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1. BRAC’s Cost Recovery Model in Education: A Quick Exploration of Process and Perception

Author:
Rasel Babu, Utpal Mallick, Iftikhar Ul Karim, Durdana Nahid, Ahrafuzzaman Khan, Mrinmoy Samadder, Tahsina Naz Khan, and Samir Ranjan Nath
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
Abstract:
Stakeholders’ perceptions were explored regarding the cost recovery model of BRAC Primary School (BPS) during the first two weeks of June 2016. Field work was done in 13 branches of BRAC Education Programme (BEP) where 37 field staff, 27 teachers and 36 parents were interviewed, and eight FGDs were conducted with parents and staff. The respondents perceived the new model from their own perspectives which varied from one area to another and from one group of respondents to another. Introduction of monthly tuition fee was broadly accepted by the majority of the parents and a good portion of staff also accommodated them with the new concept. However, both of them made some suggestions for keeping BPS competitive with the other primary education provisions in the market. Finally, eight-point suggestions were made for further development of the model.
Topic:
Education, Cost Recovery, and Schools
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

2. BRAC’s Intervention in Secondary Schools: A Comparative Study

Author:
Samir Ranjan Nath, Rasel Babu, and Durdana Nahid
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
Abstract:
Post-primary Basic and Continuing Education interference of BRAC Education Programme popularly known as PACE desired to enhance the quality of secondary education of Bangladesh. This comparative ethnographic study intended to understand if any cultural changes took place in the schools due to PACE. For this, data on school daily life, teaching-learning process, use of the library, school management, leadership, values and gender issues were collected from three intervened and three non-intervened schools located in three upazilas (sub-districts) of Tangail, Jessore and Rajshahi districts of Bangladesh. Six research assistants following the guidance of the research team conducted a four months long observation on the selected schools starting from March 2016 and collected data on the above-mentioned areas from the learners, teachers, parents, SMC members, PO, UEO and communities, and from the available documents interview, FGD, survey, field note taking and document analysis. Major findings revealed that PACE activities were rarely practised in the intervened schools. Though teachers received training and perceived it useful could not apply in classrooms because of time constraint and pressure of completing syllabus. Teachers from both types of schools heavily depended on the lecture method. Classes using CAL materials were barely held, and teachers in both sorts of schools hardly used any teaching materials. Teachers’ training and mentoring programmes lost their popularity after adopting a cost recovery approach. Gonokendros were not truly functional in the schools because of irregularity and unavailability of the librarians. In case of school management, political influence was observed in both types of schools. Girls and female teachers experienced teasing and harassment. Mixed perceptions among teachers, parents and learners were observed regarding student cabinet election. The study concluded that desired cultural changes did not take place in the intervened schools because of several challenges. Hence, recommended for close monitoring of the PACE activities, accelerating initiatives for enhancing moral values among the teachers and learners, treating student leadership issues seriously and building a gender friendly environment through forming a committee in each school.
Topic:
Education, Ethnography, and Schools
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

3. Leveraging Urban Inclusion through Education: Study on BRAC Slum School Project

Author:
Nowreen Yasmin, Samir Ranjan Nath, and Mohammad Anwar Hossain
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
Abstract:
Slum becomes one of the major concerns particularly for developing countries like Bangladesh in order to sustain the initiatives taken for urban development. The challenges faced by the slum habitants is badly intertwined, and education has always got the least priority for this community. Moreover, inadequate school facilities, higher expense of schooling, difficulties in getting enrolled, distance of the school, and child labour deteriorate the situation and accentuates the problem of lower educational attainment of this population. This research was commissioned to examine the outcome and challenges of the Urban Slum School Project of BRAC Education Program which was initiated in 2013. In response to the research objective, a quantitative approach had dominantly been employed in this study. The baseline survey was carried out with a randomly selected sample of 50 slum schools and 1000 households of the students in 2013. That initiative was followed by an endline research at the end of 2016. Household survey, school survey, and learning achievement test for the students of grade V have been utilised. For the endline study, in total 82 schools: 50 slum schools of baseline study and 32 other BRAC schools as a comparison group; had been selected as sample for the survey and competences achievement test in 2016. There were two comparison groups: 18 rural BRAC primary schools and 14 urban (non-slum) BRAC primary schools.
Topic:
Education, Urban, Inclusion, and Schools
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

