Science Education: National Education Policy 2010 Course Name: Public Policy Analysis Course No: 323 Submitted To: Mr. Saifuddin Ahmed Chairman & Assistant Professor Department of Peace and Conflict Studies University of Dhaka Submitted By: Name Ashaduzzaman Nur Roll Email 15 Asef Amer Shifar 41 52 rd 3 Year 6th Semester ashaduzzaman2017717032@pcs.du.ac.bd asef-2017518547@pcs.du.ac.bd Dipu Paul dipu-2017318558@pcs.du.ac.bd Department of Peace and Conflict Studies University of Dhaka Introduction Education is the backbone of a nation. Only a modern and intellectually advanced nation can bring a country to the pinnacle of development. Education is an essential requirement for everyone. It is difficult to progress in terms of survival, security, advancement, and the nature of one's existence without education. Thus, education is the only way to form moral ethics and human resources, which is the key to the development of a nation. Education is one of the fundamental rights of individuals. Therefore, the government of a country needs to develop and strengthen education policy and quality as well as to ensure that everyone has equal access to basic education. The improvement of access and quality of education in the world is becoming an essential factor in the development. In contrast, basic education is acknowledged as a foundation of higher education development for every country. To fulfill this goal, the government introduced several policies and procedures, which are known as education policies (Cankaya, Kutlu and Cebeci, 2015). In a developing country like Bangladesh, education is the foundation of all development. In order to make the education system of Bangladesh tune with the need of modern times, to develop the next generation as a human resource, capable of utilizing knowledge and technology while being inspired by moral principles, national tradition, and the spirit of the liberation war; the government adopted National Education Policy-2010. National Education Policy of Bangladesh Background Since Bangladesh's independence, no education policy has been implemented in the last four decades. Although the first Education Policy was composed at the initiative of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of independent Bangladesh. The first Education Commission was formed to create an Education Policy under the direction of Dr. Qudrat-e-Khuda. However, following the assassination of Bangabandhu and his family members on August 15, 1975, the education policy was not implemented. Six additional education policies were drafted in the following years, but none of them were ultimately implemented. When the Awami League regained power in 1996 after 21 years, the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resumed work on a new education policy. By 1997, the report had been completed. On the basis of that report, "Education Policy-2000" was created. However, with the change of government in 2001, that was also shelved and rendered null and void. As declared in the election manifesto in 2008, the Awami League led government reinitiated and advanced the process of designing and implementing a National Education Policy. Unlike the prior policies, this commission chaired by National Professor Kabir Chowdhury, was tasked with the challenging job of formulating a policy in accordance with the first education policy prepared by Dr. Qudrat-e-Khuda. The policy has been finalized in 2010 with further additions and amendments with the incorporation of relevant views, recommendations and suggestions, which is still in effect (National Education Policy, 2010). Aims and Objectives The national education policy of 2010 is widely regarded as one of the best and most realistic education policies ever formulated in Bangladesh. It has very effectively integrated the liberalism of Qudrat-e-Khuda’s policies with the ambitions of modern Bangladeshis. Furthermore, this policy introduced certain radical adjustments that, if enacted, have the potential to bring about significant qualitative improvements in the education system of Bangladesh. The National Education Policy represents the nation's verdict and ambitions, the spirit of liberation war and independence; it reflects people's aims and beliefs, therefore adhering to the core Constitutional framework. The rationale for this education policy has been adopted to ensure the rights and opportunities for education for all while eliminating all differences (Chandan, 2016). The government stated that, "this is not an education policy of any particular political party - it reflects the aspiration and expectations of the entire nation; this policy is not an absolute entity and the scope for modifications and amendment will always be there and errors can always be addressed." The principal aim is to ensure that the next generation receives a real education and knowledge of science and technology, allowing them to develop into an efficient and skilled human resource who is respectful and committed to people and motivated by patriotic spirit. The fundamental objectives of this policy are to foster the development of human values. It aims to prescribe approaches for citizens to be groomed to become leaders in pro-people development initiatives and the advancement of society. They will evolve into rational and intellectually