Education and skills building

The Government of Bangladesh recognizes education as a means of reducing poverty and improving the quality of life for children. As a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Government of Bangladesh has made positive steps towards fulfilling children's rights to education, according to the Education for All and Millennium Development Goals. Education receives the largest budgetary shares every year. But despite significant efforts by the Government of Bangladesh and other development partners, over 50% of children who enroll in the first grade fail to complete primary school. Only about 2% of the children enrolled in school achieve all of the competencies by the end of the fifth grade. As a result the literacy rate in Bangladesh is significantly lower than that of other developing countries, hovering around 53.8% according to World Bank’s World Development Indicator (2011) and much of the emerging labor force continues to lack the basic education skills necessary to help pull the country out of poverty. Bangladesh faces many challenges in improving its education system. The country’s population is expected to reach about 170 million by 2020 putting extreme pressure on its public infrastructure. Currently 45% of the population is estimated to be 15 years old or younger. At least 15% of current school-aged students have never entered school in spite of increases in overall enrollment trends, greater gender parity and substantial increases in public expenditure on education. The estimated dropout and repetition rates for primary school students remains high, with about 40% of all students dropping out by the third grade.

World Vision Bangladesh is playing a role in the sustainable impact on the rights of education by offering two types of learning opportunities in its education projects: formal and informal . Formal education takes place in a school setting and provides a curriculum-based learning environment for children at all levels of instruction. Non-formal education is community-based and may include adult learning programs, children and youth life skills development, and other learning experiences that integrate topics such as HIV awareness and health education.

Facts about Education:

  1. The Government of Bangladesh spends 2.4% of GNP on education. This is the lowest percentage in the region. Both India and Nepal spend 3.2% of GNP on education. Pakistan spends 2.7%.
  2. Primary school enrollment rate is approximately 94%. However only 76% of students complete class 5
  3. Most un-enrolled children belong to socio-economically disadvantaged households and illiterate parents
  4. The primary drop-out rate is 23.6%
  5. The average attendance rate is 60%
  6. On average, students take 6.6 years to complete the five-year primary school program

World Vision Bangladesh Response:

World Vision Bangladesh’s Education Program has directed 16% of resources to quality improvement; spending the majority on in-kind support such as school supplies, school fees and educational institutional support. In order to maximize the impact of the investment in education, the World Vision Bangladesh education strategy must focus resources and initiatives on improving educational quality and learning environments as well as support for full enrollment and literacy as a basic right.

The main objective of World Vision’s Education Project is to ensure a quality educational experience for all enabling competency acquisition for transformational development. Thus, World Vision Bangladesh Education seeks to pursue its call and aspiration through four intervention strategies:

  • Enhanced education quality and delivery
  • Development of community capacity to initiate and manage educational interventions
  • Ensuring school access for all children
  • Building opportunities for under –educated adults

To achieve these intervention strategies, World Vision Bangladesh Area Development Programs (ADPs) organize awareness building programs and services to strengthen the quality of education for the community children.

Key Results:

  • 80% of participants from communities have actively participated in educational awareness building activities to strengthen quality of education program
  • Coaching Program is one of the effective programs of the Education Project for substantial improvements in the performance of weak students. In FY’11 a total of 113% targeted students attended in the coaching program of which 16% were from pre-school level, 51% from primary school level and the rest 32% from secondary level.
  • 91% of students have received educational supports in the form of both cash and kinds
  • 95% educational institutes have received educational supports
  • 92% of student attended pre-school
  • 101% of pre-school children enrolled in primary school
  • 77% of students attended the non-formal primary education (NFPE)
  • 94% of children received alternative education in Children Education Development Committee (CEDC) program
  • 81% of ethnic students received educational support to continue their education properly and similarly
  • 90% of community children, youth, adolescent and parents attended in moral/religious or faith based education
  • 99% of disabled and orphaned people received different types of inputs

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Impact Story:

“I enjoy my schooling very much because it helps me associate with students different grounds as well as teachers. I am aware of child rights and about how to be a good student. The school life changed my life in many ways; I am now able to lead my life in a disciplined manner. Day by day I am acquiring knowledge on behavioral change both physically and mentally.”

10-year old Sonia Akter appreciates her teacher’s contribution to her success in understanding the real meaning of life. Supported by World Vision Bangladesh Sponsorship Project under Chittagong ADP she is getting different types of education facilities and materials from World Vision. She and the other sponsored children are able to participate in different educational activities by Chittagong ADP of World Vision Bangladesh.

Reference:

  1. Education: Current Condition, USAID Bangladesh
  2. Annual Monitoring & Evaluation Report FY 2011