Tremendous opportunity for economic growth in South Asia |
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Expand opportunities for education and employment
The World Bank’s investment climate surveys show that over a fifth of firms in developing countries (including Bangladesh) rate inadequate skills and education of workers as a major or severe obstacle to their operations. Working at very young ages can impair schooling and learning, the report states. In rural Bangladesh, working while attending primary school had a sizable negative effect on the transition to secondary school, and starting to work while attending secondary school had even larger effects on secondary school completion (Canals-Cerda and Ridao-Cano, 2004).
Priorities Focus on quality as well as quantity. While education policies have focused on increasing the number of primary school-goers, the report recommends that the quality of basic education services and skills acquisition should improve. Support remedial programs for youth still in school but performing poorly. In India, a large educational program for younger children had positive results (Banerjee et al, 2004). Young women from the community taught basic literacy and numeracy skills to lagging primary school pupils.
Make lower secondary education part of basic, compulsory education. Children of better educated parents tend to be better educated and healthier. Child immunization rates are higher when mothers have some secondary education.
| | Incentive-based schemes for education Help young people from poor families to finance their education and to offset opportunity costs, the report says. It describes incentive-based schemes, but recommends that the focus be on quality as well as quantity. Channeling conditional subsidies directly to girls aged 11-14 by the Bangladesh Female Secondary Stipend Assistance Program has hugely increased girls’ enrollment—despite strong biases against their schooling. Concerns about learning outcomes are being addressed in later programs. |
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