Constant change, scant success: The fault in our curriculum

When ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, "The only constant is change," he probably had the Bangladeshi curriculum in mind.

Over the past few decades, various methods have been implemented in public examinations to evaluate the quality and depth of learning, especially among secondary-level students. These include the introduction of the multiple-choice question (MCQ) system in 1992, the grade point average (GPA) system in 2001, and the inclusion of creative questions in 2010.

Additionally, Junior Secondary and equivalent examinations for class VIII students were introduced in 2010 but abolished in 2020. In the same vein, Primary Completion and equivalent examinations for class V were introduced in 2009, but subsequently abolished in 2020. Meanwhile, the old system of primary scholarship exams, discontinued in 2009, saw reintroduction, although for a single year in 2022 only.

Most recently, Bangladesh entered a new era of education by introducing students to a curriculum emphasising competency-based learning. This transition also saw the replacement of the traditional evaluation system with continuous assessment.

In 2023, the comprehensive implementation of the new curriculum commenced in primary and secondary schools, starting with classes I, VI, and VII. In 2024, classes II, III, VIII, and IX came under the new curriculum.

Next year, classes IV and V of the primary schools will be incorporated into the new curriculum. Class XI of the Higher Secondary will come under the new curriculum in 2026, and class XII will come under the new curriculum in 2027.

The previous change in the national curriculum was made in 2012, and the implementation started in 2013. Before this, minor modifications were made to the curriculum at various times.

However, on this occasion, the entire curriculum has undergone a transformation with the aim of reforming education. And there are some educationists who have embraced the recent changes in the curriculum.

Dr Md Sazzad Hossain, a full-time member of the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC), emphasised that the recent changes in the curriculum after 2010 have been a great improvement from the British colonial education system.

"The national education policy and curriculum since 2010 are making a gradual shift from the memorisation to the creative thinking process. The new skilled-based curriculum of Bangladesh for the primary, secondary and higher secondary levels is a total transformation from the previous curriculums implemented in Bangladesh," he explained.

Even so, the general consensus is that even after nearly 52 years since independence, we are yet to have a stable and long-standing curriculum that could prepare us for a safer and more prosperous future. The synthesis between education principles and the state's fundamental values, as outlined in the Qudrat-e-Khuda Education Commission's 1974 report, also remains elusive.

Experts attribute this to a lack of political goodwill and appropriate long-term planning, but opinions on the viability of the most recent curriculum are split.

Yet, they unanimously agree that realising the full benefits of any curriculum requires not only an improvement in the quality of teaching but also enhancements in the overall well-being and professional lives of teachers.

Saifuzzaman Rana, an education development worker, asserts that to fully understand the motives behind the constant changes in our curriculum, it is essential to trace back to the British period, when institutionalised education was first introduced in the Indian subcontinent.

In independent Bangladesh, the focus shifted towards instilling a sense of Bangladeshi nationalism rooted in the spirit of the Liberation War. Nevertheless, owing to the predominant influence of British values in our education system, it deviated from its intended path and became entangled in the "politics of polling," emerging as a tool for garnering public favour.

"Consequently, despite numerous new education policies and changes to the curriculum, a consistent lack of political goodwill has persisted. Our politicians have seldom attempted to fundamentally reconstruct our education system," said Rana.

However, he believes it is still too early to determine whether the most recent curriculum will endure, adding that the newly appointed education minister should refrain from introducing new changes solely to appease the general population.

Still, as far as the near past is concerned, imprudence consistently remained a prominent feature of our curriculum, and we often saw abrupt shifts overnight. According to Dr Kamrul Hasan Mamun, Professor of Physics at Dhaka University, such a phenomenon can't be observed in any other country in the world.

He emphasised that, ideally, a new curriculum should introduce no more than 10–15% changes from its predecessor. This cautious approach is grounded in the understanding that key stakeholders, such as teachers, students, and parents, may find it challenging to adjust to a large number of changes simultaneously.

