Boat schooling- an innovation in education
When a student of English literature visits greater Sylhet particularly Sunamgonj he/she will remember the famous lines of S.T Coleridge, the romantic poet ‘ Water ,water everywhere, but there is not a drop to drink.” He /she can change it a little bit thus’ water, water everywhere, no land in sight or water, water everywhere, no school in sight.” We know Sylhet is called the land of haors or permanent marshland covering 30.2 percent of its land. Despite the adverse conditions and isolation, people have managed to live in the haors of Sylhet for hundreds of years. Their fighting with nature has given them courage to adjust with the roughness of natural phenomena which have become part of their lives. But the world has seen quite change in the ways of living, earning, education which have very negligible or no effect on these haor or marshlands of Sunamgonj. Of course, the poets or lovers of nature can soothe their eyes by visiting these areas just for a retreat or sojourn. Permanent living keeping them aloof from the world which we call civilized (?) will not allow our minds and strength. Still ‘homo sapiens’ have lived here for long on the lap of nature surrounded by water. The light of education and modernity hardly touches them. We the plain land people, the fortunate people and the state definitely have some responsibilities towards them. Generally and traditionally in rural Bangladesh boys are the first ones to be sent to school and girls can go to school only if the facility is not too far from home. Often, the nearest school is miles away and for girls this can represent an insurmountable challenge to their schooling. The picture of schooling in haor areas prove extremely miserable. Standing beside the education deprived populace has come under the thought of BRAC Education as it promises to extend education facilities to those who have no option for schooling.
Traditionally the natural location of Sunamgonj haor area people doesn’t send their children to school. They don’t even think of sending them to school in this age of computer and internet whereas we have promised a lot to the nation. They deserve the light of education and it is our duty to reach it to the haor children. From BRAC’s commitment to the outreach population, it started campaign and searched for every possible means and ways and talked to the local boat making people and made them know that BRAC was going to make arrangements of primary education for the haor children. People from all walks of life started welcoming this initiative. In one research it is seen that in greater Sylhet children start going to school at the age of six and their percentage is 52. In plain land this rate is 50, in haor area it is 60 and in tea estate areas it is 73. To make the dream of giving education to the deprived children of haor areas into reality BRAC Education Program launched a boat schooling program at Sunamgjon district. On 26th September 2011 a new chapter has opened in the history of education of the haor people. BRAC Education Program started schools on boats in two villages namely Dhorerpar and Rahamatpur on that day. Each boat will pick teachers and 30 registered students from nearer ‘ hati’. After finishing class they will be dropped in their home. They consider this as an excellent opportunity of becoming familiar with the letters and alphabets. At the launching event Dr. Mahbub Hossain,the Executive Director of BRAC said, “ BRAC works to support government. Our values are reflected in our work.” According to research statistics it is seen that 42 percent of the villages in Sylhet have no primary schools. In terms of literacy rate also it lags far behind the national average. The literacy rate for 7 plus populations is 40.7 percent and for adult population it is 44.4 percent but national rates are 48.5 percent and 52.1 percent respectively.
The Executive Director of BRAC, Dr. Mahbub Hossain, Director- BRAC Education Program, Dr. Safiqul Islam and the Deputy Commissioner of Sunamgonj-Muhammad Yasin Chowdhury were present in the boat schooling launching ceremony to give encouragement to the villagers and children. It also sets an example of GO and NGO-cooperation. Now this boat schooling opportunity is extended to ten villages such as Rahamatpur, Bagani and Aktapara of Jamalgonj Upazia, Dhararpar, Dharerpar of Bishamvar upazial, Bhatital of Dirai Upazial, Raghunath pur of Shalla, Rameshorpur, Jagadishpur and Gazipur of Sonakani and Tahirpur Upazila. Total ten boats will hold schooling program for three hundred children. It exists as an example for others to extend hands to bring the deprived children of the haor people under schooling program. The government can make such kind of arrangements for the haor people as well as for the children who cannot go to school due to flood in many parts of Bangladesh as frequent flood is a common natural phenomenon here. Normal schooling gets hampered every year in several parts of Bangladesh but no tangible arrangement has yet been done except to yield to the whims of nature and accept non-schooling during flood.
