The critique of Population survey of Bangladesh

The survey of population need to be correctly executed in all levels of population but tin the past what was contemplated in the past was not a synchronous and complete survey for the whole country and can be regarded as a dress rehearsal for the 1881 survey. With the 1881 survey the system of decennial population survey was introduced throughout India including Bangladesh. The system of taking population survey every ten year ending with’1’ continued in this part of the world till 1961. The 1971 survey was interrupted due to the war of liberation and was held subsequently in 1974 after the establishment of the sovereign and independent Bangladesh. With the survey of 1981 the decennial pattern of survey taking was resumed and the survey of 1991 followed in due course. The next survey of the country scheduled for 2001 is likely to initiate the decennial pattern of survey in the first century of the next millennium. Thus in sovereign Bangladesh so far three population surveys on the basis of total count had been held - in 1974, 1981 and 1991. The up to date population survey of Bangladesh particularly since 1981 survey forward are designed on the UN proposal for population and home survey. The Bangladesh population survey can be defined as the total process of collecting, compiling, evaluating, analyzing, publishing and disseminating demographic, economic and social data pertaining to the total population of the country, at a specified time i.e. at midnight of the survey night or the survey reference date. Data are collected from all persons in the entire geographic territory of

Bangladesh extending over all enclaves such as Angorpota and Dahagram, and all the coastal islands located within the territorial waters of the country. Bangladesh population survey also includes a housing survey or a survey of all permanent and temporary living quarters situated within the territory of the country that are actually in use as places of abode and their survey night occupants. The Bangladesh population survey has the following characteristic features:

·         entirely permissible statistical operation authorized by a specific law  and carried out by a government agency

·         details on the basis of individual  persons residing in dwelling and institutional households

·         Explanation of population preceded by counting of floating and population- on- transit on the survey night.

·         Prompt completion of the universal counts using a short and simple questionnaire in OPTICAL MARK READER format.

·         Banding together  the domestic based  population count with the housing survey in one operation

·         Simultaneity of the counting operations in all parts of the country

·         setting up and holding the survey within the defined periodicity of every ten years

·         On the virtual counts, the three-year period prior to the survey taking is utilized in survey planning and the two-year period following in data processing, analysis and dissemination of survey results.

Population surveys in Bangladesh are demeanor under the Survey order 1972 as amended in 1981. Beginning with the 1981 survey, in keeping with the modern practice of treating population survey as a statistical operation, the survey order authorizes the Director General of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics of the Statistics Division under the Ministry of Planning, as the authority in charge of survey taking. In all other previous survey the survey authority vested in the Survey Commissioner who was located in the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Bangladesh survey eliminates foreign nationals including tourists and temporary visitors and enumerates all the Bangladeshi nationals living within the territory of the country on the survey night. Bangladeshi nationals living abroad on the survey night such as workers, students and visitors abroad are also not counted. The survey order authorizes the survey authority to formulate a survey plan for the conduct of the survey and a questionnaire for collecting the survey information on a standardized format. The survey order makes it obligatory for all eligible Bangladeshi nationals to provide answers to the survey questionnaire to the best of their abilities and refusal a punishable act under section 187 of the Bangladesh Penal Code. Answers to the survey questionnaire are required to be given by the head of the household on behalf of all persons in the household present on the survey night or in absence of the head, by the next senior person.