Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh

National Academy for Educational Management (NAEM)

Secondary & Higher Education Division
Ministry of Education, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205

159th Foundation Training

Course
(25 January 2021 – 24 May 2021)

A report on
Education Status of Uttar Vennabari Village of Gopalganj
District

Submitted by:
Fakruzzaman
Id: 61, Group- 04
th
159 Foundation Training Course
National Academy for Educational Management

Submitted to:
Md. Asaduzzaman
Assistant Direcctor (Common)
1Page

National Academy for Educational Management

Submitted date 11th April, 2021

Declaration
This is Fakruzzaman, hereby declares that the present report on “A report on Education Status of
Vennabari Village of Gopalganj District” uniquely prepared by me after completion of Five days of
Own Village Study and Know Bangladesh program in Gopalganj District. I also confirm that this
report is only prepared for my Foundation training requirement. The works has not been published
in any Journal or Magazine.
This report is my original work and prepared for Foundation training purpose.

Fakruzzaman
Id: 61
159th Foundation Training Course 2Page

Supervisor’s certificate

This is to certify that Fakruzzaman, ID-61, Participant of 159 th Foundation training course, National
Academy for Educational Management has successfully completed the Report titled on “ A report on
Education Status of Uttar Vennabari Village of Gopalganj District” under my supervision and
monitoring. I wish his success at every sphere of life.

Supervisor:

……………………..
Md. Asaduzzaman
Assistant Direcctor (Common)
National Academy for Educational Management
3 Page
 Acknowledgement

The village survey included in the curriculum of 159th Foundation Training Course conducted by
National Academy for Educational Management (NAEM) helps the participants of the course
acquire knowledge to write a formal research paper. As participants I am grateful to NAEM
authority and especially to Professor Ahmed Sajjad Rashid, Director General(NAEM) & Chief
Advisor.

We are also grateful to Md. Asaduzzaman Assistant Director(Common), NAEM for his
supervision and direct inspection in the field. We are also grateful to Professor Shahida Afrose,
Course Director, 159th FTC and other members of the co-ordination committee.

Finally, I would like to give a special thanks to the DC, Gopalganj District, and the UNO of Sadar
Upazilla, Gopalganj for their kind co-operation.
4
Page
 Preface
Own Village Study (OVS) is obligatory tasks designed by National Academy for Educational
Management (NAEM) for Foundation Training Course of BCS (General Education) cadre officer.
Bangladesh is a developing country with high density of people. There are about 87 thousands
villages in Bangladesh. The economy and actual development of Bangladesh largely depend on
these villages. So, every cadre officer should have sufficient knowledge on Bangladesh as well as
his own village. NAEM introduces OVS program for the participants of Foundation Training
Course. As participants of 159th FTC I visited Uttar Vennabari Village, under Gopalganj Sadar
Upzila, Gopalganj. It was an amazing trip. This activity enriched my knowledge about the village.

5 Page
 Table of Contents
Page No
Preface 2
Declaration 3
Supervisor’s certificate 4
Acknowledgement 5
Chapter – 1
Introduction 7
Rationale of the Own Village Study 7
Objectives of the Study 7
Chapter – 2
Literature review 8
Chapter – 3
Methodology 9
Chapter – 4
 Data Presentation and Analysis
Map of Gopalganj District 11
Demographic Features of Gopalganj District 12
Images of Gopalganj Sadar Upzila 13
Basic Information about Gopalganj Sadar Upzila 14
Village Profile: Uttar Vennabari Village 15
List of Tables 16-21
Chapter – 5
Findings 22
Recommendations 23
Conclusion 24
6 Page

Chapter I
Introduction:
Own Village Study (OVS) is a compulsory program of Foundation Training Course of NAEM. It is
a group activity but information was collected by own self guided by the National Academy for
Educational Management (NAEM).
NAEM introduces OVS program for the participants of Foundation Training Course. To know the
actual condition of village of different variables was key purpose of this study. I am really grateful
to NAEM authority for giving me the opportunity to know my own district. As a part of OVS
activity I have selected my own district Gopalganj. It was an amazing experience. This activity
enriches my root level knowledge on Gopalganj district.

