Establishing gender equality stressed

Establishing gender equality stressed
FE Report

Speakers at a workshop urged the parliament members to address the issues that still prevent girl from accessing education in Bangladesh and take steps to establish gender equality in all spheres of society.

The call was made at a high level workshop entitled, "Gender Equality in Education: Beyond Numbers", organized by Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) and the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), unicef under the umbrella UN Girls Education Initiative (UNGEI).

Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament Md Abdul Hamid, Advocate, was present as chief guest at the opening session, chief whip vice principal Md Abdus Shahid MP, state minister for primary and mass education affairs Motahar Hossain MP, executive director CAMPE and former advisor to caretaker government Rasheda K Choudhury, UNICEF Representative, Carel de Rooy were present at the opening session.

The Minister of Education, Nurul Islam Nahid, MP and the State Minister for Women and Children Affairs, Dr. Shirin Sharmin Choudhury, attended the closing session of the day long workshop.

"More females drop out at primary, secondary, and tertiary level", said education minister Nurul Islam Nahid. 'Girls' education enrolment, retention and acquisition of skills must be prioritized by all, especially MPs, the government, NGOs, development partners and civil society. The role of MPs within their constituencies is imperative and I urge them to come up with strategies that would benefit boys and girls nationally whilst also addressing local needs", the minister added.

Rasheda K Choudhury said, "About 50 per cent who enroll in primary school do not complete the full primary education cycle. When the number of girls who drop out is added to those who have never enrolled, it is estimated that approximately 1.5 million primary aged girls in Bangladesh are not in school."

"In a country like Bangladesh, as in other countries, public representatives can play an important role in promoting gender equality. MPs can be particularly effective in mobilizing and motivating families and local communities to uphold the rights of women and girls with strong political commitment, pro people strategies and realistic goals, female MPs can really make a difference in promoting gender equality in education", she stated.

"If 100 students get admitted in class one only 27 can continue study in class twelve, according to a study. Only privileged students get opportunity to complete the study till twelve," said Rasheda K Choudhury urging the government to pass education policy which will be placed for approval in parliament.

UNICEF Representative Carel de Rooy said, "Although Bangladesh achieved gender parity in both primary and secondary education enrolment rates some years ago, girls continue to face a number of challenges when it comes to education like eve teasing and stalking and early marriage.

He said that Bangladesh allocates about 2.3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product to education which is one of the lowest in the world.

Motahar Hossain said, "The government has reduced the drop out rate of students in primary schools to 40 per cent. Around 55 percent of women and 45 per cent males are studying in Bangladesh. The enrollment rate in school is now 97 per cent and it will be 99 per cent within 2011."

"We are discussing with donors on reducing drop out rate by another 20 per cent but we are not getting any response from them. But the government has taken decision to continue it with state fund, if donors do not come forward" he added.

Samir Ranjan Nath, research coordinator, BRAC and member of Education Watch presented a keynote paper titled, "Gender Equality in Education in Bangladesh: Progress and Challenges". Hesaid, "Some universities had as high as 40 per cent female and some had less than 10 per cent. Of the 82 universities only two private universities had female vice-chancellors."

He said, "The senate, syndicates and governing bodies have less than 10 per cent female members and education ministries about 25 per cent female officials."