It deserves relevance to mention here that in BRAC primary schools 1.2 million students are currently enrolled. It is more encouraging that most of them are female students who usually get the second priority from their parents to go to school. The presence of BRAC primary schools in their vicinity has changed this notion of the parents proving their old and superstitious ideas. So far almost 5 million children have graduated and received basic education from these BRAC Primary Schools, while nearly 95 percent continue to secondary schools and they show far better performance in terms of presence in the class, cultural aspects, participation in educational activities and academic results. Introducing boat schooling has opened new vistas for BRAC Education Program and it cherishes to borrow all out cooperation from all concerned to make it a successful and sustainable project.
Masum Billah :Program Manager: BRAC Education Program
(Ex-Faculty: Ghatail Cantonment College, Sylhet, Comilla and Mirzapur Cadet College and Rajuk Uttara Model College)
Monday, October 24, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed deserves next Nobel Peace Prize
The future recipient of Nobel Peace Prize
This year the world’s most prestigious Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian social worker Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman of Yemen as the recognition of their ‘ non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace building work for promoting peace, democracy and gender equality. Most of the recipients in the award’s 110-year history have been men but this year it shows a striking difference. It gives a new signal and bears a special significance. Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland’s announcement clandestinely explains how much importance has been attached to women empowerment in the global arena in awarding this prize, “We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women achieve the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society.” We congratulate the three glorious women on winning this prestigious award and give thanks to the Nobel Committee for their judicious and subtle decision.
Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist, is the first democratically elected president of Liberia since 2005. She has contributed to securing peace in Liberia, to promoting economic and social development, and to strengthening the position of women. In her reaction she said ‘the award gives her a stronger commitment to work for reconciliation in the war –torn West African nation’. Gbowee, a trained social worker, was cited for her efforts in organizing women, across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia and to ensure women’s participation in elections. She introduced ‘sex strike’ to compel the males to work with them. Liberian conflict killed 250000 people and ruined the country. Karman heads the Yemeni organization Women Journalists Without Chains and has been jailed several times over her campaigns for press freedom and her opposition to the government of president Ali Abdullah Saleh.She took to the streets of the capital along with about 50 other university students in January , demanding the resignation of president Ali Abdullah Saleh. She is the first Arab woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 98 times to individuals and 23 times to organizations since 1901. The youngest peace laureate was Mairead Corrigan aged 32, and the oldest 87-year old Joseph Rotblat. Peace prize actually covers a variegated range of fields. In 2004 Wangari Maathai of Kenya was awarded the peace prize for planting four crore trees to bring change in weather, supply shed fuel and fruits to the farmers and increase the food production. Peace cannot prevail where poverty reigns. The absence of social security and illiteracy cannot bring peace. Very rare examples exist in the world to work against all these ills . This rare work has been done by a Bangladesh son named Fazle Hasan Abed and his organization named BRAC which has already earned name, familiarity and fame beyond the boundaries of this developing nation. The Nobel Committee is entreated to take into consideration and enlist the name of this icon whose contribution to the fields which remain responsible for establishing peace in the globe in the next year Nobel Peace Prize. President Tutu, another Nobel laureate commented on Sirleaf’s prize that’ it is too late.’ People also consider Sir Fazle Hasan Abed’s winning the Peace Nobel Prize is getting late.
BRAC strives to achieve its mission by working with the poor, especially women and children, engaging in multifaceted development interventions, to promote positive changes in quality of life, working towards attaining socially, financially and environmentally sustainable programs. It actively promotes human rights, human dignity and gender equity and helps shape national and global policies on poverty reduction and social progress. BRAC launched its journey in the field of micro finance in Bangladesh in 1974. Today it is the largest poverty focused microfinance provider in the world with 8 million members and USD660 million in outstanding loans. The micro-finance program has achieved this success by implementing a model that focuses on building the structure and system for sustainable microfinance with the ability to reach scale and organizing the poor in a manner that enables them to form a compact for empowerment and growth through micro-finance.
