Role of Education in Reducing Environmental Pollution in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh is recognized to be the worst sufferer by natural catastrophes for its geographical location. Its population density is very high. Literacy rate of the people is also very low. So consciousness regarding environmental preservation is not strong. But education is a vital factor related to human life. It is regarded as the fundamental tool for achieving harmonious development of body and soul. Significant and sustainable development is also impossible without education. In this respect government policies, awareness of the people, find causal relationship among education, environmental pollution and economic growth is important. In this thesis, the data from primary survey and secondary sources are used to show the impact of education in reducing environmental pollution. Primary sources of data are collected from 280 respondents of Dhaka and Rajshahi divisions of Bangladesh purposively through questionnaire and interview during March to June 2013. On the other hand, for finding the short and long run causal relationship among education (literacy rate), environmental pollution ( CO2 emissions) and economic growth (GDP) in Bangladesh, the annual time series data from 1974 to 20 IO are used. The econometric methodologies; unit root test, cointegration and Granger Causality test and Error correction modeling (ECM) approach are applied. Among 280 respondents, 220 are students, 50 are teachers and IO are intellectuals. We involve these three groups of respondents to get about their knowledge, attitude, practice and policies. The findings of primary survey on environmental knowledge, attitude and practice reveal that the most of cases they have the positive and expected trend of awareness of the respondents regarding environmental pollution. But in several cases they have the misconception. The Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and the Phillips-Perron test are used to check the unit root problems of the secondary data. Results from Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test show that the variables CO2 emissions, literacy rate, GDP in education, industry and transport share in GDP are non stationary in level form but they are found to be stationary in first difference form, indicating that they are integrated of order one. Cointegration testsused to show the long run equilibrium relationship among the variables. Both the Maximum Eigen value and Trace Statistics show that there is one cointegration relation at the 0.05 level of significance among education, environmental pollution and economic growth. ECM results show that there is unidirectional causality between education share in GDP and literacy rate i.e. more education share in GDP intensify literacy rate and increase in literacy rate creates awareness among the people that reduces environmental pollution. As the long run relationship among education, environmental pollution and economic growth is found, more spending on education help create awareness among people. The implication of the result is that education as an independent variable stimulates for reducing emissions, i.e., environmental pollution in short and in the long run.