English as a global language and the question of nation‐building education in Bangladesh

Abstract

The national language Bangla (Bengali), which is spoken by 98% of the people, is foundational to the nation of Bangladesh as a nation. Language played a crucial role in the struggle for independence from Pakistan which was finally successful in 1971. The medium of instruction in state‐provided basic education is Bangla. Nevertheless, as in the colonial period a significant part of the elite is educated in English medium schools and subject to British‐determined curriculum and assessment. English medium private education carries the highest prestige, and the private sector is dominant in secondary education. The role of English is now being enhanced by globalization, which threatens a cultural recolonization of Bangladesh, and by World Bank strategies designed to promote the private school sector. The article discusses these problems and explores elements of a language policy that might be able to enhance both Bangla literacy and competence in English.

Notes

1. 2002 data (Asian Development Bank, 2002).

2. ‘The vast difference between East and West Pakistan, the language question, the difference in the cultural outlook of the people of the two wings and the diverse nature of their economic problems render a centralized form of government unfeasible’ (Pakistan Times, in Gupta, 1971, p. 29).

3. The Bangla language is also known as Bengali. As Bengali it is widely spoken in India and the dominant language in the state of West Bengal, including Calcutta. The 1991 census identified 58.5 million speakers of Bengali in West Bengal (Agnihotri, 2001, p. 190). Bengali is the medium of instruction in 12 states of India at upper primary level and 10 states in secondary education. It is the third most widely distributed educational language in India (Koul & Devaki, 2001, p. 107).

4. In relation to contingency and change in identity, Pennycook (2001, p. 157) argues for a perspective that ‘tends to see the social and cultural as interlinked and the formation of our identities as produced in a dynamic relation between fixed pre‐given categories of identity and the different positions we take up in discourses’. One might add that changing political, economic and social conditions also establish vectors of possibility. All identities (subject positions) are possible, but not all identities are possible in every time and place.

5. All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise indicated.

6. In higher education, there are 13 government sector universities, 49 private universities and over 700 colleges, as well as distance courses in correspondence and broadcast modes. There were 105,598 students in the public universities in 1998. The University of Dhaka, much the biggest public university—20,457 students in 1998—has a good international reputation, but only 2% of Bangladeshi higher education graduates are in science and technology, and research absorbs only 1% of university budgets. Research students are mostly educated outside the country and many do not return. The poorest two‐thirds of the population secures only 15% of the higher education places. There is a burgeoning private tertiary sector but it is loosely regulated and characterized by class sizes averaging 70 students, lack of equipment and indifferent overall quality (BANBEIS, 1999; World Bank, 2000; USAID, 2003). Where a better standard is provided, it is often internationally sourced. In recent years a number of universities and medical colleges have been set up under private initiatives in collaboration with foreign counterparts, using the overseas curricula.

7. But only 28% of primary teachers and 15% of post‐primary teachers are women (Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics, 1999; World Bank, 2000).

8. Note however that if national identity was turned away from the secular‐linguistic spirit of 1952–1971 towards a more Muslim orientation, the Madrasah might become the site of significant investment.

9. In this respect Bangladesh is similar to the British‐ordered educational settlement in Malaysia, also bifurcated between an A level stream and a national matriculation stream.

10. Development programmes have always been positioned so as to better serve the foreign policy objectives of rich countries than the development of the poor. Given that these programmes tend to shift the policy initiative from locals to foreigners, it is not surprising that they have been relatively unsuccessful, for unless local agency is sustained and enhanced then development programmes will not succeed (Sen, 1999). After 30 years of NGO development efforts, more than a third of the population is still below the poverty line (The world fact book, 2002).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Syeda Rumnaz Imam

This article is the revised version of a paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society, 12–16 March 2003, New Orleans.