Education is a catalyst for human development. Considering this fact access to basic education is made free and compulsory for all citizens in Bangladesh. Government has been taking numerous policy measures and programmatic interventions to enhance the access to education and thus to achieve the target of 100 per cent access to education by 2015. However this study using secondary research method reveals that despite of achievements in some areas there are still notable gaps between achievements and targets.
This study uses an analytical lens constructed with rights and ability notions of access. It analyses the present scenario in access to education to explore to what extent the education system is providing rights of access to education. At the same time it examines the efficiency of the education system and policies to what extent those are able to empower the students with ability to enter, sustain and succeed in basic education.
The study has found commendable achievement in enrollment and gender disparity. However, from the ability perspective the education system is still not enough inclusive with ethnic and socio-economic disparity. Special measures need to be taken in the area of access to education of children with special needs, access to education of indigenous peoples and more investments in infrastructure.
At a glance
- Secondary analysis uses Annual Primary School Census 2014 data spanning 2005–2014
- Applies Ribot and Peluso’s access mechanisms to rights and ability
- Examines PEDP III’s Indigenous Peoples Framework and its proposed activities
- 11 tables
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Focus and objectives of the project
1.2 Research questions and associated propositions
1.3 An overview of the analytical framework and its application
1.4 Research methodology
1.5 Overview of the project
SECTION 2: ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Access as ‘right’ and ‘ability’
2.3 Access ‘right’ and ‘ability’ in relation to education
2.4 Access ‘right’ and ‘ability’ in relation to education in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals
2.5 A synthesis
SECTION 3: EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Policy commitments: recognising the ‘right’ to access education
3.3 Policy commitments: recognising the ‘ability’ to access education
3.4 Policy achievements: fostering the ‘right’ to access education
3.5 Policy achievements: fostering the ‘ability’ to access education
3.6 The special case of Indigenous Peoples’ access to education
3.7 Beyond 2015: access to education and the underlying significance of the Sustainable Development Goals
3.8 A synthesis
SECTION 4: CONCLUSION
4.1 Main findings & their significance
4.2 Policy recommendations
4.3 Suggested lines of future research
4.4 Concluding observations
Objectives and Topics
The study examines access to pre-primary and primary education in Bangladesh through the related concepts of legal rights and practical ability. It asks which national policies and programs foster access and to what extent they have increased it, considering both entry into education and the capacity to continue and succeed.
- Education as an entitlement and an effective opportunity
- Bangladesh’s legislation, education policies and programs
- Enrolment, dropout, completion and education-system efficiency
- Barriers affecting Indigenous children and other disadvantaged groups
- Inclusive education and the Sustainable Development Goals
Excerpt from the Book
Access as ‘right’ and ‘ability’
Access is very broad and complex concept. Generally it indicates the degree of accessibility to and availability of anything. It can be defined as the ways through which any form of entitlement can be enjoyed. Access can be conceptualized with particular significance in terms of goods and services. Goods and services are generally offered with the degree of accessibility and availability depending on their nature. Accessibility and availability depend on approaches, actions and organizations (Thynne & Peters 2014, p. 2-3).
Access involves arrangements concerning the easy and ready availability of goods and services. It requires specific action to ensure easy derivation or enjoyment of accessibility to goods and services making them readily available (Thynne & Peters 2014, p 5; Ostrom & Ostrom 1977). In order to foster the availability and accessibility it is also necessary to eradicate the barriers which might cause the exclusion, particularly in regards to public goods and services. Eradication of any kind of barriers is very important in making the goods and services easily accessible and readily available to avoid any form of exclusion, especially in case of public goods.
The broad notion of access consists of two dimensions: ‘right’ and ‘ability’. A right or rights can be defined as the legal, justified, recognized and protected entitlement or claim to anything (Burton 2007). In relation to access, rights are embedded in legal grounds for an access-seeker to claim an entitlement or benefit. Ability concerns the actual capacity of an access-seeker to enjoy the rights of access through various means inherent in the system. The combination of rights and ability requires that accessibility to any specific good or service comprise three dimensions: availability to all without any legal or other basis of discrimination, easy access without any physical barriers, and no economic conditions that limit or deny enjoyment or benefit (Sidoti 2000; Ribot & Peluso 2003, p. 153).
Access in broad sense indicates opportunities and abilities to derive benefits from any resources, systems, institutions, objects, symbols and relationships. Access has been conceptualized focusing on the flow, recipients, mechanism and time of actual benefits from certain things i.e. policies or resources or relationships (Ribot & Peluso 2003, p. 154). It is the process where individuals or groups enjoy the entitlement to particular service by systematic entrance or through distribution system. The derivation of benefits through an access process depends on ‘who does get what, what ways, and when’ (Ribot & Peluso 2003, p. 154). Access to particular goods and services generally indicate both the entitlement of that individual or group to enjoy the benefits from that service as well as enabling environment and ability to derive the benefits.
Chapter Summaries
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION: The introduction sets out the research questions, the rights-and-ability perspective and the secondary research methodology. It describes the scope and structure of the study.
SECTION 2: ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK: This section develops an approach to access that combines rights with the practical ability to benefit. It connects education, inclusion and social justice to the Sustainable Development Goals.
SECTION 3: EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS: The analysis examines Bangladesh’s education policies and programs alongside indicators of access and educational progression. It pays particular attention to Indigenous Peoples’ access and the implications of the post-2015 goals.
SECTION 4: CONCLUSION: The conclusion brings together the study’s findings and discusses their significance. It also presents policy recommendations and possible directions for future research.
Keywords
Bangladesh, basic education, pre-primary education, primary education, education access, right to education, ability, inclusive education, education policy, school enrolment, school dropout, Indigenous Peoples, Sustainable Development Goals
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this study about?
It examines access to basic education in Bangladesh as both a right and a practical ability to benefit from education.
What are its central themes?
Its themes include education policy, access and inclusion, educational progression, disparities affecting disadvantaged groups, and sustainable development.
What are the main research questions?
The study asks which national policies and programs foster access to pre-primary and primary education in Bangladesh and to what extent they have increased access.
What research method does the author use?
The author uses secondary desktop research, analysing existing policy documents, published research and education data, including Annual Primary School Census 2014 data covering 2005 to 2014.
What does the main analysis cover?
It examines policy commitments and programs alongside indicators such as enrolment, repetition, dropout, completion, teacher training and infrastructure.
Which keywords characterise the study?
Key terms include education access, rights, ability, Bangladesh, inclusive education, primary education and Sustainable Development Goals.
How does the study distinguish rights from ability?
It treats rights as entitlements that can be claimed and ability as the practical capacity to benefit from those entitlements.
Why does the study discuss Indigenous Peoples separately?
It gives special attention to Indigenous children’s access and reviews existing studies because the census data used in the analysis do not report disaggregated findings for ethnic minorities.
How are the Sustainable Development Goals relevant?
The study relates access and inclusion to the post-2015 development agenda, particularly the goal of inclusive and equitable quality education.
- Quote paper
- Asim Dio (Author), 2015, Access to education as ‘rights’ and ‘ability’. A case study of access to basic education in Bangladesh, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/338439
