Numeracy in Bangladesh:
Terminal Competencies of Mathematics at Primary Education

UDDIN MD. MOHSIN
Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation
Hiroshima University
Email: muddin@hiroshima-u.ac.jp

Introduction and background•The education system of Bangladesh is divided into three major phases: PrimaryEducation, Secondary Education and Higher Education.

•Primary Education: comprises 5 years of formal schooling (Grade 1 to 5)•At present there are 10 types of primary level education institutions. All institutions
use the government curriculum and textbook, but only government schools receivethe textbooks free.

•The secondary stage of education comprises 7 (3+2+2) years of schooling. It is subdivided into three substages: Junior Secondary, Secondary and Higher Secondary.

•Higher Education: university education•

Over the past decade Bangladesh has made important gains in its efforts towards
reaching the goal of ‘Education for All’. At present the gross enrolment rate at
primary level is 97.5% (Directorate of Primary Education, 2002) and the literacy rate(adults) is now estimated at 62% (DPE, 2001).

The different types of primary level institutions
Fig.1: The different types of primary level institutions
The different Types of Institutions
Government Primary School (GPS)Experimental School attached to Primary Training Institute (PTI)

Number of Institutions
37,671
53

Registered Non-Government Primary School (RNGPS)

19,428Community School

3,268High School Attached Primary Section (H/A PS)

1,576

Non-Registered Non-Government Primary School (NGPS)

1,971

Kindergarten (KG)

2,477

Ebtedayee Madrasah (EM); for religious education

3,843

High Madrasah Attached Ebtedayee Madrasah (H/A MAD)

3,574

NGO-run Full Primary School

170

Total74,031

Numeracy- what does it mean?
•In practice, the term may signify any one of a number of things including basic
computational arithmetic, essential mathematics, social mathematics, survival skills
for everyday life, quantitative literacy, mathematical literacy and an aspect ofmathematical power. These descriptions span a spectrum of personal abilities frombasic skills to high-level cognitive abilities such as problem solving and interaction
with, and attitudes to the society.

•The research literature contains no universally accepted definition of numeracy. Its
initial use in 1959 was in the UK Crowther Report where it was named as the mirror
image of literacy.

•Most definitions of numeracy have emphasized the use of mathematics in real-lifesituations, and the notion that these can be used or addressed by a person in a goaloriented way, dependent on their needs and interests within some particular contexts(home, community, workplace, etc.), as well as on their beliefs and attitudes.

•It is clear from these definitions that numeracy does not refer only to operating withnumbers as the word might suggest, but to a much wider range of skills.

Competency-based Primary Education in Bangladesh•

The Ministry of Primary Education in Bangladesh is concerned about competency-based
education rather than talking about numeracy. In competency-based education students’acquisition of specific competencies is the focus. Such an educational program includes aset of learning objectives that are clearly specified so that their accomplishment can beunderstood in the form of specific learner behaviours and knowledge.

•This idea was first introduced in America in the late 1960’s in teacher education programs,
and was later adapted for other professional educational, and vocational training programsin UK and Germany.

•In Bangladesh, since 1992 a curriculum with 53 competencies has been introduced at theprimary education level and identified as the Essential Learning Continuum. The Essential
Learning Continuum (ELC) is a listing of competencies, which serves as a guide todetermine what to teach and measure among the pupils at the primary level.

•Competency was defined in this way ‘the acquired knowledge, ability and viewpoint whenthose could be applied in real life at the right time could be called competency’ (translatedfrom the original by the author).

Competency-based Primary Education in Bangladesh (continued)•These competencies are based on the age, physical capability and psychologicalmaturity of the children, on changes happening in our society, demands for the future,
existing physical facilities in schools, and on the preparation of teachers at the schoollevel.
• The children are expected to acquire these competencies in the five-year longprimary education, and they are referred to as the ‘terminal competencies of primaryeducation’.
• Out of the 53 competencies, there are five mathematical ones, which together we canconsider to be the Bangladesh version of numeracy.
These are:
• To gain the basic ideas of number and to be able to use them.
•

To know the four fundamental operations and to be able to use them.

•

To apply the simple methods of computing/calculating in every-day life problem
solving.

•

To know and to use the units of money, length, weight, measurement and time.

•

To know and understand the geometrical shapes and figures.

Some surveys have been carried out to assess competency in Bangladesh
and these are outlined below:
Survey-1:•This survey was done by the Campaign for Popular Education-2001, ‘A Questionof Quality, State of Primary Education in Bangladesh’. A total of 2,509 randomly
selected students from 186 schools were assessed in October-November 2000.
The mathematics performance of the students is described on the basis of the fiveterminal competencies.
The research results (survey-1) are summarized below:
Fig.2: Pupils’ achievement
Terminal competencies

Pupils’ achievement (%)(a) Basic number skills

71.2(b) Four fundamental rules

42.1(c) Every-day life problem solving

25.0(d) Measurement units

43.0(e) Geometric figures

55.1

Some of the test items (survey-1) are shown below:••

Four basic rules in Mathematics(a) Addition:(b) Subtraction
55025
8603
4180
519
344
-------------------------(c) Multiplication
864
206-----------(d) Division1421÷7(e) Simplification:
36÷12 ×( 64÷8—2) + 9•

Every-day life problem solving(a) Mr. Khaleque’s monthly income is 8500 taka. He pays 3000 taka for his houserent and 2075 taka for other expenditures. How much of his money is left?

Survey2:•‘An Assessment of the Achievement of Pupils’ Completing Grade-4 of Primary
Education’ was done by Rahman, S. (1999). The main objective of the study was toassess the level of achievement of Grade-4 students in the subjects Bangla, English,Mathematics, Social Science and Science. The researcher selected 24 Upazilas (subregions) and 2 metropolitan cities as being representative of the entire country.
Consequently, a total of 3,663 sample pupils (boys 1789 and girls 1874) enrolled in
Grade 5 were drawn randomly from 244 schools.
The research results (survey-2) are summarized below:
Fig.3: Pupils’ pass rate
SubjectPupils’ pass rate, % (who obtained50% and above marks)(a) Mathematics

51.41(b) Bangla

30.36(c) English

24.38(d) Social Science

83.73(e) Science

59.30

Conclusion•

To tell the truth, Bangladesh has not yet any explicit official definition ofnumeracy.

•According to many practitioners and researchers, numeracy has a great roleto play for individuals throughout their whole life, from childhood to death,and has implications for their education and lifelong learning in schools andin their professions.

•On the other hand, ‘terminal competency’ implies that it is the outcome of 5years of compulsory schooling that can be applied in real life.

•According to the few survey results, like those above, pupils’ performance isfound unsatisfactory in all the five mathematics competencies. Especiallypupils are weak in solving problems in real life, in the four fundamental rules
and in measurement.

•In conclusion, we can simply say that pupils’ acquired levels ofcompetencies in mathematics are far below those expected in Bangladesh.

Conclusion (continued)•So finally, I find myself asking this question: what is/are the best way/s toovercome this problem:￭ by developing an agreed definition of numeracy throughout education?
￭ by initiating a regular centralized evaluation system for primary school
children?
￭ by emphasizing a greater focus on numeracy in the textbooks?
￭ by emphasizing the concept of numeracy in teacher training program?

THANK YOU SO MUCH