Rationale of the Own Village Study

OVS is a part of Foundation Training Course that is very much effective to ensure quality training.
Besides Bangladesh has about 87 thousands villages, the economy and development largely depends
on the development of these villages. So, from this point of view the OVS study greatly helped to
find the problems of villages and sketch out the real scenario of village health conditions especially
of women. Finally the report has made a huge data base for future need. From this study I tried to
find out problems and understand the real circumstances.

Objectives of Village Study

This study is a part of course curriculum of 159 th Foundation Training Course, conducted by
NAEM.The core objectives of Own Village Study (Focused on status of Education) program can be
cited as the followings-

i) To acquire extensive knowledge about the Education status of concerned area.

ii) To ascertain the specific problem of education specially of village education.
iii) To develop the ability of problem solving and analytical competence
7Page

Chapter – 2
2. Literature Review
Gopalganj is a district (zilla in Bengali) in the Dhaka Division of Bangladesh. The district has
about 1,172,415 civilians and its surface area is 1,490 km2. The main city of the district is also
called Gopalganj. It stands on the bank of the Madhumati river and located at 23°00’47.67" N
89°49’21.41". It is bounded by Faridpur district on the North, Pirojpur and Bagerhat district on
the South, Madaripur & Barisal district on the East and Narail district on the West.
The factors that determine the standard of education include: Poverty, Orphanism,
Homelessness, Parenting, Substance abuse, Cultural factors, Religion, Conflicts ,Natural
disasters, Insufficient social aid, Insufficient educational infrastructure, Teacher gaps, Low
qualification levels of teachers, Lack of learning materials, Gender discrimination, Disabilities.

Education is another determinant of socio economic factor of rural and urban people. Not only
will education influence the choice of employment, but also the education will directly impact
thesocio-economic condition. Education does not just refer to your level of education
(Ashraf,Qasim,&Gul, 2019). That is, it does not just refer to whether the level from PSC, JSC,
SSC, HSC, Graduation or Post Graduation.

Education/literacy programs in rural areas of Bangladesh have an effect in enhancing the socio-
economic development of rural people in Bangladesh. The rural people with little or no
education are restricted in their choice of occupations without education. The present study
shows that the proportion of illiterate people is more in areas with less number of primary
schools buteven with up to 10 primary schools in a union (at least one in a ward) the illiteracy
prevails at a fairly high rate. According to Rahman and Hossain (2006) there is a moderately
significant correlation between the level of education of household heads and their income,
expenditure and savings. Increase in income, and also in savings have been observed to take
place with people having higher levels of education. However, although there is a correlation
between level of education and the total household income, it is occupation or profession, and
not the level of education that plays a more significant role in change in the level of income
(Rahman&Hossain,2006).
8Page
 Chapter – 3
Methodology

Sources of Data :
Data were collected from primary and secondary sources.
Sample size : 20 (Male- 13 and Female-07)

Primary Data collection procedure:

- Questionnaire
- Observation
- Focus Group Discussion
- Face to face interview

Secondary data collection procedure:

- Internet
- Various statistical methods
- Union Parishad Office
- UNO Office

- Our target group is the villagers of Uttar Vennabari both literate and illiterate.
Questionnaires were prepared on the basis of education related indicators and observation
which gives a clear and realistic scenario of the impact of education of the villagers
Study Design
It was a cross-sectional study to assess the factors associated with education and correlation of
education status like primary school, Madrasha, high School and college etc.
Study Site & Area
My study area was Uttar Vennabari Village, Gopalganj Sadar Upazila, Gopalganj. It is three
kilometers away from Gopalganj Town.

