about 373 million textbooks will be distributed among the students free of cost. Teaching aids and supplementary reading materials will also be distributed.

• The training programme includes training of 4,362 field level officials, training of trainers course for 1,000 Upazila Education Officers, subject based training for 156,000 teachers, school management and academic supervision training for 40,000 teachers, procurement and local level planning for 2011 District Primary Education Officers (DPEOs), Upazila Education Officers (UEOs) and AUEOs, in-service training for 972 PTI instructors, C-in-Ed training for 90,000 teachers, training of about 1 million SMC members, sub-cluster in-service training for all primary school teachers and initial training for newly recruited head teachers.  About 200 officers will be trained abroad also.

• In addition to the above, during implementation of PEDP II

(a)   Performance based monitoring system will be established;

(b)   Key performance indicators for base line survey will be finalized;

(c)   Common learning standards will be formulated;

(d)   Primary School Quality Level (PSQL) standards will be developed;

(e)   School Learning Improvement Plan (SLIP) will be developed and introduced in phases;

(f)     Based on SLIP Upazila Education Plan (UPEP) will be prepared;

(g)   Through institutional review and analysis DPEs organizational functions will be further decentralized;

(h)   Primary education cadre will be created;

(i)     National Assessment Cell in the DPE will be set up and every two years National Assessment will be conducted on sample basis;

(j)     A plan will be developed for inclusive education and special education for the children with minor disabilities;

(k)   Capacity of DPE will be enhanced to ensure quality primary education. Institutional organizational analysis will be carried out to suggest organizational reform within DPE.

                    It is expected that with the above initiatives, it will be possible to bring a remarkable qualitative and quantitative change in the present primary education system of the country which may stand as a model for other counties in this region.

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