UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund

Published purpose

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.