"Moreover, these changes should take place only after extensive research, ensuring that potential detrimental effects are minimised. However, in our country, changes occur suddenly and regularly, driven by the sole objective of launching megaprojects and earning significant financial gains along the way," Mamun said.

He also highlighted that only Bangla medium students are being used as guinea pigs for educational experiments, which could be intended to persuade parents to move their offspring to English medium schools. This could eventually result in a growing trend where students from financially privileged backgrounds predominantly enrol in private universities for higher education.

"And we all know which segment of the population owns the private universities," Mamun added. 

Meanwhile, Altaf Hossain, a PhD researcher at Adam Smith Business School in Glasgow University, UK, also referred to the widely held belief in government offices that funds allotted for a policy's execution must be reimbursed if they are not used. "So, sometimes it becomes more important for them to spend as much money as possible without taking necessity into account."

Some unsuccessful initiatives, such as the creative method or the implementation of JSC or PEC exams, were hastily carried out by the same policymakers. As a result, there is a great deal of mistrust among parents, students, and teachers nowadays.

Hossain also cautioned that the unwanted modifications don't become academic "just because some academics who benefit from the huge funding to implement the curriculum speak for it."

Ridwanul Mosrur, an educationist and social researcher, lamented that no curriculum changes in the country ever took place with long-term planning.

He believes the ideal practice should involve implementing changes in the education system while considering the trajectory of the country's labour market a decade ahead. However, this has never been the case in Bangladesh.

Additionally, Mosrur drew inspiration from South Korea, noting that it "designed its education system to align with the demands of the small industry fifty years ago." This calculated strategy produced a noteworthy return on investment. They then made more revisions to their educational programme, this time emphasising the need for heavy industries.

Rakhal Raha, the convener of Sammilita Shikkha Andolan, is also highly critical of the ongoing changes in the curriculum. He contended that despite numerous experiments over the years, very few of them were original, and there has been little consideration of whether these changes are suitable for a country like Bangladesh.

"Actually, our education system is decaying at its very core. But no one has the guts to address this issue. With an 80-90% passing rate and thousands of pupils obtaining GPA-5, it appears to be effective on the surface. However, in an ideal situation, the passing rate under such a flawed education system might not have exceeded 30-40%," Raha said.

He mentioned that despite Unesco's recommendation of allocating 4-6% of GDP to education, the proposed allocation in the recent budget was only 1.76% of GDP. This underscores the government's apparent indifference towards the improvement of the education system.

He further pointed out issues such as faulty textbooks, a subpar classroom atmosphere, an excessively high teacher-student ratio, and deficiencies in fairness within the teacher recruitment and training processes.

Even more significantly, almost all the experts we reached out to shared the opinion that the current condition of teaching as a profession in Bangladesh is far from satisfactory. Therefore, it is unlikely that the nation's educational system will get better very soon.

"A country's education system can thrive only when teachers are treated well. Unfortunately, in our country, teachers are brutally underpaid and receive little respect from society. So, how can we expect quality education from them?" questioned Rana.

In Bangladesh, primary level teachers receive a meagre basic salary ranging from Tk 11,000 to Tk 26,590, corresponding to the 13th grade of the pay scale.

On the other hand, teachers employed in government-run secondary schools receive salaries based on the 10th grade of the national pay scale, ranging from Tk 16,000 to Tk 38,640 for their basic pay.

Rana believes that under such circumstances, it's only natural for most teachers to turn to private tuition to earn extra money. 

Nasrin Sultana, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Jahangirnagar University, also states that in order to get skilled teachers, it is necessary to bring talented and highly educated people into the teaching profession.

"Special Master's or post-graduate diplomas can be introduced under the university or technical college before teacher recruitment, instead of providing training after recruitment. It is important to make it mandatory to have a professional degree in education in the recruitment of teachers," she said.

According to her, if this method is applied, then those who want to take up teaching as a profession can prepare themselves from the beginning. "There is a tendency among many to opt for teaching only after failing to secure a job elsewhere. It will then stop," she added.