Three Parameters of Urban K-8 Education During Pre- and Post-Covid-19 Restrictions: Comparison of Students of Slums, Tin-Sheds, and Flats in Bangladesh

According to a proverb often referring to the misery that prevails in restricted if enlightened surroundings, “It is dark under the lamp.” Urban areas have emerged as centers of excellence as far as economic development is concerned. People coming from diverse cultural, professional, and economic backgrounds live in cities. Gaps their economic conditions have led to various clusters of people much different from their rural counterparts. Comparing between urban and rural areas, studies often argued that urban education is exceptionally better. Adopting “descriptive analysis” of both secondary and primary data, this study notes that students living in urban slums suffer in terms of three parameters (access, attendance, and academic performance) of K-8 education. Government-run education neglects students living in the slums and this enabled NGOs to step in. Students living in tin-sheds receive education mainly through the government’s initiatives, while those living in flats attend private, international, and elite-public schools. Students who live in tin-sheds cannot compete with those who live in flats, let alone the slums. The Covid-19 pandemic has further aggravated this crisis. Substantial policy intervention by the government may be the only viable way to ensure developing nations’ K-8 urban education is safe from criticism.