RURAL BANGLADESH - PreventionWeb

Socioeconomic Profiles of WFP Operational Areas and Beneficiaries
Table 9: Reasons for Non Attendance or Partial Attendance in School by WFP Priority Zone
(multiple answers possible)
Total
Help in HH chores
Help parents to earn
Not interested in
school
Cannot afford
Got married
Parents negetive
attitude
Too young to go to
school
Other reasons
Percentages and totals are based on respondents.
Reasons for non attendance or partial attendance in school
WFP priority zone
CHT Coastal Drought N/W Char Haor Total
16.8% 21.0% 9.7% 16.1% 12.8% 18.8% 261
13.9% 9.6% 14.1% 23.9% 14.3% 11.3% 216
27.1% 15.3% 19.5% 22.2% 22.5% 17.1% 322
31.9% 30.9% 13.5% 22.2% 22.1% 15.4% 375
5.2% 9.3% 9.2% 13.3% 13.6% 5.5% 141
10.0% 20.4% 5.4% 7.8% 10.9% 5.8% 172
21.3% 15.3% 22.7% 17.8% 22.1% 25.3% 325
21.6% 12.7% 10.8% 10.0% 7.0% 13.0% 206
319 353 185 180 258 293 1579
The Chittagong Hill Tracts presents a unique set of problems faced by parents contemplating
the benefits and costs of sending their children to school. In the CHT, the use of Bengali as
the medium of communication coupled with poor quality of instruction play an important
role in discouraging school age children from continuing school. Teacher turnover rates and
irregular attendance rates are high in the CHT, where many teachers assigned to the schools
are not from the region. Many schools are located several kilometres from home and even
schools located near villages lack proper infrastructure or facilities required for a proper
education. Many school buildings are dilapidated, and community schools have scarcity of
books, desks, and chairs. Furthermore, some CHT communities reported that teachers
sometimes discriminate against Jumma children, particularly in mixed schools.
Finally, the qualitative information discussed by communities indicated an important
potential correlation between school non-attendance or early drop-out and the degree of
community participation in school management. Throughout rural Bangladesh, schools
lacking active school management committees with community participation frequently
continue to be plagued by poor teacher attendance, low quality of teaching, and dilapidated
school structures.
Table 10 provides data on 3,517 school-aged children and the type of school they attend.
Approximately 47 percent of children attend government schools and another 35 percent of
children go to private schools. A significant majority (82 percent) of children reported
attending private secondary school or higher. This is primarily because public secondary
schools are rare in many rural areas of Bangladesh, limiting household choice to one of
private education. Fewer than 10 percent of children attend NGO-run schools and about 10
percent attend the Madrasha system. A higher proportion (16 percent) of children in
Chittagong Hill Tracts attend NGO-managed schools (see the discussion above concerning
attitudes about government-operated schools in the CHT), while a large proportion (14 and
36