EDUCATION for the IGNORED

Every child has the right to education, regardless of social background. Reality differs from how things should be though. The reality for many Bangladeshi children does not involve going to school; the ones living on streets, for example. To bridge the gap between street children and classrooms, individuals and foundations are taking initiatives to provide them with free or affordable, quality education.

JAAGO foundation has 8 schools in Bangladesh that provide free of cost schooling to 1400 underprivileged children. The schools include both academic and extracurricular activities.  The first free of cost English medium school in the country is also the first of these 8. Starting with one school and 17 students, JAAGO schools have now widened their reach to Rayerbazar and Banani (in Dhaka), Gazipur, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Gaibandha, Bandarban and Madaripur. While the JAAGO Schooling Programme aims to provide quality education to the underprivileged, it also recognises the need to provide education in remote and rural areas. Understandably it is not easy to get qualified people in rural areas to teach the children. This is why 5 of the schools use an online schooling system. Children in these remote areas go to the schools and learn using WebEx. There are two facilitators in the classroom who supervise the children. The main teacher from Dhaka (JAAGOs Teaching Centre) conducts classes via video conferencing technology and the internet.
Each child's education expenses are met by a sponsor. They also pay for the child's nutrition and health. The sponsors even receive the children's report cards, visit them and some even spend their holidays with them -- bringing smiles on the children's faces by giving them gifts. Each sponsor pays around BDT 1500 per month.
JAAGO was faced with difficulties teaching slum children. While the kids were eager to learn and attend school, many couldn't because they had to keep shifting from slum to slum. “This frequent moving was due to their parents searching for work in other areas,” explains Muntaka Khan, Vice President of Volunteer for Bangladesh, Dhaka District. Did JAAGO give up on these slum kids? No. “That's when we decided to introduce a 'Sewing Centre'. Many of the slum children's mothers now have a fixed job at the Sewing Centre and more children are able to attend our schools.”

Last year the first batch gave their PEC Exams (the board exam in Bangladesh for class 5 students). JAAGO foundation held their first ever convocation in April 2014.
Six university students, in the past year, started working towards a common goal. It was about providing English medium education for slum children and making sure they get the opportunity to live up to their potentials. They have already managed to give 12 slum children some basic education after which the children were admitted to Time International Academy (an English Medium School). This is what 'Smallfoot' has done for the 12 children from Mirpur slums.
The people behind Smallfoot are Ahnaf Ibne Salam, Shitab Daiyan Akash, Isbat Ibn Hasnat, Tausif Farhan Alam , Gulshan Jubaed Prince and Shuvo Charles Gomes. One of the co-founders, Prince, says, “We think separate schooling for underprivileged students is not a very smart idea. If they are not assimilated into the mainstream education system, they will never get the urge to be successful in life.” He adds, “We see that there are lots of schools for slum children but ultimately most of them drop out and don't pursue higher studies due to lack of support.” Smallfoot decided to change that.
Their first step was to provide some education to the children, to groom them for the school they would be admitted to. Starting from 26th January 2013, Smallfoot Elementary School taught the children for a year. Both paid and volunteering teachers worked hard with the 12 students. For Smallfoot to begin their project, donations were needed. Instead of pursuing the difficult task of collecting large amounts from a few people, Smallfoot decided to collect 100 taka from each person, using support groups to do so. “There are 10 members under each support group and all of them are students. They save money and each pays at least 100; so you have 1000 taka from each group. In this way a big network of students has been created by Smallfoot who contribute to educating the 12 children,” elaborates Shadman Karim, a member of one of Smallfoot's many support groups.
Tayeb, a student of KG-1 says, “I love school because I can study, sing, use a computer and play with friends.”
Prince believes, “Giving these students the opportunity to learn with peers from other backgrounds means both parties can learn from each other and overlook the social barrier.” Smallfoot continues to pay for the children's education at Time International Academy. The authority at Time is generous enough to take care of 70 percent and 50 percent of the admission cost and monthly tuitions respectively. Smallfoot doesn't really plan to take on more students but Prince assures, “We will keep on supporting these students throughout their education.”
Smallfoot hopes other, bigger organisations will follow them and support children, but at larger scales.
It's not just JAAGO Foundation and Smallfoot. There are many other schools that strive to change the lives of slum and street children by educating them.

Gulshan Literacy Programme Foundation runs two schools in Badda and Gabtoli, supporting the education of 400 children.
Both St. Joseph Higher Secondary School and SFX Green Herald International School have literacy programmes that provide education to children who otherwise cannot afford it.
'Shurobhi', located in Dhanmondi, is well known for teaching street children. Without schools like this, these children would probably just be selling flowers or newspaper on the streets. Now they not only earn a living but also attend classes. Spreeha Foundation is another example.
With an increasing number of such schools and organisations, the lives of many street children are looking brighter, as is the future of Bangladesh

PHOTOS: DARSHAN CHAKMA & KAZI TAHSIN AGAZ APURBO