Dhaka: The government has embarked on a significant initiative to evaluate the quality of primary education across the country, starting from July 1, using newly developed ‘Assessment Tools’. This six-month project aims to gather comprehensive data on various aspects of primary education, including student performance from grade 3 to grade 5, talent development, school attendance, and teaching methods.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the initiative will involve the collection of real-time information at the ground level. This data will be used to assess the current state of primary education and formulate practical measures to enhance its quality and foundation. A senior official from the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education stated that this assessment would provide an accurate depiction of the primary school education landscape across the country.
The supervision of this initiative will be managed at different administrative levels, with Deputy Commissioners overseeing district-level activities, Upazila Nirbahi Officers supervising at the upazila level, and Divisional Commissioners at the divisional level. Field-level education officers will be tasked with improving the education quality of students who are lagging, based on the insights derived from the assessment tools.
A detailed plan has been drafted by the government to ensure the successful execution of this initiative. Recently, a directive from Mohammad Kamrul Hasan, Director (Policy and Operations) of the Directorate of Primary Education, indicated that the data collection would commence as scheduled. The directive emphasized the need to assess and improve the learning status of students in Bengali, Mathematics, and English through strategic, subject-specific work methods.
The Directorate of Primary Education has also outlined various work plans aimed at elevating the performance of students who are falling behind. The current educational status of students from grades 3 to 5 will be evaluated between July 1 and August, with headmasters and assistant teachers responsible for the verification process.
To address learning gaps, a targeted action plan has been set for implementation between July 16 and August 31. This includes a reassessment of 25 percent of students in each school, with a focus on verifying the progress of 10 percent of students. Daily assessment activities will be conducted for one subject per class from July 1 to July 15, with provisions for additional days in schools with larger student populations.
Md. Kamrul Hasan, Joint Secretary of the Directorate of Primary Education, reiterated the government’s commitment to enhancing primary education quality. He expressed optimism that the assessment tools would facilitate improvements for all students, including those in less advanced schools. “We have many good schools but also backward schools. We want to see the quality of education improve in all schools. So, the government has this plan,” he affirmed.