Project profile — Strengthening Quality Education for Children in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

• Bangladesh (100.00%)

• Education policy and administrative management:
Education policy and administrative management (11110) (15.00%)
Education facilities and training (11120) (10.00%)
Teacher training (11130) (20.00%)
• Primary education:
Primary education (11220) (45.00%)
Early childhood education (11240) (10.00%)

• Disability (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (principal objective)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (principal objective)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)

The project aims to improve learning for pre-primary, primary-aged and out-of-school girls and boys in the Cox's Bazar district of Bangladesh through gender equitable quality education. Cox’s Bazar is one of Bangladesh’s poorest and most vulnerable districts, with poverty well above the country’s national average. The influx of over 740,000 Rohingya refugees since August 2017 has increased economic tensions and competition for scarce resources, including for jobs and income, among the Rohingya and the local communities, as well as having a serious impact on local infrastructure and services. This situation is particularly difficult for women and children who are the most vulnerable. The project aims to: (1) work to make schools safer for children, while improving gender sensitivity in teaching; (2) improve learning assessment practices; (3) strengthen school leadership while helping to make leaders more gender-sensitive; (4) provide a comprehensive gender-sensitive school effectiveness package; (5) contribute to gender-equitable quality education for 102,000 children (54,000 girls); and (6) build the capacity of teachers, school leaders and community members in the host communities of Cox’s Bazar. Project activities include : (1) providing professional development packages for teachers covering topics such as lesson planning, class management, and age and gender-sensitive teaching practices; (2) providing learning supplies to 120,000 girls and boys in host communities; (3) developing and supporting the implementation of school-level improvement plans, including school grants, to make schools more friendly to girls and to children with disabilities; (4) supporting the development of disaster management plans and standard operating procedures in schools; (5) increasing the capacity of communities to support inclusive education through Parent Teachers Associations, with an emphasis on the importance of girls’ education; and (6) developing and implementing a gender-sensitive capacity building plan for district leaders and school leaders.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved gender-sensitive teaching and assessment practices adopted by trained teachers in targeted schools in host communities; (2) increased access to equitable education and learning opportunities by early learners and girls and boys in Cox's Bazar District, including by those affected by emergencies; and (3) improved district and sub-district level systems for planning, supervision and monitoring of gender-sensitive education.

Results achieved at the end of the project (March 2023) include: (1) provided technical support to the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME) in planning and implementing the School and Classroom-based Assessment (SCBA) policy pilot (2020-2021). Also completed the data analysis, report writing and reviews, and revision of manuals and tools; (2) trained more than 100 teachers from 100 host community primary schools in applying the SCBA in their schools. Training included theory and principles of applying gender-sensitive teaching methods under SCBA; (3) identified critical understaffing of the Primary Teacher Training Institute (PTI) (12 out of 17 posts vacant) as a major reason for a lack of qualified new teachers. This was remedied by the recruitment of 12 instructors to support the teacher training institute’s ability to function effectively; (4) trained 195 teachers (98 women and 97 men) who obtained their Diploma in Primary Education (DPEd). The training successfully transitioned to remote learning in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions; (5) supported 300 schools in Cox’s Bazar Sadar, Chokoria, Ramu and Ukhyia upazilas, and reaching 134,902 children (70,653 girls and 64,249 boys); (6) supported the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) Office to capacitate School Management Committees (SMCs) in 537 government primary schools in the host community. This strengthened the understanding of their roles and responsibilities to support equitable learning for boys and girls; (7) developed the capacity of 537 SMCs (including training on disaster risk reduction) through the Department of Primary Education Office, reaching 537 head teachers (189 females and 348 males); and (8) 593 government primary schools from Cox’s Bazar developed School-Level Improvement Plans (SLIP). They received grants for implementation, benefitting 151,769 students.

• Proactive disclosure
• Related activities: Strengthening Quality Education for Children in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh - Response to COVID-19