Strategic Objective 4:

Better education for the poor (MDG 2)

A- introduction

Background sector

Bangladesh’s 1973 Constitution states that universal primary education should be achieved by “establishing a uniform mass orientated and universal system of education and extending free and compulsory education to all children”. Much of the current policies and practices in primary education are based on the 1990 Primary Education (Compulsory) Act, a national strategy to achieve Universal Primary Education (UPE). The present Government has set clear and ambitious targets in terms of universal enrolment in primary education in 2011 and universal literacy in 2014. Bangladesh has made significant progress in terms of increased enrolment and gender equity in primary and secondary education.

At present, a comprehensive Education Policy is being prepared. This policy will be based on a long-term and comprehensive vision on the future of an education system that responds to the challenges and opportunities of Bangladesh as a democratic, secular and pluralistic middle-income country with a competitive labour market. Important pillars of such a vision are: a) access to unified and equitable primary and secondary schools; b) expansion of tertiary education opportunities ensuring quality with equality; c) reversing the quality decline; d) access to skills in a global economy; e) bilingualism (Bangla and English) as a goal; f) governance and management in education; and g) financing of the education system.

Why is EKN active in this sector

The Netherlands support the education sector in Bangladesh because accessible, good quality education is crucial in fighting poverty effectively. It reduces the risk of social exclusion, enables people to develop, earn an income, gain control over their lives and take part in society. Good education promotes social and economic development which is basic conditions for becoming a middle-income country. We also support this sector because of our international commitments to the education MDGs and EFA goals. Substantial gains can be achieved in Bangladesh in terms of reducing the number of out-of-school children and, improving the literacy rate and meeting the learning needs of young people and adults.

What is objective EKN in sector

The Netherlands aims at achieving that all children, youth and (young) adults, and in particular the more ‘hard-to-reach’ among them -, access and complete better basic education and training opportunities. Therefore, we support programs that focus on reforms and innovations that are essential for improved and expanded services and that will make a difference in the classroom, at the literacy/learning centre or at the workplace in terms of learning outcomes, competencies and (life) skills.  

B- cooperation with GoB and donors

Cooperation with Government of Bangladesh

The Netherlands use the existing joint mechanisms for policy dialogue and consultation with the Government. With the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME) and the Department of Primary Education (DPE) in particular, quarterly coordination meetings take place to discuss and review sector progress and performance.

Important donors in the sector

The important donors in the education sector are the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, United Kingdom, Sweden, the European Commission, Canada, Australia, Switserland, Japan, UNICEF and Denmark.

Donor Cooperation

Donors are organized in the Education Local Consultative sub-Group (ELCG) that is part of the Local Consultative Group composed of Heads of Missions. The Netherlands is the chair of the ELCG. The ELCG is an open forum or platform for coordination, consultation and information sharing that also includes representatives from INGOs and local NGOs. Meetings are often attended by GoB staff. The ELCG meets at least four times per year and an annual 2-days retreat is organized with guest speakers for more in-depth discussions.

Various Consortia are operational that are related to specific programs or projects. The funding agencies of the Primary Education Development Program (PEDPD) are organized in a Consortium that meets on a monthly basis and that reports back to the ELCG. The funding agencies of the Brac Education Program (BEP) are also organized in a Consortium, as well as the funding agencies of the Institute of Education development (IED) of BRAC University and those who are supporting CAMPE, an umbrella organization of education non-governmental organizations.

C- Activities which support objective

The Dutch education budget is growing. As from 2007,  almost 15% of the total development budget is spent on basic education in developing countries and in particular on improving access to and the quality of basic education, on promoting functional adult literacy and on basic technical and vocational education and training.

In Bangladesh, the Netherlands supports formal and non-formal basic education programmes. The budget for education in 2009 is around € 20 million.

The Netherlands supports the  second Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP II, 2004-2009): a comprehensive programme of support for formal primary education with a total budget of US$ 1,101 million. The programme focuses on (i) organizational development and capacity building, (ii) quality improvements in schools and classrooms, (iii) infrastructure development, and (iv) equitable access. A consortium of 11 development partners supports this programme. The Netherlands contribution to this programme is € 45 million. The programme became fully operational in 2005.  A ‘no-cost’ extension of the Program till July 2011 has been has been requested by GoB during the Joint Annual Review of May 2009.

In non formal education, The Netherlands supports various activities. The biggest share of the Dutch contribution to non formal education goes to the BRAC Education Programme (BEP). Apart from one classroom primary education, BRAC’s Education Programme also covers pre-primary education, which prepares young children for the primary education system. This is an area where the Government and the NGOs co-operate. The programme furthermore includes an adolescent development programme focussing on life skills for adolescents. The BRAC Education Programme started in July 2004 and will continue until June 2009. A consortium of 5 development partners supports the programme. The Netherlands currently holds the chair of the consortium. The Netherlands’ contribution to this programme is € 50 million. A proposal for a new phase of BEP 2009-2014 is under consideration and review.

The Netherlands furthermore supports the Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), a coalition of more than 450 education NGOs. CAMPE promotes Education for All through advocacy, social mobilization, and by enabling NGOs to deliver their non formal education programmes. CAMPE works with the Government, civil society and member NGOs. Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, together with Swiss Development Cooperation and Oxfam Netherlands supports CAMPE’s “Quality Education for All Programme” (2007-2012). The Dutch contribution to this programme is € 2.290.000.

The Netherlands also supports the Institute for Educational Development of BRAC University. Together with Swiss Development Cooperation and the Royal Norwegian Embassy, an initial period of two years (2007-2008) was supported by these partners each with a budget of € 580.000. This support enabled BU-IED to carry out its core activities in the field of primary and secondary education, with a focus on improving learning outcomes, teacher development and education research. A second phase (2009-2014) was approved in March 2009 with a Dutch contribution of € 5 million. Swiss Development Cooperation is also supporting this second phase till the end of 2011. The coming years BU-IED will focus on educational research, development of learning packages for primary and secondary education, the running of a resource centre for early childhood education and care as well as on academic training/courses and publications.

The Netherlands education programme also provides support to the ILO project to the Time Bound Programme for prevention and elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) in the urban informal economy of Dhaka. This programme withdraws children from hazardous working conditions and provides their guardians with viable alternatives. Major project strategies are social protection of the children and their guardians, monitoring, verification and tracking of this group of children, advocacy and awareness on WFCL, and capacity building of beneficiaries, partners and stakeholders. Non-formal education and skills training are key activities of the project. The Dutch contribution to the five year programme (2007-2011) is € 8.3 million.

In December 2008 a contribution agreement was signed with Friends in Village Development Bangladesh (FIVDB), an NGO based at Sylhet, for a period of five years and a budget of € 30 million. Its program ‘Jonoshilon’ envisages substantial scaling up of FIVDB’s work in primary education, adult literacy and livelihood training, expanding its present coverage of 112 schools in 204 villages to 512 schools in 850 villages. The program will be implemented in communities that are particularly disadvantaged in terms of access to primary education and literacy training.