SANGSAD BHABAN, Feb 3, 2019 (BSS) – State Minister for Primary and Mass
Education Md Zakir Hossain today told Jatiya Sangsad that the incumbent
government took various pragmatic steps to ensure quality primary
education, including reducing the number of dropout children.
“Different steps have been taken to ensure quality of primary education and
cut the number of dropout children,” he said replying to a query of
treasury bench member Md Israful Alam form Naogaon-6 constituency during
question and answer session in the House.
Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury chaired the House proceedings on the
second day of the first session of the Eleventh parliament in presence of
the Leader of the House and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The state minister said the steps taken at field-level to reduce dropout
children include: ensuring admission of children based on each school
catchment area, view-exchange meeting with mothers, yard-meeting, home
visit activities, free books distribution, school feeding programme and
providing stipend to students.
Referring to the root-cause of the dropout students, Zakir Hossain
mentioned three key factors – – lack of awareness among parents, poverty
and child labour – – responsible for that and the government is working
with it giving utmost priority on quality primary education.
In reply to a question, the state minister said the number of dropout
children in primary level is 18.6 percent.
According to the latest statistics of 2018, he said, the rate of the drop
out students in class-I, II, III, IV and V are respectively 2.2 , 2.8,
2.9, 7.6 and 3.3 percents.
Answering to another query of treasury bench member M Abdul Latif from
Chattogram-11 constituency, he said the government this year distributed
10,60,32,912 books among 2,39,65,151 students of pre-primary to class five
while 2,77,068 other books in the mother language of ethnic groups.
“In 2009-2018 financial year, a total of 1, 74, 593 assistant teachers and
5,124 headmaster were recruited . . . and the appointment of more 1200
assistant teachers are on progress right now,” the minister added.