proficient human beings with ethical perspectives who value their own religion as well as the faiths of all others. Education will assist individuals in growing up to be non-communal, patriotic, and efficient individuals devoid of superstitions (National Education Policy, 2010). Science Education We are now in the age of science. Everywhere we see only the triumph of science. To think about modern life without science is quite impossible. The world has gone so far in science and technological advancement. So, if we want to keep pace with the world today, science education and its spread are very important. Science education is the field concerned with sharing science content and process with individuals not traditionally considered part of the scientific community (Akarsu, 2010). The students may be children, college students, or regular citizens. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process, some social science, and some teaching training. The standards for science education provide expectations for the development of understanding for students through the entire course of their education and beyond. It is high time to be involved in science. But, are we preparing all our people adequately for the future from now? Society faces a range of challenges. Science is the demand of time to deal with them. Knowledge of and about science is fundamental to preparing our population to lead society towards prosperity. Researches clearly show that educational achievement is connected to better health, personal empowerment, active engagement in public affairs and civil society (Zajacova and Lawrence, 2018). Science can mold the population into actively engaged and responsible citizens, creative and innovative, capable to work mutually and fully aware of and aware of the complex challenges that society is facing. Science helps us to explain and understand our surrounding world which helps us to solve complex challenges. It also helps us to guide technological advancement and innovation. Further to estimate and make plans for the future of our civilization. Science education is at the center of broader educational goals for society as a whole. Therefore, the importance of science education in Bangladesh is a demand of time. The primary goal of science is to understand nature. Science has been solving nature’s mysteries through experimentation, observation, and mathematical logic. On the one hand, it satisfies human curiosity, while on the other, it assists human civilization in moving forward by utilizing various technologies derived from scientific knowledge. Proper scientific study can only help the country get to its destination faster. Science Education in National Education Policy 2010: Bangladesh Context The declarations on how science education will be implemented in Bangladesh in National Education Policy 2010 (NEP) clearly states that there will be different portions of teaching science education at different levels. The policy has emphasized more on mathematics education because mathematics is a basic thing to understand and apply science and its discoveries. Therefore, these goals and objectives of science education are as follows: to prepare learners in such a way that they can grow their talent, knowledge practice, and creativity to an international standard; to offer learners with science education in such a way that they comprehend the unique relationship between technology and humanities and how each is complementary to the other; science will be taught as a coordinated discipline. Some of the new provisions incorporated in the National Education Policy 2010 are organization of science fair and math Olympiad at national level; introduction of in-service training programs to train up teachers from primary to the university levels; establishment of science laboratories in all Upazilla under the supervision and financial aid of the government. Motives of the Government The existing government of Bangladesh led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is committed to generating a new image of the country, as stated in Vision 2021. The government has emphasized that up to 2021 there will be the need for laboratories, libraries, computers, etc. to ensure science education (Bangladesh Vision 2021 - Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), 2021). In line with the vision of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the constitutional directives, education is considered as the key means to achieve this. National Education Policy is articulated therefore to prepare the nation to get qualities and skills that will strengthen the nation to work with equal capacity and pace of the global community. Bangladesh’s commitment to education has been clearly stated in its Constitution and development plans with education being given the highest priority in the public sector investments. Education sector allocations are currently about 2.3 percent of GDP and 14 percent of total government expenditure. Maintaining this commitment to the education sector is imperative to achieve Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (Education Ministry, 2021). The present government is designing yet another “new” national education policy. This is certainly appropriate, especially, in a globalizing world in which other countries have hurled themselves into the 21st century by strongly engaging in “knowledge revolution” and by developing their human resources that are affiliated with the global knowledge architecture (Kalsoom, 2021). However, an editorial of a daily newspaper makes a critical observation; that there have been numerous education policies proposed in the past and that most of them have gathered more dust than the attention of those who “could” and “should” have made a difference (Ahmed, 2015). Implementation of Science Education At the national level in Bangladesh, there are three types of education systems. Those are General Education, Madrasah Education, and Vocational Education System. In all systems of Secondary level, there are three streams namely- Science Group, Humanities Group, and Business education group. If we compare the student’s admission group-wise, we will find that the rate of the Science group’s enrollment is decreasing year by year. For increasing the science admission about developing students’ interest in science, many projects were taken by the Ministry of Education. Out of those SESDP, SEDP, FSSAP, TQI, etc. are trying to develop a science curriculum (Education Ministry, 2021). As well as they are trying to improve text materials, teaching materials, train science teachers and develop the physical facilities of science learning by supplying chemicals, equipment even initiating well-equipped science buildings. A study was conducted by a non-governmental organization, Bangladesh Freedom Foundation, in 2012 among 140 students of grade 8. As many as 73 percent of those students stated that they wanted to study science after passing grade 8 (after passing grade 8 students have to choose either science or business or humanities in Bangla-medium schools). However, less than 20 percent of them finally chose science in grade 9 (Khan Chandan, 2017). Challenges of Implementing Science Education It is vital to understand and reduce or avoid implementation risks to adopt science education initiatives. Experts have identified some vital challenges in implementing science education as follows: Lack of Well-equipped Scientific Laboratory According to a report of Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS) published in 2015 states that standard scientific laboratories are the most dominant factors to facilitate the implementation of science education. The report finds that on average about 15% of schools and 31% of madrasahs have no science laboratory (2015). Lack of Financial Resources to Purchase Materials The same report claims that 13.5% rural and 20.3% urban high schools and 23.1% and 13.6% of urban madrasahs purchase equipment regularly and more than 50% of schools and Madrasahs have no provision for the annual budget for laboratory funds (2015). Here we can notice that institutions without the necessary teaching resources and supplies can be under tremendous pressure to implement science education effectively. Lack of Training In Bangladesh in most of the secondary and non-government higher secondary level teachers are not well trained in science education. It is seen that those institutions who have converted into MPO have this problem so much than the others. On the other hand, the bitter truth is that the science teachers in secondary schools and madrasah do not give emphasis much on promoting scientific literacy. Teachers give less emphasis to achieving the purpose of science in secondary schools. Science Education: Failure or Success Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digital Bangladesh’ needs mass science education. Therefore, the government has launched many programs to introduce and encourage people for science education. Of them, the most successful program would be the science fair and math Olympiads. It is a great achievement in science education. Another policy suggested by NEP 2010, was employing those who has a 4-year graduate course in Mathematics will be appointed as a mathematics teacher at the secondary level. It is duly implemented. But this is a half-truth. In rural areas, well-trained science and math teachers are not available. Therefore, science education becomes costly and students cannot afford science education, even they drop out of school. So that is a major failure of science education implementation. Recommendation for Better Policy Implementation An interesting finding of this policy implementation is that, the government has provided technology like a projector in the schools but the schools haven’t any computer, how they will use it. So, this kind of policy implementation is of no use. It is ok on paper, not in reality. The BANBEIS (2015) suggested some steps for successful science education implementation, as follow: 1. Immediate actions should be taken to expand and fill the gaps in the curriculum syllabus and text materials. 2. Every year, the textbook should be examined and any necessary corrections should be made. 3. A sufficient number of science teachers should be appointed in order to lessen science teachers' class loads. 4. Increased pay scales and a promotion scheme to feeder posts should be implemented to entice scholars to teach in general, and science in particular. 5. Science teachers should not be assigned to teach subjects other than science, and non-science teachers should not be appointed to teach science. 