BRAC boasts of a huge non-formal primary education with 38000 one-room primary schools which presently impart education to 1.2 million children. 5 million Students have already graduated from these schools. It also runs 8250 primary schools through 782 NGOs. These schools enroll children often deprived of the option of continuing schooling due to poor economic background, ethnic backgrounds and disabilities. The schools employ local women as teachers and above 60 percent of the students are girls. BRAC runs 26, 350 pre-primary schools and so far 3 million children have been promoted to primary schools. In the first public examination for class five BRAC schools occupied the second position in the country. It has a special life skill courses for both adolescent boys and girls at the village level. It provides scope for socializing, access to reading materials and develops leadership skills. There are 8868 ADP centers all over the country. Its Post-primary basic education intervention develops the capacity of rural secondary school teachers in English, Mathematics, Science and Management. This intervention also works to increase the self esteem among students by engaging in co-and extracurricular activities that again contribute to improving the quality of education. The multipurpose community learning centers or popularly known as Gonokendras provide continued learning and IT facilities for all of the people in the community with minimum education and foster community contribution in spreading education. Gonokendras extend education facilities to the doorstep of the village women, disabled and people deprived of formal education.
BRAC offers primitive, preventive, limited curative care and reproductive health services to more than 100million people in rural and urban Bangladesh through its Essential Health Care services. Community Health Workers and Volunteers of BRAC Health Program make regular household visits to raise awareness on basic health and hygiene issues. They apply the techniques of inter-personal communication, arranging health forums and providing treatment for common diseases and pregnancy related care. 85000 Community Health Volunteers popularly known as Shasthya Shebika and more than 7000 Community Health Workers are trained to offer these services. In partnership with the Government of Bangladesh BRAC is implementing the community based Tuberculosis Control Program covering 88million population. WASH program intends to ensure improved supplies and sanitation facilities to individual households, schools and communities. This program ensures access to sanitation services for 17.5million people of 150 upazials, hygiene education for 38.5 million people and safe water services for 8.5million people across rural Bangladesh.
“ Translating Awareness into Action” is the motto of the Social Development Program aiming at enabling the rural poor especially women to build secure and use socio-political assets to improve their well being, reduce vulnerability ,take advantage of new opportunities, exercise their rights and play a more active role in public life. BRAC promises to protect and promote rights through legal empowerment especially for the poor and marginalized through its Human Rights and Legal Services. It creates awareness on human rights and laws to empower the poor and marginalized through community mobilization and capacity building. BRAC presently works in eight countries other than Bangladesh.
More than one lac regular and irregular staff members work relentlessly for the success and further innovation of this large organization. Awarding Nobel Peace Prize to its founder or the organization will encourage the entire cluster of beneficiaries and give impetus to all concerned for steering the welfare oriented efforts in all parts of the globe extending real opportunities to the people wishing to see this planet as a peaceful abode.
Masum Billah
Program Manager: BRAC Education Program and Vice-President: Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association (BELTA)
Cell: 01714-091431
Email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com
This year the world’s most prestigious Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian social worker Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman of Yemen as the recognition of their ‘ non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace building work for promoting peace, democracy and gender equality. Most of the recipients in the award’s 110-year history have been men but this year it shows a striking difference. It gives a new signal and bears a special significance. Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland’s announcement clandestinely explains how much importance has been attached to women empowerment in the global arena in awarding this prize, “We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women achieve the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society.” We congratulate the three glorious women on winning this prestigious award and give thanks to the Nobel Committee for their judicious and subtle decision.
Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist, is the first democratically elected president of Liberia since 2005. She has contributed to securing peace in Liberia, to promoting economic and social development, and to strengthening the position of women. In her reaction she said ‘the award gives her a stronger commitment to work for reconciliation in the war –torn West African nation’. Gbowee, a trained social worker, was cited for her efforts in organizing women, across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia and to ensure women’s participation in elections. She introduced ‘sex strike’ to compel the males to work with them. Liberian conflict killed 250000 people and ruined the country. Karman heads the Yemeni organization Women Journalists Without Chains and has been jailed several times over her campaigns for press freedom and her opposition to the government of president Ali Abdullah Saleh.She took to the streets of the capital along with about 50 other university students in January , demanding the resignation of president Ali Abdullah Saleh. She is the first Arab woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 98 times to individuals and 23 times to organizations since 1901. The youngest peace laureate was Mairead Corrigan aged 32, and the oldest 87-year old Joseph Rotblat. Peace prize actually covers a variegated range of fields. In 2004 Wangari Maathai of Kenya was awarded the peace prize for planting four crore trees to bring change in weather, supply shed fuel and fruits to the farmers and increase the food production. Peace cannot prevail where poverty reigns. The absence of social security and illiteracy cannot bring peace. Very rare examples exist in the world to work against all these ills . This rare work has been done by a Bangladesh son named Fazle Hasan Abed and his organization named BRAC which has already earned name, familiarity and fame beyond the boundaries of this developing nation. The Nobel Committee is entreated to take into consideration and enlist the name of this icon whose contribution to the fields which remain responsible for establishing peace in the globe in the next year Nobel Peace Prize. President Tutu, another Nobel laureate commented on Sirleaf’s prize that’ it is too late.’ People also consider Sir Fazle Hasan Abed’s winning the Peace Nobel Prize is getting late.
