DOT Desk: Education in Bangladesh took a major hit from the Covid pandemic, which caused 17.62 lakh students to drop out of educational institutions, according to government data, reports The Daily Star.
A total of 2,49,159 university students discontinued studies between 2020 and 2021, according to a report of the University Grants Commission.
Besides, 62,104 secondary school students and 14,50,719 primary school-level students dropped out in the same period, according to data from Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (Banbeis) and the Directorate of Primary Education.
Educationists say many of these students permanently left educational institutions.
Noted educationist and former chairman of University Grants Commission Prof MA Mannan said the economic crunch caused by the pandemic was one of the main reasons behind the fall in the number of students.According to the Unesco Global Education Monitoring Report 2022, households cover almost two-thirds of the total cost of education in Bangladesh.
“Many parents married their daughters off during the pandemic. Some of them [students] left the country as migrant workers,” said Prof Mannan.Many university students used to meet their study expenses by working as tutors. But they lost that source of income during the pandemic and dropped out of universities, he said.