Sample Size
I randomly selected 20 respondents from Vennabari Village. Here I maintained male and female
ratio.
Ethical Considerations
Ethical issues were considered in this Research.
 The nature and purpose of the study was explained before data collection to the
respondents.
 Formal requests were taken from appropriate authority for getting the permission to
collect data.
 Informed consent was taken from every respondent.
 Privacy and confidentiality regarding the study maintained strictly.
 I did not take any photographs without their consent.
Limitation of the study
 Only near about 20 villagers were interviewed that is small in number for a survey.
 As the study was conducted during office time, no service holder was available at their
residence and we had to meet them after office time.
 Many rural women were reluctant to co-operate with the male participants.
 There was no way to compare to other villages.
 Time was limited. So it was not possible to assess the actual condition within a very short
time.
 Chapter – 4

Data Presentation and Analysis

Map of Gopalganj District

 Demographic Features of Gopalganj District

Indictors Description
Name Gopalganj
Area 1,468.74 km2
Location 23.20°N 89.80°E
Total Population 11,72,415
Population Density 798/Sq
Number of Upzila 05
Unions 68
Villages 889
Male 8,77,868
Female 5,94,547
Literacy rate 58.10%
Female Literacy Rate 60.30%
Male literacy Rate 56.00%
Average Annual Temperature 25.50’ C
Number of Hospitals (including other specialized 09
hospital)
Medical Colleges 1
Number of Public University 1
Colleges (Private and Public) 21
Financial Institutions 15
Main Rivers Modhumoti, Ghagor, Baghiar, Bilrut,
Kaligonga etc
Main Crops Paddy, Jute, Oil seeds, Sugarcane etc

Images of Gopalganj Sadar Upzila

 Basic Information about Gopalganj Sadar Upzila
01 Name of Upazilla : Gopalganj Sadar
 .
02 Name of District : Gopalganj
.
03 Total Area : 391.35
.
04 Total Population : 319934
.
05 Male : 164810
.
06 Female : 157124
.
07 Total No. of Police station : 5
.
08 No. of Union Parishad : 21
.
09 Total Village : 197
.
10 No. of Mouza : 127
.
11 No. of Hospitals. : 2
.
12 No. of Colleges : 5
.
13 Total No. of Madrasha : 6
.
14 Total No. of High school : 47
.
15 Total No. of primary School : 210
.
16 Literacy Rate : 58%
.
17 University : 01
.
 Village Profile: Uttar Vennabari Village
Name of the village : Uttar Vennabari
Union : Borashi
Upazilla : Gopalganj sadar
Total Area of the village : About 3.4 sq. km.
Forest Area : 15%
Cultivable Land : 60%
Residential Area : 25%
Industrial Area : 00%
Population: About : 3144
(Male- 1588, Female- 1556)
High School : 01
Govt. Primary School : 01
Madrasha : 01
Mosque : 05
Temple : 01
Literacy rate : 57.9%
NGOs : 03
Eidgah : 01
Play ground : 01
Climate : Moderate
Sanitation : 98%
Drinking Water : Tube Well
Law & Order : Satisfactory

There are 20 respondents in the village study. Collected Data are presented
and analyzed here.

Table 1.1 : Male and Female comparison

Gender Number of Respondents Percentage (%)

Male 13 65.00
Female 7 35.00
 Total N=20 100.00

Gender wise data presentation

Male Female

35%

65%

Table-1.2: Age of the Respondent

Age Number of Respondents Percentage (%)

15-20 0 0.00
21-30 3 15.00
31-40 4 20.00
41-50 6 30.00
51-60 6 30.00
60+ 1 5.00
Total N=20 100.00

Comment: Most of the respondents (30%) age from the above figure is seen between (41-50)
and (51-60) years and 20% age group is (31-40) Years.
 Age of the Respondent
21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 60+

5%
15%

30%

20%

30%

Table-1.3: Respondents by Religion:

Types of religious Number Percentage (%)
Islam 17 85
Sonaton(Hindu) 3 15
Others 0 00
Total N=20 0.00
Comment: There are no other religions in this village except Islam and Hindu.