BRAC strives to achieve its mission by working with the poor, especially women and children, engaging in multifaceted development interventions, to promote positive changes in quality of life, working towards attaining socially, financially and environmentally sustainable programs. It actively promotes human rights, human dignity and gender equity and helps shape national and global policies on poverty reduction and social progress. BRAC launched its journey in the field of micro finance in Bangladesh in 1974. Today it is the largest poverty focused microfinance provider in the world with 8 million members and USD660 million in outstanding loans. The micro-finance program has achieved this success by implementing a model that focuses on building the structure and system for sustainable microfinance with the ability to reach scale and organizing the poor in a manner that enables them to form a compact for empowerment and growth through micro-finance.
BRAC boasts of a huge non-formal primary education with 38000 one-room primary schools which presently impart education to 1.2 million children. 5 million Students have already graduated from these schools. It also runs 8250 primary schools through 782 NGOs. These schools enroll children often deprived of the option of continuing schooling due to poor economic background, ethnic backgrounds and disabilities. The schools employ local women as teachers and above 60 percent of the students are girls. BRAC runs 26, 350 pre-primary schools and so far 3 million children have been promoted to primary schools. In the first public examination for class five BRAC schools occupied the second position in the country. It has a special life skill courses for both adolescent boys and girls at the village level. It provides scope for socializing, access to reading materials and develops leadership skills. There are 8868 ADP centers all over the country. Its Post-primary basic education intervention develops the capacity of rural secondary school teachers in English, Mathematics, Science and Management. This intervention also works to increase the self esteem among students by engaging in co-and extracurricular activities that again contribute to improving the quality of education. The multipurpose community learning centers or popularly known as Gonokendras provide continued learning and IT facilities for all of the people in the community with minimum education and foster community contribution in spreading education. Gonokendras extend education facilities to the doorstep of the village women, disabled and people deprived of formal education.
BRAC offers primitive, preventive, limited curative care and reproductive health services to more than 100million people in rural and urban Bangladesh through its Essential Health Care services. Community Health Workers and Volunteers of BRAC Health Program make regular household visits to raise awareness on basic health and hygiene issues. They apply the techniques of inter-personal communication, arranging health forums and providing treatment for common diseases and pregnancy related care. 85000 Community Health Volunteers popularly known as Shasthya Shebika and more than 7000 Community Health Workers are trained to offer these services. In partnership with the Government of Bangladesh BRAC is implementing the community based Tuberculosis Control Program covering 88million population. WASH program intends to ensure improved supplies and sanitation facilities to individual households, schools and communities. This program ensures access to sanitation services for 17.5million people of 150 upazials, hygiene education for 38.5 million people and safe water services for 8.5million people across rural Bangladesh.
“ Translating Awareness into Action” is the motto of the Social Development Program aiming at enabling the rural poor especially women to build secure and use socio-political assets to improve their well being, reduce vulnerability ,take advantage of new opportunities, exercise their rights and play a more active role in public life. BRAC promises to protect and promote rights through legal empowerment especially for the poor and marginalized through its Human Rights and Legal Services. It creates awareness on human rights and laws to empower the poor and marginalized through community mobilization and capacity building. BRAC presently works in eight countries other than Bangladesh.
More than one lac regular and irregular staff members work relentlessly for the success and further innovation of this large organization. Awarding Nobel Peace Prize to its founder or the organization will encourage the entire cluster of beneficiaries and give impetus to all concerned for steering the welfare oriented efforts in all parts of the globe extending real opportunities to the people wishing to see this planet as a peaceful abode.
Masum Billah
Program Manager: BRAC Education Program and Vice-President: Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association (BELTA)
Cell: 01714-091431
Email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com
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