The British government has guaranteed that 600.000 poverty stricken school children in Bangladesh will continue their education, officials say according to BBC online Tuesday.
The Department for International Development (Dfid = det britiske Danida) has provided over 30 million US dollar for pre-school and primary education. The grant is an emergency package which will ensure schools across the country can stay open during the economic crisis. The money will be used to make up a shortfall in funding education.
The Dfid grant will keep 25.000 non-formal schools open and 25.000 teachers in their jobs for the duration of the school year. It will also help older children by making sure 2.500 after-school clubs for teenagers, 100 community centres and 150 secondary schools stay open.
The funds will go through BRAC – a well established Bangladeshi non governmental organisation, founded in 1972, that provides schools, teachers and after-school clubs for millions of children in Bangladesh.
About 67 million adults in Bangladesh are illiterate (analfabeter), 42 million of whom are women. Less than two-thirds of children complete five years of basic education and three million children in total still have no access to education.