6. A laboratory budget should be required on a yearly basis. 7. All laboratories should have a uniform physical facility that includes all necessary equipment and chemicals. 8. Every institution should made science co-curricular activities mandatory. 9. Reading, lectures, and the traditional cook book way of teaching should all be replaced immediately in favor of an investigatory reading approach. 10. Steps should be taken to increase student enrollment in science and develop strategies to accelerate growth. 11. Initiatives should be undertaken to attract intellectual scholars to school teaching and to pique students’ interest in science. 12. A develop standard infrastructure should be provided for science teaching in every institution. 13. National awareness and motivational program to promote science education should be organized, and mass media should be used to publicize science education. 14. It is necessary to do research in order to determine the best methods for implementing activitybased science teaching. Conclusion Science and technology have shown a spectacular growth during last few decades. For any country to maintain the position of strength in the world and to continue its internal growth and development, it is almost essential to ensure that satisfactory standards are maintained in science education. After the independence of Bangladesh, several educational commissions, curricular committees were formed. All those commissions and committees continued the stress to enhancing the science education. However, Bangladesh still suffered from lack of improvement in the standard of scientific education at all levels from school to university. Bangladesh did not have an environment which promoted research and the strengthening of the science education arena. The government initiated the development of a national science and technology policy. In National Education Policy 2010, it was stated that the objective of science education in Bangladesh should be to prepare learners in such a way that they may achieve an international standard by realizing their intelligence through the pursuit of knowledge and creativity. But in practice, it is not happening. The effectiveness of science education in institutions in Bangladesh raises many questions, issues and concerns. Without proper implementation of science education, national development is far to reach rather impossible. So, all steps regarding its improvement are important. All efforts need to be diverted to plan and develop science education at all levels of educations in the country. References Cankaya, S., Kutlu, Ö. and Cebeci, E., 2015. The Educational Policy of European Union. Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174, 886-893 [online] Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042815007570?via%3Dihub> [Accessed 17 October 2021]. National Education Policy 2010. Ministry of Education. Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. [online] Available at: <https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/02.NationalEducation-Policy-2010-English.pdf> [Accessed 17 October 2021]. Chandan, S., 2016. Education Policy - Excellent on paper. [online] The Daily Star. Available at: <https://www.thedailystar.net/supplements/25th-anniversary-special-part3/education-policy-excellent-paper-211432> [Accessed 18 October 2021]. Ahmed, Q., 2015. Education policy: Challenges of implementation. The Daily Star. [online] Available at: <https://www.thedailystar.net/supplements/24th-anniversary-the-daily-starpart-2/education-policy-challenges-implementation70950?fbclid=IwAR1jhGZcIf4gEMln2Emv2U8inVjKdhk43MGKOKyoD9j5mtqQSBm YsYz8jpg> [Accessed 18 October 2021]. Akarsu, B., 2010. Science Education Research vs. Physics Education Research: A Structural Comparison. European Journal of Physics Education, [online] 1(1), p.14. Available at: <https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1053766> [Accessed 17 October 2021]. Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). 2021. Bangladesh Vision 2021 - Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). [online] Available at: <https://cpd.org.bd/publication/bangladesh-vision-2021/> [Accessed 18 October 2021]. Kalsoom, A., 2021. Education Policy of Bangladesh. Academia Letters, [online] Available at: <https://www.academia.edu/6232027/Education_Policy_of_Bangladesh> [Accessed 18 October 2021]. Khan Chandan, M., 2017. Science is out. The Daily Star, [online] Available at: <https://www.thedailystar.net/star-weekend/spotlight/science-the-decline-1450123> [Accessed 19 October 2021]. Lib.banbeis.gov.bd. 2015. [online] Available at: <http://lib.banbeis.gov.bd/BANBEIS_PDF/Pub.%20No.432%20%20Present%20Situatio n%20of%20Science%20Education%20in%20Secondary%20level%20in%20Bangladesh. pdf> [Accessed 19 October 2021]. Moedu.gov.bd. 2021. Education Ministry. [online] Available at: <http://www.moedu.gov.bd/site/page/afc42c25-9023-4412-97e2-730c7897e9c8/EducationGuideline> [Accessed 18 October 2021]. Zajacova, A. and Lawrence, E., 2018. The Relationship Between Education and Health: Reducing Disparities Through a Contextual Approach. Annual Review of Public Health, [online] 39(1), pp.273-289. Available at: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5880718/> [Accessed 18 October 2021].
