Secondary schools across the country have witnessed a decline of over 10 lakh students, while there has been a notable increase in enrollment in technical, madrasa, and English education.
The latest findings by the Bangladesh Bureau of Education Information and Statistics (BANBEIS), revealed these findings. The insights come from the draft report of 'Bangladesh Education Statistics-2023', unveiled during a workshop on Thursday convened by BANBEIS to finalize the report's details.
According to the BANBEIS draft report, secondary school enrollment in 2019 stood at more than 92 lakh students. However, by 2023, this figure dropped to 81,66,000, with 55 percent of students being female. Despite the decline in secondary education, overall student numbers have increased by 180,000 in schools and colleges offering both secondary and higher secondary levels.
Contrastingly, government-run madrasas experienced a surge in enrollment, with over two and a half lakh additional students in the past four years. Currently, there are more than 27,58,000 students enrolled in madrasas, with females comprising 54 percent of the total.
The government's emphasis on technical education has led to a proliferation of technical educational institutions. The total number of students in these institutions has risen to about 7,50,000 across 5,395 institutions, compared to 7 lakh in 2019. However, the percentage of female students in technical education remains low, at around 29 percent.
English-medium schools have also seen an uptick in enrollment,
with over 28,000 students currently enrolled across 123 schools, indicating a positive trend in English education.
Additionally, the draft report highlights a decline in secondary school dropout rates, down to approximately 33 percent from about 37 percent four years ago. However, dropout rates have increased in higher secondary schools, with the current rate surpassing 21 percent, up from over 18 percent four years ago.
Experts suggest that socio-economic factors may underpin the decline in secondary school enrollment, with many students potentially opting for work over education. Further research is needed to uncover the root causes of these trends and implement necessary interventions to address them.
While BANBEIS did not investigate into the reasons behind the decline in secondary school enrollment, some officials speculate that shifts in educational preferences amidst the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to this trend.
The closure of educational institutions nationwide in March 2020 due to the pandemic's onset significantly impacted education. Although schools gradually reopened after 18 months, the disruption had lasting effects on enrollment patterns.
The BANBEIS, responsible for collecting, compiling, and disseminating educational data from secondary to higher educational institutions, presented a summary of the draft findings at the workshop.