Compare and Contrast Grameen Shikka (Education) and Bangladesh Rural
Advancement Committee (BRAC) Education in Bangladesh
Dr. Kazi Abdur Rouf
Visiting Scholar
Curriculum, Teaching and Learning (CTL), CIDEC
University of Toronto
And
Noble International University (USA)
Presented at CIDEC Speakers Series, University of Toronto
Date: September 05, 2013
About Grameen Shaktii (Education) and BRAC

Grameen Shakki (GS) and BRAC are two national level NGOs in Bangladesh

GS established in 1997 and BRAC established in1972

BRAC-BEP established in 1995

GS and BRAC-BEP attempted to fill up the gap of child illiteracy in Bangladesh.
Objectives of the study

To research on NGOs managed community child education managed by Grammen Shikka and
BRAC education program in Bangladesh and

To look at Grameen Shikka and BRAC–BEP services and their implementation strategies that
they are using.
Research Questions
• What are the educational services provided by GS and BRAC? How are they operated?
What are the benefits that children and youths get from GS and BRAC education program?
• How many GS/BRAC graduates graduated at different levels? How many of them get employment
or get involved in business?
• Do GS and BRAC graduated scholars encourage and coach neighboring poor children for
schooling and studying
• What are the perceptions of GS and BRAC scholarship recipients regarding child marriage,
dowry, and women’s autonomy in the family?
• Do GS and BRAC run their programs as revenue generating social enterprise? If so, how they
generate revenues? How could they manage their programs if donations discontinue or reach selfsufficiency?
• What are their future expansion plans/services?
Methodology
•
Study and analyze BRAC-BEP, GS and community education other agencies texts
in Bangladesh
•
Talk with BRAC and GS executives over Skype in order to understand their nonformal education systems, services, strategies and monitoring devices in Bangladesh
•
Use researcher personal working experiences in educational program in Bangladesh
Literacy status in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a high drop-out rate in both primary and high schools

Primary enrolment rate is 86%

14% children never attend school

About a half of the primary entrants drop out before completion of grade five



Nearly half of the primary graduates did not enroll in high school

Adult male literacy rate is 54% and adult female literacy rate is 41%
More than a third of the high school entrants drop out before completion of high
school (BRAC, 2013)
(Source: UNICEF Bangladesh, 2005).
Author attachment to Grameen Bank (GB) Center Schools and the
background of Grameen Bank Center Schools (1981-1988)

In 1982, Author first informally initiated the Grameen Bank Luhuria Center School, Tangail,
Bangladesh



Coached literacy and numeracy basic education for 56 poor children in Luhuria

Aim of GB center schools was to develop schooling behavior among marginalized children and
coach to learn basic religious education

Center school activities had increasing impact on elementary school enrollments, class
performances, and happiness among children.
Children loved physical exercises, chorus songs, arts, and other fun activities
Author attachment to Grameen Center Schools and the background of Grameen Bank
Center Schools (1981-1988) continue-2

With the help of UNICEF Bangladesh, the author collected 10,000 literacy books and 10,000
numeracy books in 1983

In 1984-1988, GB center schools numbers reached 400,000 across Bangladesh



All GB center schools were managed by GB borrowers themselves

However, child education slogans/ campaigns were continued by GB through 7 th slogan of GB
sixteen decisions.
GB did not have a budget for center schools
Grameen Shakkti different Child Education Programs
•
Child Development Center
•
Parenting/Care giving Education
•
GS-Children in Slum and Development (CISD) Non-formal Education Project for Slum Children
•
Life Oriented Education Programme (LOEP)
•
Early learning for Child Development (ELCD)
•
Early Childhood Care Development (ECCD) Advocacy and Training
•
Vocational Training Center (VTC)
•
GS Scholarship management program
•
Grameen Employment Services Ltd.
•
Pipeline Water Supply System (PWSS)
•
Arsenic Mitigation Program (AMP)
•
Grameen Bank Student Loan Program
GS Child Development Center
•
Children 3-4 years are serving in GS-CDC
•
Teaches children's different motor, cognitive, language, social and emotional skills
•
Deals with children physical and intellectual development of the children.
•
25-30 students in each pre-school
•
GS takes responsibility of getting its pre-school children admitted to primary
schools
•
More than 100,000 children in Bangladesh provided pre-school services (PSE)
•
ELCD program runs in collaboration with UNICEF Bangladesh and Bangladesh
Shishu Academy.
Parenting/Care giving Education
•
GS has provided parenting training to more than 135 thousand
parents/caregivers in different districts of Bangladesh
GS-Children in Slum and Development (CISD) Non-formal Education Project for Slum
Children

