The government directive to introduce free lunch for secondary students, to arrest the high dropout rate, has got almost no response at the grassroots level, reveals an investigation by The Independent.
According to the latest report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BBEIS), the country has a total of 19,040 secondary schools, with 74.6 lakh students, and a 40 per cent dropout rate.
In a bid to stop dropout and increase enrolment, the government, in September last year, ordered officials concerned to start providing free lunch to secondary schoolchildren.
Signed by the education secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, the order had asked all the deputy commissioners, district education officers, upazila nirbahi officers, and upazila secondary education officers, to mobilise funds for the purpose from former affluent students of respective schools.
As the ministry order was not implemented by any of the schools or madrassas, the government, in February this year, had ordered the secretaries of all the ministries and divisions to mobilise funds to roll out a mid-day meal programme for secondary schoolchildren across the country. The Independent had surveyed 50 secondary schools and madrassas in different parts of the country, finding only one school in Manikganj Sadar that has started the mid-day meal programme.
The Afroza Ramzan Girls’ High School, which has nearly 400 students, provides mid-day meal to its students.
“I don’t have to go home for lunch or carry food to school. The food supplied by the school authorities is enough for me,” said Rafika Afroz, a student of class VII.
Upazila secondary education officer (USEO) Kamrunnahar said, “The total number of schools and madrassas in my upazila is 46, but I was able to introduce the lunch programme in one school only. Members of the school management committees are reluctant to spend money or energy to introduce the programme.”
Parmis Sultana, USEO of adjacent Shibalaya upazila, said that she had tried her best to start the lunch programme, but failed due to non-cooperation by the school management committee members and administrators.
Shahidul Islam, USEO of Mirzapur under Tangail district, said he hoped to start the lunch programme in at least two schools, in the next month.
Replying to a question, education secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury said, “Two directives were issued in the last one year, but they got no response. A fresh reminder will be issued, soon, to all the secretaries and deputy
secretaries.”
Primary schoolchildren, in certain areas of the country, are getting high-protein biscuits, and some NGOs are providing free lunch under a pilot project in some areas. The dropout rate at the primary level is nearly
50 per cent.
Courtesy of The Independent