4. BRAC-UBS Shishu Niketan School Project: A Baseline Study

Author:
Samir Ranjan Nath, Nowreen Yasmin, and Anwar Hossain
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
Abstract:
BRAC Education Programme (BEP) in collaboration with BRAC-UK has established 15 low-cost, fee-paying schools called Shishu Niketan in 15 district towns of Bangladesh. The objective of this initiative is to provide quality primary education to the children of low-income families. The UBS Optimus Foundation is the development partner of this project. BEP is the implementing agency in collaboration with the BRAC Institute of Educational Development (BIED). The duration of this collaboration is 41 months starting from August 2016. According to the project proposal three grades viz., pre-primary, grade I, and grade II are supposed to be opened in each school in January 2017. After one year, the students will be promoted to the next grades and a new batch of pre-primary students will be admitted. The number of students in each grade was proposed to be 32. The number of teachers would be four in each school, one of whom is a headteacher. One new teacher would be recruited each year. During the implementation of this project, a total of 105 teachers will be recruited, and 2,970 students will be admitted to these schools. The research and Evaluation Division (RED) of BRAC is the research partner of this project. As part of an evaluation of this project, RED will collect various information throughout the implementation period. This report presents the findings of baseline research on this Shishu- Niketan School project. Fieldwork for this was carried out in June 2017.
Topic:
Development, Education, and Schools
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

5. The Effects of Skill Training on Livelihoods: Evidence from BRAC’s Intervention on School Dropout Adolescents

Author:
Rehnuma Rahman, Atiya Rahman, Zion Rabbi Samadder, and Abdul Bayes
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
Abstract:
The school dropout rate in Bangladesh is estimated to be about 40 per cent at the secondary level. The majority of the dropouts is most likely to remain unemployed or, if employed, engaged in low paying and hazardous work in the informal sector. With the aim of producing a well-trained and empowered youths, BRAC initiated ‘Skills Training for Advancing Resources (STAR)’ program in 2012. The program provides on the-job and classroom training in various informal trades to disadvantaged school dropout adolescents aged between 14-18 years. This study estimates the effects of the program on employment, earning levels, financial assets, empowerment and household-level welfare. The results show that the intervention succeeded in increasing labour market participation and earnings of the adolescents. The magnitude of the effect on earning is about six times the baseline mean level of earnings. Increased earnings of the adolescents translated into household welfare– as proxied by food expenditures and durable asset holdings. Evidence also shows the positive effects of the program on enhancing empowerment, improving self-confidence, and preventing substance abuse. Further, the intervention appears to have improved workplace environment and job satisfaction among school dropouts. The cost-benefit ratio of the intervention is found to be about 1:3.
Topic:
Employment, Labor Market, Skills, and Schools
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

6. Literacy Status of BRAC Primary School Completers

Author:
Samir Ranjan Nath and Mohammad Anwar Hossain
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
Abstract:
Literacy status of a sample of primary education completers from BRAC non-formal schools in 2016 and enrolled in grade six in various formal schools in the following year were assessed. Their performance in literacy was compared with a similar group of students taken from national literacy assessment under Education Watch 2016. A test-based literacy assessment tool developed for Education Watch 2002 was used. The findings reveal that although the BRAC school students bear a lower socioeconomic status than those in the national sample they achieved a significantly higher literacy rate than the comparison group of students. A similar result was observed in each of the four components of literacy viz., reading, writing, numeracy and application of the 3Rs. No gender difference was observed in the national sample but girls outperformed boys in the BRAC sample.
Topic:
Education, Literacy, and Schools
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

7. Is the Price Right? A Study of the Impact of School Fees in Rural Bangladesh

Author:
Emily Grenzke
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
The purpose of this article is to investigate the effect that user fees have on primary school enrollment and educational attainment in rural Bangladesh. There is growing international consensus that school user fees should be abolished in developing countries because they pose a barrier to universal enrollment. However, where school fees are the primary source of revenue for education, abolishing them significantly threatens the quality of education provided. Using data from three different regions in Bangladesh in 1996, this article employs a Heckman model to estimate the determinants of school enrollment. The results suggest that (i) fixed enrollment fees are a barrier to participation in the education market, (ii) but annual fees are not, and (iii) that the cost of secondary education has a significant impact on primary school enrollment. Based on these results, and considering the need for revenue, current policies aimed at abolishing all varieties of school fees are not justified. The article concludes by recommending advocacy for lower fixed enrollment fees and lower fees for secondary schools.
Topic:
Development, Education, Rural, and Schools
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia