Quantitative Service Delivery Survey in Education

The goal of this study is to quantify on a nationally representative scale the extent of teacher absenteeism in Bangladesh. Unannounced visits were made to government run primary schools and government-aided but privately run secondary schools to assess how many teachers were present. The research also looked into the pattern of teacher absence (teachers' individual characteristics, quality of facilities, community characteristics, institutional settings and practices). All schools were visited during official hours of operation.

The survey covered 99 primary and 100 secondary schools. All selected primary schools were revisited; secondary schools were visited only once. Round one of the primary schools survey was completed within March-May, round two within June-July, 2003. The secondary school survey was carried out between May-July, 2003.