Abstract
COVID-19 has changed the way the whole world used to operate, and education is no exception. Worldwide, a massive transition has been observed in the education sector. During the pandemic situation, the world has experienced the mode of education shifting to a digital platform. This chapter investigates the impact of COVID-19 on entrepreneurs, their challenges, and adoption strategies that have created a pathway for innovation in the private education sector in Bangladesh. A qualitative investigation on 57 observations along with 18 detailed case studies was included in this study. The study sheds focus on primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of education in Bangladesh. The outcome of the study emphasized the strategies taken by the entrepreneurs that focus on the bright and dark sides of the educational sector. Private institutions face technological, financial, and operational challenges during the pandemic time. Urgent initiatives need to be taken by the government or other agencies for addressing these issues for the sustainability of this sector.
TopIntroduction
Most countries in the world faced a lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every sector of life has been facing major setbacks and academia is no exception (Nicola et al., 2020). The development of modern society depends to a large extent on the nature and standard of education. Educators across the globe are facing uncertainties and challenges due to shut down of schools, colleges, and universities; forced rapid transition to online teaching during the COVID-19 outbreak (Daniel, 2020). A lot of short-term and long-term planning along with experimentation in novel teaching-learning and assessment methods were adopted for the successful transition of COVID disruption (Crawford et al., 2020).
This crisis has led to educational experts predicting an expedited use of technology in academia in the post-COVID era. Due to the pandemic situation of COVID-19, worldwide learning mode has been shifted from face to face learning to distance learning. Technological orientation to education has opened up a new scope of innovation in education. Application of different video conferencing related software has been introduced in the education sector. Implementation of technology in education has brought few challenges like limited hands-on digital skills for teaching over the internet, limited engagement with both ends, lack of resources, etc. (Kaabar, 2020). Loss of learning chances has been considered as one of the most abrupt effects of COVID-19 on the education sector in Bangladesh as all the educational institutes have gone for closure since March 17, 2020. So far the government has extended the closure of educational institutions to October 3, 2020, and also has cancelled two of the country’s largest public examinations (Alamgir, 2020b). Moreover, an economic downturn may create a large impact on the education sector as 43.90% of the students’ families which is around 16 million of the population may fall below to the poverty line (USD1.90/day) after this pandemic situation (Uddin, 2020; Poverty and Shared Prosperity, 2018). There is an increasing rate of disparity in higher education in developing countries. While participation in higher education has increased in developing countries, access is not equitable (Oketch, 2003). Household Income and Expenditure Survey-2019 estimated that around 12.70% of the households do not have a single mobile phone, having a smartphone is a far cry, will create learning inequality in the online class environment (Uddin, 2020).
During this crisis momentum, the sudden leap into online learning has also created challenges for those privileged groups of the society whose children can afford to have a smart device to conduct classes at the online platform. This sudden dive put pressure on parents who were not familiar with this technological ecosystem. Moreover, many schools were yet to adopt distance learning due to the lack of technological devices and the adaptability of the teaching community (Wal, 2020). Educational entrepreneurs contribute as facilitators to bring change in the system which helps to exhibit the potential dynamism of available resources. These entrepreneurs play a pivotal role in new knowledge creation which opens up new opportunities (Smith & Petersen, 2006). During the COVID-19 pandemic, though most of the educational institutions are non-operating and even many of them had to shut down due to lack of financial solvency to run the operations and adaptability to the new ecosystem, some privately owned educational institutions have been adapting themselves in this new normal ecosystem in Bangladesh (Ramij & Sultana, 2020; Alamgir, 2020a). These educational institutions have been exploring innovative solutions in case of the classroom environment, assessment methods, and extra-curricular activities using the online platform. The digital learning environment may not be the replication of physical environment where physical meetings among teachers and students had different bondage. This artificial environment has the challenge to replicate a real-life classroom environment which is done by interactive classes or pre-recorded classes using online platforms. The mode of evaluation and extra-curricular activities have been changed drastically which might have physical, mental, ethical, and social consequences.
Therefore, it can be said that entrepreneurial challenges exist in the education sector of Bangladesh and educational entrepreneurs as change agents need to work on innovation to minimize these challenges raised due to COVID-19. This chapter firstly focused on identifying the entrepreneurial challenges that exist in the education sector across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. Secondly, the chapter focused on innovation that may minimize all these challenges across the education sector.
Key Terms in this Chapter
University Grants Commission (UGC): The University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh is the statutory apex body in the field of higher education in Bangladesh. The primary objectives of the UGC are to supervise, maintain, promote, and coordinate university education. Its mission is to ensure quality higher education for Bangladesh.
Monthly Pay Order (MPO): MPO is the government’s share in the payroll of the non-government educational institutions. Under the scheme, the government gives 100 percent of the basic salaries to the teachers of non-government institutions. Infrastructural development, number, and result of the students are considered to be included under MPO.
Public Institutions: Public educational institutes are the schools, colleges, universities, madrashas, etc., which is mainly by the government.
Hifz ul Quran: Hifz ul Quran means memorizing the Quran.
Lockdown: A lockdown is a requirement for people to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks to themselves or others if they can move freely. The term “stay-at-home” or “shelter-in-place” is often used for lockdowns that affect an area, rather than specific locations.
Secondary School: Secondary school is the next step up from primary school. Secondary schools are often called high schools in Bangladesh. At the end of secondary school, students usually take a unified examination which is called Secondary School Certificate exam.
Madrasha: In Bangladesh, Madrasha or Madrasah refers to educational institution where the religion of Islam is taught most of the time with other subjects at primary, secondary and tertiary level.
Private Institutions: Private institutes include different types and levels of educational institutes owned and operated by the private sector. Source of funding of this type of institution is the tuition and investments.
Educational Entrepreneurship: Educational Entrepreneurship can be theorized as a way in which the individual displays innovativeness and risk-taking tendency in education sector.
Higher Secondary School/College: After 10 years of schooling at the primary and secondary level, students who succeed in passing the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination have the option of joining a college for a two-year higher secondary education in respective areas of specialization. This phase of schooling is considered as Higher Secondary schooling or College and at the end of higher secondary school, students usually take a unified examination which is called Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam.
Ebtedayee Madrasha: Ebtedayee Madrasha is primary schooling for students who want to get an education in Arabic mode.
Vocational Education: Vocational education is also considered as Technical education. It helps an individual to acquire technical knowledge and create employment through crafting or trading.
Primary School: A primary school, junior school, elementary school, or grade school is a school for children from about four to eleven years old, in which they receive primary or elementary education.
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered virus. It is also called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; formerly called 2019-nCoV). The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes.