ABSTRACT
The distance education programme in Bangladesh was originally conceived in 1974. The relevant section of the Kudrat-e-Khuda Education Commission says, 揥ith the present education system there should be ample scope for part-time, drop-out and irregular students, so that they can achieve higher education. All the irregular students should have been given scope to sit for the examination, in this case, evening course can be started. To achieve this goal, an Open University can be started like U.K.” Bangladesh joined the world body of open/distance learning in 1981 through an Inter-Ministerial Task Force. Later, in 1985 by offering B. ed. Course 揃angladesh Institute of Distance Education” (BIDE) was established. In 1992, under the act of Bangladesh Parliament, Bangladesh Open University (BOU) was established. The aim of launching the distance education programme was 搕o expand all levels of education, knowledge and science by a diversity of means including the use of technology. It intends to provide opportunities of education to all classes of people and create efficient manpower by improving the quality of education.” Bangladesh has achieved a literacy rate of 54%. Bangladesh has 15,293 high schools, and 66,81,212 students are enrolled yearly. About 50% of the high school students fail to pursue higher education due to financial constraints. Many students who are economically sound also fail to continue higher education because they do not get seats in colleges and universities, resulting in huge drop-outs. Due to serious economic and other social pressures, those who continue to pursue higher education are virtually unable to achieve desired level of educational standard and results. Establishment of BOU and launching of 19 formal and 18 non-formal courses of different level have facilitated enrollment of over 250,000 students from all over Bangladesh. BOU organizes its educational programme through 12 regional centres, 80 local centres, and more than 800 tutorial centres. Each regional and local centre is equipped with a PC, but each regional centre has TV, VCP, VCR, teleconferencing facilities, etc. The enrolled students can use the libraries and multimedia facilities of the regional and local centres. Quality of any education largely depends on the educational facilities offered to students. Among other things, access to information and information resources are highly important. Although there are library facilities in the regional and local centres, these are not computerized and are not networked. Participants of the courses do not get access to the central library of BOU from their own environment or from the access centre. BOU has plans to facilitate access of course participants to information resources from its headquarters in Gazipur, about 30 km from the capital city. But the programme could not be implemented mainly due to financial constraints. To facilitate and ensure an effective and appropriate online distance learning, online access to information and information resources is essentially needed. Bangladesh still has a huge number of drop-outs who can be made worthy citizens by offering them easy education through the open learning/distance education programme. This group of people, if properly educated, can greatly contribute to their economic formation and fate, particularly of the rural people.
1. Introduction
Bangladesh is one of the seven south Asian countries. It is bounded by India on three sides: the west, the north, and the north-east, and on the south-east by Burma, and the Bay of Bengal on the south.
The area of Bangladesh is 1,47,570 sq. k. m. The total population is estimated to be 130 million in 2000, the population growth rate being 2.1 per annum. The density of population was 755 per sq. k. m. in 1991, and it is expected that at the end of 2000 A. D. the figure would be reaching to 881. The percentage of urban people is 20.1, while that of the rural is area 79.9.1
The Muslim ruled the country for over five and a half centuries from 1201 to 1757 A. D. This territory was ruled by the British for nearly 190 years from 1757 to 1947. During 1947 to 25 March 1971, this geographical territory was known as East Pakistan. On 26th March 1971, Bangladesh was declared as an independent and sovereign state.
It is true that Bangladesh is facing acute economic hardship. The per capita income is US $ 350.5 Due to economic constraints and poor social infrastructures, most of the average people cannot stand on stable footings.
