Problems of Primary Education: A Comparative Study Between the Rural and the Urban areas under Sherpur District

Abstract

The present study was designed to identify and to evaluate the problems of primary education and to make comparison between the rural and urban areas of Sherpur District under Dhaka Division. A questionnaire with 100 items in the form of statements related to five categories of problems - academic, administrative, environmental, psycho-social and socio-economic was prepared and administered on a sample of 400 respondents (200 from urban and 200 from rural) to collect data. The respondents were equally divided into five categories (school teacher, members of SMC, guardians, government officers and members from civil people with equal number from rural and urban area). Analysis of results reveals the following: 1) All five categories of problems really exist in both rural and urban areas of Sherpur District with high acuteness ( determined by their intensity levels by dividing the mean score of each category of problems into 100 units), in both rural and urban area of Sherpur District. 2) Using t-test all five categories of problems were found to be significantly more acute in the rural than in the urban area. Levels of significance for academic, administrative, environmental, psycho-social and socio-economic problems are found to be .01, .001, .001, .001 and .001 respectively thus proving the five hypotheses for these five categories of problems in the desired direction. 3) All five categories of the respondents excepting the government officers have evaluated all categories of problems as highly acute since their intensity levels lie well above the 50% standard. The government officershave evaluated only academic problems as high acute while other problem as less acute (below 50% standard). It is interpreted that primary school teachers, in addition to their professional duties, have to do innumerous extra works like collection of verities of government information, surveying, improvisation, preparing voter list, preparing monthly report, per three months performance report, home visiting, upabritti distribution etc etc which interfere in their smooth running professional duties. Moreover, schools in the rural area lack regular and proper supervision and monitoring by authorities concerned. The physical, psycho-social and socio-economic conditions of the local people are not congenial enough to meet the challenges faced by the rural primary schools. It is therefore suggested that efforts should be made by the concerned authorities to remove the existing inconveniences so far possible. At same time further research on the issues should be carried out in larger scale as to how to redress the problems.