UNICEF

Published purpose

This project ensures children and adolescents in Bangladesh, mainly the most vulnerable and marginalized, have improved access to and utilization of quality, inclusive, gender- and shock-responsive, universal and resilient primary and secondary education services. The COVID-19 pandemic is precipitating a two-pronged education loss and child marriage emergency in Bangladesh despite the government’s remote learning efforts. After nearly two years of living under pandemic conditions, the negative effects of the longest school closure (543 days) worldwide are acutely felt more than ever before. Approximately seven million primary and secondary school children with inadequate access to remote learning programs and facilities are at serious risk of learning loss. Also, school closures, isolation from friends and support networks, and rising poverty have placed girls at heightened risk of child marriage, intimate partner abuse and early pregnancy. This project is designed to ensure that schools are safe to return to and stay safe after the return of boys and girls. The project also supports returning boys and girls recover lost learning and provides essential hygiene and washroom facilities to facilitate girls’ return and retention at school. Building upon ongoing initiatives undertaken by the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) and other actors, project activities include: (1) equipping schools and the education system with the tools, strategies, facilities, supplies and capacities that are needed to ensure that the schools are operating safely with full compliance to COVID-19 prevention protocols; (2) providing hygiene supplies in 15,000 schools and strengthening water, sanitary and hygiene (WASH) facilities in 200 schools; (3) establishing a comprehensive well-being approach and operationalization of Disaster Risk Reduction and Education in Emergencies Framework; (4) establishing electronic monitoring systems and activating referral mechanisms and C2C (child to child) learning platforms in 50 schools; (5) training 300 government officials on Gender and Inclusive Education Action Plan; (6) measuring learning loss and related impact in 100 schools, advocating to address learning loss and design and dissemination of remediation packages and materials to 40,000 students; and (7) developing and dissemination of the GoB’s Blended Education Masterplan in addition to the capacity development of 2,400 government officials and policy makers on evidence generation, knowledge documentation, the Blended Education Masterplan and the strengthening of remote and blended learning provisions. This project’s above-noted, system strengthening interventions expects to indirectly benefit all primary and secondary school children, approximately 3,000,000 in 15,000 schools.