2. Education and Culture
揟he foundation of the educational system in Bangladesh was laid down during the period of British rule; the system has three levels — primary, secondary, and higher education.”2 Primary education, which is yet to be made absolutely free and compulsory, for the children attaining 10 year plus, is the base of secondary education divided into two levels — secondary education from class VI to VIII, high school, and higher secondary from IX to XII with public examinations being held at the conclusion of each level of schooling. Schools in cities and towns are generally better staffed and financed than those of rural areas.”2
The recent survey shows, Bangladesh has 15,293 high schools3, and 66,81,212 students4 use to get enrolled yearly. About 50% of the high school students fail to pursue higher education due to financial constraints. A good number of students though economically sound do also fail to continue their higher education because of the lack of seats in colleges and universities, resulting in huge drop-outs. In addition economic stringency and odd social pressures have been stranding many to have higher education that could virtually play the vital role to raise the desired level of educational standard and cherished attainments. Establishment of Bangladesh Open University and launching of 19 formal and 18 non-formal courses on different disciplines have recently facilitated the enrollment of over 250,000 students from all over Bangladesh.
In the educational and cultural fields Bangladesh occupies an important position among the countries of South Asian region. For the purposes of imparting general education, there are 11 Government Universities including Bangladesh Open University (BOU) in Gazipur in a flourishing area (near capital city Dhaka). Unlike other conventional universities, Bangladesh Open University is purely technology based and its aim is to make scope of higher education for the less literate mass people who are engaged in different occupation, etc.
3. Problems in conventional education
It is true that Bangladesh is facing acute economic hardship. The per capita income is US $ 350.5 Due to economic constraints and poor social infrastructures most of the average people cannot stand on stable footings. It is no doubt that it tremendously affects educational atmosphere of the country especially of the rural people. Though Bangladesh has a good number of universities, colleges, schools and vocational institutions, the overall picture of education is not yet appreciating. The land is limited, other than human all sorts of resources are too much limited, and so is the rate of literacy that is not satisfactory. In addition is the increasing population that painstaking and stands as a barrier to the education system. The roots of such pensive causes are:
1. Lack of expert teachers,
2. Limited seats in classes,
3. Faulty education planning,
4. Lack of appropriate education policy,
5. Lack of acceptable curriculum which is an absolute requirement of the present age,
6. Uncertainty in employment after obtaining of higher degrees,
7. Lack of library facilities and services,
8. Political instability, etc.
These problems are regular phenomena and cannot be solved in a day. But witnessing these pictures, one cannot sit idle. Hence it demands some action plans, programmes, steps and necessary positive activity so that the nation can be well educated and upgrade up to a certain dignified level. To achieve the cherished goal possible steps are to be taken and that should be a long-term planning. Educationists, policy makers, and socialites did feel much about mass education and it is early 1970s, the then government had taken the maiden steps by taking the open learning and distance education policy in hand.
4. Distance Education in Bangladesh : a history
The distance education programme in Bangladesh was originally conceived in 1974. The relevant section of the Kudrat-e-Khuda Education Commission says, 揥ith the present education system there should be ample scope for part-time, drop-out and irregular students, so that they can receive higher education. All the irregular students should have been given scope to sit for the examination, in this case, evening course can be started. To achieve this goal, an Open University can be started like that of U.K.”6 Bangladesh joined the world body of open/distance learning in 1981 through an Inter-Ministerial Task Force. Later, in 1985 by offering Bachelor of Education (B. ed.) Course 揃angladesh Institute of Distance Education” (BIDE) was established. In 1992, under the act of Bangladesh Parliament, Bangladesh Open University (BOU) was established. The aim of launching the distance education programme was 搕o expand all levels of education, knowledge and science by a diversity of means including the use of technology. It intends to provide opportunities of education to all classes of people and create efficient manpower by improving the quality of education.”7 By this time Bangladesh has achieved a literacy rate of 54%. BOU organizes its educational programme through 12 Regional Resource Centres (RRCs), 80 Local Centres (LCs), and more than 800 Tutorial Centres (TCs). Each regional and local centre is equipped with a PC, but each regional centre has TV, VCP, VCR, teleconferencing facilities, etc. The enrolled students can use the libraries and multimedia facilities of the regional centres though local centres are yet to be equipped.