MDG Report 2012 - United Nations in Bangladesh

3.1 IntroductionBangladesh has made good progress in increasing equitable access to education, reducingdropouts, improving completion of the cycle, and implementing a number of qualityenhancement measures in primary education. It has already achieved gender parity in primaryand secondary enrolment. The government is in the process of implementing acomprehensive National Education Policy (2010) to achieve its comprehensive objectives.The present challenges under MDG 2 include attaining the targets of primary educationcompletion rate, adult literacy rate and quality of education.3.2 Progress of achievements in different targets and indicatorsTarget 2.A: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able tocomplete a full course of primary schoolingIndicator 2.1: Net enrolment ratio in primary educationThe net enrolment ratio (NER) refers to the number of pupils in the official school age groupin a grade, cycle or level of education in a given school year, expressed as a percentage of thecorresponding population of the eligible official age group.In terms of bringing primary school age children to schools, the country is well on track ofthe MDG target. The net enrolment ratio in 2011 is 98.7 percent (Girls: 99.40%, Boys:97.2%). It was 60.5 percent in 1990 and 87.2 percent (90.1% for girls) in 2005. The fasterand relatively consistent growth in girls' enrolment vis-à-vis boys has been an importantdriver of the observed improvement in NER. Focused and substantive initiatives undertakenby the government such as distribution of free textbooks among students up to the secondarylevel, providing scholarship to female students up to the higher secondary level, holdingpublic examinations and announcing results within the stipulated time and creation of theEducation Assistance Trust Fund for the poor and meritorious students, food for education,stipends for primary school children, media outreach, and community or satellite schoolshave all helped in boosting the NER. The government has been working to improve thequality of education alongside increasing literacy rate to build an illiteracy-free Bangladeshby 2014.Figure 3.1: Trends in Net Enrolment Ratio, 1990-2011Sources: BANBEIS and DPE39