Universal Primary Education for All Towards Millennium Development Goal 2

Abstract

Bangladesh, in theory and law, advocates equity of access to largely uniform, mass-oriented and universal system of education. This objective remains unfulfilled owing to the lack of commitment of all concerned to reach the goal of Education for All. Although the aggregate performance indicators (e.g. gross enrollment rate) for the primary education sub-sector has been relatively satisfactory in 2000s compared to the situations in 1990s. Beset with numerous problems, the education system is at once discriminatory and inconsistent. The standard of education is on the decline. The absence of effective quality control mechanisms and non-standardisation of the core content of basic learning materials make the education scenario even less satisfactory. More then half of the population in Bangladesh is denied the right to education. In this backdrop, this article critically examines government commitments for universal primary education for all by 2015 and the present situation of primary education sub sector. This article focused on the problem, challenges and policy issues to achieve the second goal of MDGs.