And just because you have colleges and universities doesn’t mean you have education.
Malcolm X

THE education system in Bangladesh is very complex. There are lots of schools, colleges, universities and technical and professional institutions. It is indeed commendable that we have a large number of places where one easily can get education. But unfortunately when we talk about quality or environment of education in our country, we are far behind from the global standard.
Nowadays, school-going children in urban areas have to take a lot of books and note books with them almost every day. It is really an unbearable task for a 5 or 6-year-old child. Moreover, most schools and colleges do not have playgrounds where a student can play. And the more shocking scenario is that many schools are not willing to encourage, or create environment for, extracurricular activities. It is now commonplace in our country that when a child returns spending 6 to 8 hours in school, s/he has to go for tuitions or coaching classes right away. And this extra coaching is needed for the same subjects that have been taught by the teachers in school!
So s/he does not get sufficient leisure time for developing of his or her inner ability or habits. Most parents discourage their children from any kind of hobbies such as painting, singing or dancing. They think it is just wasting the precious time of their children. Parents eventually give continuous pressure on children to get better grades. It is like a soul sucking competition for them because they constantly compare their child with rest of the class. Sometimes poor children are beaten by their parents for getting slightly poor marks in comparison with other ones. In many schools and colleges there are some teachers who do not treat equal with every student. They give highest attention to the students with better grades and do not pay enough attention to the rest of the class who ironically need it the most.
In our country talent is determined through the process of getting highest marks in the class. And through this practice a student may get GPA 5 in SSC and HSC examination but fail to develop himself or herself properly. It appears that most of the students can hardly think anything outside of their curriculum. They even are not allowed to read the books outside the syllabus.
If a nation is not highly creative or does not have knowledge or interest in science or invention, it cannot continue her journey towards development. It is high time that society changed its mindset about children. At the same time every educational institution should focus on encouraging every student to develop his or her inner abilities and following their interests.
Hurain J Husna
Dhaka