Respondents by Religion

15%

Islam
Sonaton(Hindu)
Others

85%

Table-1.4: Marital Status of Respondents

Marital Status No. of Respondents Percentage (%)

Unmarried 03 15.00
Married 15 75.00
Widow 02 10.00
Separate 00 00
Others 00 00
Total N=20 0.00

Comment: Most of the respondents’ are married and a few are single and widow.

Table-1.5: Respondents by number of children

Number of children No Of Respondents Percentage (%)
None 5 25
1 0 00
2 10 50
3 4 25
4+ 1 5
Total N=20 0.00
Comment: Out of 20 respondents 5 has no children, 10 respondents have 2 children, 4
respondents have 3 children and 1 respondent has 4 children.

Table-1.6: Occupational Status of the Respondents

Types of occupation Number of Respondents Percentage (%)
Farmer 6 6
Self employment 2 00
Service 5 10
Business 1 15
Others 6
Total N=20 100.00

Comment: From the above information, we can see that majority of respondents are farmer and
others are day labor.
Table: 1.7: Educational Background of the Respondents
Educational Qualification Number of Respondents Percentage (%)
Illiterate 2 30.00
Literate 5 15.00
Class Five 6 15.00
SSC 1 15.00
HSC 4 10.00
Honors 2 10.00
Total N=20 0.00

Comment: We can see from the table that majority of respondents complete their education upto
class 5 and a few number of them have the higher degree.
.
Table-1.8: Age of the Marriage
Range of Marriage age No. of Respondents Percentage (%)
Bellow 15 03 18
16-17 02 12
18+ 12 70
Total N=17 0.00

Comment: Most of the male respondents got married at the age of above 18 but female
respondent got married under 18.

Table 1.11 Need for separate schools for girls

 Yes/No Number of Respondents Percentage (%)
Yes 20 100.00
No 00 0.00
Total N=20 100.00

Comment: We can see from the table that all of the respondents think that there is a need for
separate school for girls.
Table 1.10 : Is Girls' education disrupted due to child marriage
Yes/No Number of Respondents Percentage (%)
Yes 20 100.00
No 00 0.00
Total N=20 100.00
Image 3: OVS team is taking the interview of the poorest of the poor

Chapter Five
Findings

The result of the field survey is very remarkable and multidimensional. In the study of Uttar
Vennabari village emphasis has been given on the real educational scenario. For this purpose I
have collected data of persons of the villagers. Among the respondents 7 respondents are
women.

 In this study it is found that most of the villagers are self-educated but do not complete
SSC or equivalent degree because of unavailability of College.
 The villagers are aware about the importance of education.
 In the village there was one primary School, Madrasha and a high School for that
maximum villagers complete their primary education.
 A number of children drop out at the end of primary school to help support their families.
  There were no separate school for girls and everyone gives their consent that girls need
separate school.
 The most of the respondents says early marriage deeply affect girls education.
 All of the villagers want to educate their children in Higher education.
 Lack of qualified teachers and poor school facilities.

Recommendations

After completing the study of Uttar Vennabari village, I think following issues can resolve the
existing scenario:

 Early marriage should be stopped to boost girls education.

 Gender-sensitive education need to deliver in the village
 Empowering students
 Solve the problem of The ‘school vs. supporting family’ dilemma
 Building Child Friendly Villages
 Village-Based Organization (VBO) in Improving the Livelihood of the Rural Community
 Provide support for children from difficult family conditions
 Improve the access to education for girls and women.
  Improve quality of teachers.

Conclusion

Village study program opens the gate to come close with the rural people. It is a great
opportunity for the civil servants like us to come in touch of nature and simple and easy going
rural people. From this program I have come to know the real picture of a village and its
inhabitant’s especially on education condition of village people. We think this Vennabari village
represents the all villagers of Bangladesh. This is a real chance to be acquainted with the
educational factors of rural people. These rural people are deprived of many modern facilities.
Health facilities should be increased to improve the socio-economic condition of rural people.
We, the civil servants, have moral responsibilities to make the people conscious and contribute to
the overall development of the life of rural people.