Bangladesh will move closer to its goal of providing universal primary education for all children by 2015 with the help of a 51 million US dollar grant, just approved by the World Bank. The funds will be used to increase access to schooling for thousands of disadvantaged children and improve the quality and efficiency of non-formal schools, called Learning Centers.
The Reaching Out-of-School Children Project will enroll half a million out-of-school children in non-formal schools to be managed by communities with support from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
The Learning Centers cater to children from the poorest segments of society, who do not have access to primary education. They usually provide three years of primary education, after which many students move on to government-approved primary schools. About 8-10 percent of students, or about 1,7 million, attend non-formal schools in Bangladesh.
About 3 million children from 6-10 years old are not in school. As part of its National Plan of Action for Education for All, the Government of Bangladesh is committed to providing Education for All by 2015.
Towards this end, the Government is currently implementing the second Primary Education Development Program (PEDP II), a program focusing on the formal primary education sector, which is supported by 11 development partners, including the World Bank, with the Asian Development Bank as the lead partner.
The Reaching Out-of-School Children Project will complement PEDP II by providing quality education to out-of-school children and those attending non-formal institutions.
– Focusing on investments in the formal primary system, as PEDP II is doing, is extremely important, says Amit Dar, World Bank Senior Economist and co-task manager for the project.
– However, fostering partnership s among the government, communities, and NGOs will provide access to good quality education in learning centers for hard-to-reach children. This will contribute significantly towards achieving Bangladeshs Millennium Development Goals, added he.
The project has four components that will:
– Improve Access to Quality Education for Out-of-School Children by providing education allowances for eligible students and grants for non-formal Learning Centers where the students enroll.
– Increase Communications and Social Awareness about the importance of primary education and about the projects benefits and impact so that communities will be encouraged to open new Learning Centers and expand existing ones.
– Establish a sound structure to manage and implement the project through Project Management and Institutional Strengthening.
– Determine project effectiveness through Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research so that new approaches for providing quality education to hard-to-reach children can be tested.
– The project is testing the effectiveness of alternative approaches in improving education for out-of-school children in Bangladesh, says Hena Mukherjee, Lead Education Specialist and co-task manager for the project.
– Since one of the projects goals is to learn about the effectiveness of these approaches, a comprehensive evaluation system is being put in place. We will be able to test whether the project is meeting its goals and provide information for real-time corrective action.
Early lessons from the project will be critical in making needed adjustments along the way. The World Bank looks forward to working with the government and other development partners to enhance the design of the project and mobilize adequate financial resources to help Bangladesh meet its Education for All goals.
The 51 million US dollar grant is from the International Development Association, the concessionary arm of the World Bank. This is the second grant from IDA to Bangladesh this year. On June 6, IDA provided a 8,4 million US dollar grant as part of the Power Sector Development Technical Assistance Project.
For more information about World Bank activities in Bangladesh, visit: www.worldbank.org.bd
Did you know?
Despite being one of the poorest countries in the world, Bangladesh has made significant progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, as shown in its high level of commitment to education during the last three decades. Nearly 18 million children are enrolled in government-approved primary schools. Net enrollment rates have risen from 64 percent in 1991 to over 80 percent in 2000. Primary school dropout rates have been cut in half from 60 percent in 1991 to 30 percent in 2000. Girls enrollment rates nearly equal those of boys.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
