Bangladesh

Foundation for Freedom currently has 2 school in Bangladesh.

About Bangladesh

Nestled between India and Myanmar, Bangladesh became a nation in 1971 after a bloody war of independence that separated it from Pakistan. The fledgling country has seen its share of natural disasters and famines, as well as political turmoil and military coups, but since 1991, when a system of parliamentary democracy was established, it has experienced relative stability and economic progress.

A country of 140 million, Bangladesh has the highest population density in the world excluding a handful of city-states. It is also one of the world's poorest and least developed countries, ranking 147th out of 179 countries in terms of the Human Development Index. At the same time, per capita GDP has more than doubled since 1975.

Moreover, due to an economic growth rate averaging 5 percent since 1990, the poverty rate has fallen by 20 percent¹. Most of this economic growth has been fueled by industrialization in Dhaka and other urban centers, where the government set up export processing zones (EPZs). These EPZs have benefited from Bangladesh's large labor pool, low wages, and hardworking workforce, successfully attracting significant amounts of foreign investment.

Educational Challenges

The Government of Bangladesh has made primary education a high priority. The Primary Education Compulsory Act of 1990 makes education through grade 5 mandatory and free for all students. In addition, approximately 14 percent of the government's annual budget is allocated toward education².

Nonetheless, Bangladesh still faces many educational challenges. It has one of the largest primary education systems in the world, 

• 18 million primary school aged children (ages 6 to 10 years)³

• student : teacher ratio in government primary schools is 59:1⁴ – which is challenging for students and teachers alike.

• There is no formal library system for primary and secondary schools. 

• School hours are limited to four hours a day⁵

• 56% of children never enroll in secondary school⁶

• Almost 9 million illiterate children in Bangladesh⁷

As a result of these and other factors, school completion rates and academic achievement remains low.

As in many other developing countries, educational access is particularly poor in rural areas, where schools are few and far between and children are expected to work to contribute to family income.  This divide is reflected in the differences in literacy rates between rural and urban areas: 

• Rural adult literacy: 52%
• Urban adult literacy rate:  82%⁸

Additionally, gender discrimination is deeply entrenched in families and society at large, preventing many girls from attending school and fulfilling their academic potential.

References:
(1) The World Bank
(2) 2006, UNESCO Institute for Statistics
(3) UNICEF
(4) Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics
(5) Education Watch Report
(6) EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009
(7) 2007 UNESCO Institute for Statistics
(8) Ministry of Primary and Mass Education
(9) Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics