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Feature Story : Strengthning basic education in BangladeshThe child sits in the centre of her classroom at the top of the hill, surrounded by classmates, and surrounded on all sides by the valleys of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, in Bangladesh. Like children across Bangladesh, she and her friends are beginning the day’s lessons, and just like them, simply getting to school is no mean feat. Yet, at the Alu Tila Kokborok Pre-Primary School a new approach to schooling is bringing together students, teachers and entire communities, and bringing about a system-wide change in education in the Hill Tracts that is improving children’s futures.  Alu Tila Kokborok is in the Khargrachari district of the Hill Tracts region,
which lies in the south-east corner of Bangladesh. The Chittagong Hill Tracts
are one of the most diverse regions in Bangladesh, home to around 1.5 million
people and 11 tribal communities. The signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts
Peace Accord in 1997 marked a major step on the path to peace. Yet a lasting
peace is one built on safety and security, as well as opportunities and
capacity. In 2003 UNDP began a project entitled “Promotion of Development and Confidence Building in the Chittagong Hill Tracts”. The project is designed to provide essential development services and improve the quality of life for all, thereby accelerating the peace process, strengthening post-conflict recovery and building confidence for a peaceful future, using a multi-sectoral, area-based approach. Education is a key component of the project, based on the rationale that providing quality and accessible education builds the confidence of communities. To secure opportunities for communities, in early 2010 a contribution agreement entitled “Strengthening Basic Education in the Chittagong Hill Tracts Phase 2” was signed with funding from the European Union totaling Euro 6.6 million. The Chittagong Hill Tracts have historically low enrolment rates (12% in some communities) and even worse drop-out rates (between 56-65%), which have hampered education efforts. Key to success in this field has been making education relevant and accessible to young people. This has been done by developing Multi Lingual Education materials in seven indigenous languages, and by training teachers in child-centered education techniques and classroom methodologies. The result has been a classroom environment in which children feel comfortable and willing to learn, the surest way of keeping them in school.  The project has also been supporting the ‘bricks and mortar’ of education in the
Hill Tracts, drawing great strength from the community that surrounds the
school. The first phase of the project’s education component saw the renovation
of 45 predominantly community owned schools, as well as new buildings for 60
newly established community schools were built. To identify construction needs,
ensure appropriate design and implementation, and even assist with teacher
recruitment, School Management Committees have been established or reformed,
trained, and supported to take the lead in the running of their schools. These
Committees and their schools are also linked to the institutions of local
governance in the area, which is securing the sustainability and genuine local
ownership of education.It is through this combination of local ownership and engagement, culturally appropriate education techniques, and links to the education infrastructure, that young people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts are securing their opportunities for the future. Certainly, the path to peace and ongoing prosperity is a long one, and building the right environment for a stable future will not happen overnight. But through support to basic education, it is possible to lay the groundwork for such a future in ways that build the confidence of young people and their communities, that preserve traditional cultures, and that open up opportunities for long and peaceful lives. |
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