GS-CISD started in late 2005 in Dhaka City

600 students were served in 20 schools
Life Oriented Education Programme (LOEP)
•
Integrated non-formal functional education program for poor rural adolescent girls
and women
•
To impart literacy, numeracy skills, life oriented skills related to health, legal
matters, child development
•
To create civic consciousness, social services, income generation and
•
To provide business develop knowledge etc.
•
This program closed in 2004 because of fund constraint.
Early Childhood Care Development (ECCD) Advocacy and Training
•
GS organizes ECCD orientation/advocacy workshops for Grameen Bank officials
•
For GB members and their neighbors
•
To empower caregivers of children for the cognitive, linguistic, social and emotional
development of their children from conception to age 5
•
GS has trained more than 2,500 Grameen Bank officials, local government leaders
and officials, school teachers, religious leaders etc.
•
More than 4,000 Grameen Bank center leaders; and
•
135,000 Grameen Bank borrowers on early childhood care and development.
Vocational Training Center (VTC)
•
GS-VTC center is in Savar, Dhaka established in 2008

It provides vocational training to poor school-dropout young men and women

AS of January 2013, it provides 2000 youths with vocational training

Trained Grameen Shakti 350 technicians/field assistants on solar installations and electronics

Training courses are
 Industrial sewing, garment machine mechanics, electrical & electronic control

Telecommunications, computer fundamentals and applications, mobile phone servicing

Solar home system management etc.

GS also provides scholarships to poor trainees

Scholarships cover 50-80% of the total course fees of the trainees

Training fees range from ($7-$25) depending on the trade courses.
GS VTP graduates –as of September 2011
Descriptions
Boys
Girls
Total
Electrical & electronic control
100
0
100
Elec. House wiring/fan motor rewinding
47
0
47
Electronics
87
2
89
Industrial sewing
81
98
179
Dress making & tailoring
17
147
164
Solar
154
0
154
Mobile phone servicing
164
0
164
Garment machine mechanics
85
0
85
Computer applications & Internet
347
192
539
Computer hardware
7
0
7
Graphics
5
3
8
Total
1,094
442
1,536
GS Scholarship Management Program
•
GS Scholarship management program has started in 2002

GS scholarships are available to who are studying business, engineering, medicine,
and other subjects in universities

More than half of GS scholars are girls

As of September 2011, more than 3200 poor students have received scholarships
Pipeline Water Supply System (PWSS)

PWSS Works in Gopalpur and Majidpur in Titash two villages of sub-district of Comilla
district

Provides education on pure drinking water to Adults and Children

5, 000 villagers are benefited from PWSS

Many NGOs visit the project, learn about the project and replicate to other villages in
Bangladesh
Arsenic Mitigation Program (AMP)
•
Arsenic water is a serious problem in Bangladesh
•
Half of the total area of Bangladesh has effected by arsenic problem
•
AMP works from 2001-2008 in several areas of Bangladesh.

Programs are
(1) Alcan filter for filtering Arsenic water
(2) Rain Water Harvester (RWH) etc.
Grameen Bank Student Loan Program

Grameen Bank Student Loan Program started in 1997

Author was assigned to draft the student loan manual for GB borrowers’ children in 1997

Then GB stated education loan to borrowers’ children

Student loans are financed by GB

As of February 2013, GB provided $ 34.27million of student loans to 51,814 students (male
39,817, female 11,997)
•
GB Student loans are for university education, medicine and engineering education and study
abroad (Grameen Bank Annual Report 2012).
Grameen Employment Services Ltd

It is a manpower company to train unemployed young men and women interested
to work abroad

Assist them find job overseas
Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC)

Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) is a non-governmental
organization that was founded in early 1972

It initially focused on assisting refugees returning from India to their newly
independent country Bangladesh

BRAC main program is to provide non-formal primary level education for poor
children in Bangladesh, which is well marketed all over the world
BRAC Education Program (BEP)

BEP objectives are:

To provide quality primary education for children outside formal education institutions

To improve access to education, especially for girls and

To enhance the success of formal primary education through pre-primary schools.
BEP Focuses
•
Social issues: child rights, child marriage, gender, dowries, sexual abuse
•
Substance abuse, child trafficking, domestic violence, acid throwing, divorce, terrorism, etc.
•
Health issues: reproductive health, STIs, HIV/AIDS, family planning
•
Personal hygiene, etc.
•
Life skills: decision-making, negotiations, effective communication, problem-solving, critical and
creative thinking, etc.
•
BRAC’s educational activities started in 1985 with just 22 one-room schools
•
Activities covered three upazillas, served less than 700 children administered by five paid staff.
BEP Focuses continued-2
•
Today, BEP operates on a national level
•
•
•
Reaches 470 of the 482 upazillas in all 64 districts of Bangladesh
•
To date, 3.8 million children have graduated from BRAC schools
•
More than 2.3 million children have successfully completed the pre-primary school level.
Across the country, almost 1.1 million children participate in BRAC schools in Bangladesh each
year
BEP Programs are in five major areas
(1) Non-formal Primary Education is one of the major programs through which BRAC
provides

