Schooling without learning

Covers of the Pakistan, Canada, India and Bangladesh versions of the book

The Political Economy of Education in South Asia, a scholarly text by BHP Director John Richards and colleagues has just been re-issued in India, following initial publication by University of Toronto Press with later editions in Bangladesh and Pakistan. (John is currently drafting the second edition.)

The book has three main themes: (1) Diagnostics,  analyzes the chronic quality deficit in South Asia’s basic education. (2) Teachers: the pivot of educational change describes institutional actors such as political elites and senior officials, teachers’ unions and teacher training institutes. (3) The Political Economy of Education in South Asia explains how these powerful institutions pursue their own goals, resulting in the high “learning poverty” rate common in the region.

One of the book's reviewers, Paul Martin, former Prime Minister of Canada writes, “I have known one of the authors, John Richards, for many years. We have both worked to improve education for Indigenous peoples in Canada. This book goes straight to the point. Its first contribution is an insistence that South Asian governments spend more on public primary education. The second is that success of primary education means, by the end of the primary school cycle, students are able to read, write, and do basic arithmetic. Schools have many goals beyond literacy and arithmetic, but mastering these core skills is necessary for escaping poverty. Those responsible for managing social programs, in Canada or South Asia, must never underestimate the value of good schools."

News from OfP

Bluebell School is experiencing growing pains. Total student enrolment is now 109 with 16 new students joining last year. As the student numbers increase, the teachers have recommended changes to make the building more functional. One extra-large room has now been divided into two classrooms. The outdoor toilet was also recently rebuilt at the request of the teachers. It had previously been repaired several times but with increased demand needed a new design. 

Outdoor toilet under construction at Bluebell School

Textbook distribution is always an exciting event at Bluebell School. Books are published and freely supplied by the government through the Upazila Education Office. As a registered school, Bluebell makes the necessary arrangements to secure enough books for all the students. BHP pays for many other books and learning materials supplied to students by OfP.

Students from OfP Institute of Science and Technology participated in area-wide sports programs, competing against students from other post-secondary institutes. The OIST team did well all the way to the semi-finals but did not win in the final round of competition.

Educating the future workforce

IUBAT nursing students with visiting faculty volunteers

In a recent article in Foreign Affairs, Nicholas Eberstadt writes, “In the foreseeable future, many poorer countries will have to contend with the needs of an aged society even though their workers are far less productive than those in wealthier countries. Consider Bangladesh: a poor country today that will be an elderly society tomorrow, with over 13 percent of its 2050 population projected to be seniors. The backbone of the Bangladeshi labor force in 2050 will be today’s youth. But standardized tests show that five in six members of this group fail to meet even the very lowest international skill standards deemed necessary for participation in a modern economy: the overwhelming majority of this rising cohort cannot ‘read and answer basic questions’ or ‘add, subtract, and round whole numbers and decimals.’”

We have written frequently about BHP efforts to tackle this problem, including our delivery of free pre-school and primary education in a rural village; advocacy for meaningful, national-level student assessments, and BHP Director John Richards’ book on education in South Asia. As a tiny organization, however, BHP has only limited impact. We are hopeful that the education reform group now making recommendations to the interim government in Bangladesh will be able to achieve more substantial change.