Bringing 720,000 out-of-school children back to primary education system

DHAKA, Jan. 2 (NsNewsWire) — The Second Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROSC II) Project of the Government of Bangladesh has established more than 3100 new Learning Centers in 85 new upazilas this year. These Learning Centers, popularly known as Ananda Schoools, are enrolling about 96000 out-of-school disadvantaged children. ROSC II is also supporting about 137,000 children to complete their primary education cycle in more than 5900 Learning Centers in 48 upazilas established under first ROSC Project. The project, with support from the World Bank, will bring 720,000 children back to school in 148 most disadvantaged and remote upazilas, covering roughly about one third of the country.

In keeping with its emphasis to enhance quality of education for disadvantaged children, ROSC II undertook a major teacher training program in collaboration with the Institute of Education and Research (IER) of Dhaka University and the Institute of Educational Development (IED) of BRAC University. 63 Training Coordinators (TCs) and 39 Training Resource Persons (TRPs) have been trained and teaching aids have been developed. These TCs and TRPs are now providing training to the teachers of all currently running Ananda Schools. Besides, an elaborate system to monitor all field level activities in the remote and disadvantaged areas has been developed, incorporating information and communication technologies.

ROSC II is being implemented in the upazilas with high poverty incidence, low enrollment and low completion rates. The children enrolled in the Ananda Schools, aged 8-14, had missed out schooling at the right age or had been compelled to drop out, mainly because of poverty. More than half of these children are girls. The project will help these children complete primary education and move on to secondary education.

ROSC II is also piloting interventions like early grade reading, Learning Centers in selected urban slums, education for domestic workers, and a pre-vocational skills training scheme for Ananda School graduates. A Trust Fund from USAID, executed by the World Bank, is assisting the development of these pilots to be implemented through ROSC II.

The project also attempts to empower the rural disadvantaged communities to establish, own and manage their Ananda Schools with support from the Government and the local education NGOs. The World Bank is providing US$ 130 million for the project. The financing is in the form of a zero interest credit from the International Development Association (IDA) with 40 years to maturity and a 10-year grace period, including a service charge on disbursed funds of 0.75 percent. World Bank Press Release