Quality primary education to underprivileged children

School premises are rented from the community.
(2) Pre-primary Schools program prepares children across the country aged 5 + for primary
school entry
(3) The Adolescent Development Program (ADP) aims at

Improving the quality of life of vulnerable adolescents, especially girls

Training them in vocational skills, health awareness (including reproductive health) and
leadership.
BEP Programs are in five major areas-continued-2
(4) Multi-Purpose Community Learning Centres

Provide continued learning and IT facilities for all the people in the community

Foster community contributions towards promoting education run by local women.
(5) Mainstream Secondary Schools Support MSSS initiative

Builds the capacities of rural secondary school teachers

Helps to improve classroom pedagogy as well as the overall quality of education

Average number of learners per facilitator ranges from 25 to 33

MSSS activities covered three upazillas, served 700 children administered by five paid
staff (BRAC-BEP-2013).
GS Sponsors


Till June 15, 2011, GS received more than 180 million taka ($2.4 million) from 183 persons and
institutions from all continents of the world
To support financially more than 2,600 poor students across Bangladesh

Funding organizations are Her Majesty Queen Sofia, Spain, Citi Foundation, the Shirin Merali
Foundation, USA

Hunter Foundation UK, A. L. Jameel of Saudi Arabia, Vidar Jorgensen USA

The Green Children Corporation USA, Grameen Foundation USA, NOKIA,

Rotary International District 2670, Japan.
BEP all programs are donor-supported

BRAC-BEP funders are:

DFID, CIDA, Royal Netherlands Embassy, Royal Norwegian Embassy



Oxfam, NOVIB, UNICEF and Aus-Aid

Average cost per learner is USD 23 per year.
According to the 2007 audit report of BRAC, the annual cost (January to December) of the
Education program of BRAC is BDT 3,322,331,606 (equivalent to USD 47,461,880) according
to current conversion rates)
Compare and Contrast BRAC-BEP and GS
Similarities of these two agencies Education Program

BEP and Grameen Shikka education programs’ main target groups are:

Children aged 5+ eligible for pre-primary schooling

Out-of-school children (8-14 years)

With a special focus on girls; youth (15-24 years)

Poor populations and unemployed

Children with special needs (children from poor urban slums, remote rural/hard-to-reach
areas, children with disabilities)

Both organizations schools provide a child-friendly environment-individual care within
neighborhoods areas

Both organizations deal with basic literacy skills, basic numeracy skills and life skills

Both have strategies for community and parental involvement in the schools.
Similarities of these two agencies Education Program continued-2
•
Both agencies have the School Management Committee (SMC) for each school management
•
Both believe community active participations are important for effectiveness of the education
•
Both organizations deal with basic literacy and numeracy skills
•
Life skills and income generation; family literacy and intergenerational learning
•
Environmental education, community development; and female gender preference
•
Both agencies education services based on community co-operation and involvement
•
They practice effective monitoring and evaluation processes that are crucial to the ongoing
enhancement of the program.
Dissimilarities BEP and GS education program

GS has pre-school program for general literacy basics but BRAC BEP has pre-primary and
primary schools programs

BEP school premises are rented from the community, but GB center schools run in GB center
in free

BRAC education program has continuously flourishing from 1997

However, GB did not put resources or receive donations and ask for government support, so
Grameen center schools were not supported by GB.
Suggestions
•
Needs assessment efforts are important to address effective quality education to poor children in
rural Bangladesh
•
Comprehensive family service programs also needed to the vulnerable poor children
•
Daniel J. Weigel & Sally S. Martin (2006) identified nine key Early Literacy and School Readiness
Issues that GS and BRAC could consider family support services for the disadvantaged children
to improve their education
•
Effective monitoring and evaluation processes are crucial for the ongoing enhancement of the
program
•
GS could include these tips in its lesson planning and learning.
Assessing community need and family support services
•
Daniel J. Weigel & Sally S. Martin (2006): Identified nine key early literacy and school
readiness issues
•
Suggested for a Strategy for Assessing Community Needs for effective quality education for
children.
Nine Early Literacy and School Readiness Issues
Source: Daniel J. Weigel & Sally S. Martin (2006)
Suggestions

GS has started trade courses, technical skills training for the rural unemployed youths that are
very effective to get employment in Bangladesh and abroad

However, BRAC could include trade courses, technical skills training programs to rural
unemployed youths in Bangladesh

Although BRAC education program objectives are to provide quality primary education for
children outside formal education institutions;

To improve access to education, especially for girls and

To enhance the success of formal primary education through pre-primary schools

However, it could also focus on child poverty and parental literacy issues.

Moreover, they could include parent workshops or home-visitor programs in their programs

Home visit could help NGOs know more about the children and their family issues.
Conclusion
•
GS and BEP all programs are not available in each village in Bangladesh
•
There are still many poor children and families who have not had access to programs that fit
their needs.
•
Before offering new or additional programs, educators and service providers would be best
served by assessing the needs of their local community.
Thank You
Comments /Questions