A study on Primary Education was released in July 2008. The nature, extent and processes of corrupt practices in the sector was revealed. It was also drawn heavily from findings of a number of Citizens Report Cards on primary education at the local level conducted earlier so that the study provided a combination of local and national level inputs. The study recommended that:
• Integrity must be ensured in the process of appointment, promotion and transfer of teachers, which has to be based on merit, expertise and experience;
• Sufficient resources should be allocated for skills and capacity building of teachers;
• In order to improve the teacher-student new teachers should be appointed in vacant positions;
• Salaries and benefits of teachers and other officials and staff involved in education system must be enhanced to be consistent with cost of living;
• Positive and negative incentives must be in place for teachers such as rewards including promotion on the one hand and strictly enforceable disciplinary action on the other to prevent erosion of integrity in the teaching profession;
• As an incentive for teachers through the scope of promotion a new tier between assistant teacher and head teacher can be introduced - such as assistant head teacher;
• A 360 degree evaluation system should be introduced for all employees including teachers and other staff at various levels;
• Strict observance of free education for all must be enforced and duly monitored so that no unauthorized payments are collected from the pupils. If fees/subscriptions are required to be collected, they must be determined through consultations with guardians, teachers and upazila level education officials. However, all such payments must be fully documented and duly accounted for;
• Officials and staff employed at the management level in the directorate for primary education and local education offices should preferably have field experience. For those who lack such experience, field visits and appropriate trainings and orientation should be made mandatory so that there is a knowledge and ownership of problems. Vacant positions in management level should be filled up through due process including promotion of deserving candidates and direct recruitment, where necessary;
• The budget for primary education should be increased to meet soaring costs, but more so for training and capacity building of teachers and other costs involved in ensuring higher quality education.
• To reduce burden of teachers because of non-academic duties, an office assistant may be appointed in each school;
• The training materials and training allowance of sub-cluster training for the teachers may be distributed through Upazila Resource Centres;
• Allocation of fund for school visits by Upazila Education Officers should be raised to ensure more intensive monitoring and cost of such visits should be covered on actual basis. Proper monitoring system including tested tools and processes should be developed to ensure objectivity, honesty and professionalism in such school visits which should not be used as a means for corruption;
• Transparency and accountability must be ensured in all procurements and purchases, especially in selection of vendors for class-learning materials;
• To improve gender sensitivity, especially to promote rights and positive attitude towards women teachers and students inclusive programmes of gender orientation should be implemented for all teachers, guardians and managing committee members; Similar awareness programmes should be undertaken in schools to prevent discrimination on the basis of disability, ethnic and Religious identity;
• Awareness programme about rights and entitlements of students and guardians should be Undertaken to prevent deception for lack of information; Mothers’ meetings, SMC activation, Parent-teachers’ interaction, and courtyard meetings involving various stakeholders could be Used as processes. Citizens Charter for each school side bys side with on for the sector as a Whole should also be useful in this regards; and
• A Code of Conduct should be institutionalized for everyone involved in primary education should be adopted with built-in mechanisms for enforcement and monitoring on the basis of zero tolerance to corruption, negligence of duty and other irregularities and violations.
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