The SDC's partners in Bangladesh
The SDC’s main partners in Bangladesh comprise both government organisations and civil society organisations.
Partners:
ASHRAI
Directorate of Primary Education (DPE), Ministry of Primary and Mass Education
Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Ministry of Education
Underprivileged Children’s Education Programme (UCEP)
Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE)
Centre for Mass Education in Science (CMES)
BRAC University - Institute of Educational Development (BU-IED)
Bureau of Non-Formal Education (BNFE)
This NGO was founded in 1991 and works with the Adivasi, an ethic minority within Bangladesh that lives in appalling conditions. The organisation helps the Adivasi to set up community structures and provides basic education to children in 70 villages. The schools are bilingual, with Bangla and the major local dialects used together. The schools give preference to girls and to Adivasi children, but they are also open to the extreme poor. Through Lahanti circles (adult basic education centres), groups of women learn basic reading, writing and math skills, but can also identify their problems and take social action to improve their living conditions.
Bangladesh COOF/ASHRAI website
Directorate of Primary Education (DPE), Ministry of Primary and Mass Education
The Bangladesh government has introduced a National Plan of Action for Education for All (2001-2015). The government also launched a Primary Education Development Programme in 2003, with the aim of achieving the Education for All and Millennium Development Goals. However, this programme does not cover non-formal education, and for this reason the Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROSC) project was put in place. The Directorate of Primary Education is responsible for this project, and receives support from a steering committee at the ministerial level. The project is implemented by the ROSC unit of the Directorate of Primary Education.
Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Ministry of Education
The Skills Development Project is implemented by the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) within Bangladesh’s Ministry of Education. This project aims to strengthen the capacities of the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system in order to make it more flexible, inclusive and demand-driven. It creates ties with other initiatives such as the European Commission (EC)-ILO TVET Reform project, which focuses on policy reform. It creates partnerships with Bangladeshi industry and the relevant NGOs.
Bangladesh COOF/Skills Development Project website
The Underprivileged Children’s Education Programme (UCEP) is an NGO founded in 1972. It provides alternative education opportunities to poor slum children, who are not only deprived of education but must engage in hard physical labour to survive. UCEP was created to provide education opportunities to working children with the aim of improving their living conditions.
When the Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) was created at the beginning of the nineties, its aim was to create a popular movement for popular education in Bangladesh. It was a coalition of 15 major NGOs working in basic education. Today, it is a powerful network of 4,000 NGOs active in this sector. The programme works to achieve the Education for All goals, including improved quality and equal access for all to basic education. The Quality Education for All project, which is supported by the SDC and other donors, contributes to achieving these goals. CAMPE works towards strengthening the education sector through various activities such as developing modules, methods and training material and carrying out research and testing, as well as political dialogue and advocacy. The organisation also played a pivotal role in popularising continuing education in Bangladesh, and its recommendations have been taken into account for the Post Literacy and Continuing Education project.
The Centre for Mass Education in Science (CMES) began in 1978 with just a few volunteers. It now employs 2,256 people. Its vision is to enable everyone to benefit from science and the advances offered by new technology. Its mission is to develop human resources in Bangladesh so that each person can take advantage of changing processes and globalisation, and to minimise their effects. The CMES aims to offer diversified education and professional opportunities to underprivileged youths. Across the country, the CMES has 22 field units in which it has created 21 Rural Technology Centres, 60 Advanced Basic Schools and 334 Basic Schools, which each have a system of satellite schools. The schools have space for up to 20,000 pupils, and some 18,000 young people receive schooling in the satellite schools. A specific programme for adolescent girls has been put in place. Its founder and current chairman, Dr. Ibrahim, is a Professor of Physics at the University of Dhaka. This programme is also supported by Enfants du Monde.
BRAC University - Institute of Educational Development (BU-IED)
Brac University’s Institute of Educational Development was created in 2004 and aims to strengthen the capacities of the education system in order to tackle the challenges of developing education, in line with national aspirations and regional priorities. It strives to be a centre of excellence that combines theory and practice in order to make the education sector more professional and to encourage the dissemination and use of skills and knowledge. It aims to support an increase in the level of quality in both the public sector and other education programmes.
Bangladesh COOF/BU-IED website
Bureau of Non-Formal Education (BNFE)
The Post Literacy and Continuing Education (PLCE HD2) project was put in place by the Bangladesh government, the Asia Development Bank, the UK Department for International Development and the SDC. It is implemented by the Bureau of Non-Formal Education, which is part of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MOPME), in partnership with various NGOs. The project aims to improve the transfer of skills of new literates through an appropriate non-formal education system. It also contributes to implementing national non-formal education policy and to making the institutional framework functional.
