education

August 16, 2022

Good vs bad touch: A 20-minute conversation

Child sexual abuse is a silent epidemic, and statistics show it is only getting worse. What can we do to help our children understand the difference between a good touch and a bad touch? A good start is a 20-minute conversation.
February 27, 2022

“Hope lies in your hands – and you are well-equipped” Tamara Abed at BRAC University’s 14th Convocation

This is an excerpt taken from a speech given by Tamara Hasan Abed, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees and BRAC University at the university's 14th Convocation - the first one since the COVID-19 pandemic - on 27 January 2022. Scroll below to watch the video.
October 6, 2021

Amidst almost-empty classrooms in many schools, others have 90% of their students back. What’s their secret?

Schools have finally reopened in Bangladesh, after 18 long months. Many schools are reporting lower student numbers, particularly of girl students. A school in Kurigram reported that just one girl student had returned to her class - the rest had been married during school closures. BRAC’s schools, where students often have the least internet access and support at home, and where teachers stayed in constant communication through phones, home visits and home-based projects, paint a different picture.
September 19, 2021

Schools in Bangladesh were closed for longer than in any other country. Here’s how BRAC is supporting their reopening

Schools in Bangladesh reopen this week after the world’s longest shutdown. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, BRAC was providing education for almost 750,000 students. During the extended closure, it continued teaching remotely, and ensured that close to 620,000 students graduated from their courses. The remaining students continued learning remotely and, after planning for reopening for months, BRAC opened its doors to 129,000 students this week. Amidst dire predictions of learning loss globally, it is quietly optimistic that its innovative measures to continue learning, combined with a rigorous approach to remediation will get its students back on track.
September 5, 2021

One man’s journey to get education to every child in Bangladesh: Dr Safiqul Islam

Dr Safiqul Islam spent 30 years building BRAC’s education programme. He joined BRAC in 1987, as a spirited young patriot who wanted to change his country, and, through his work with BRAC and Bangladesh’s education sector, he did. Bangladesh’s education sector has undergone significant transformation during the last three decades, and Dr Islam was a driving force behind them. Dr Islam worked tirelessly to materialise Sir Fazle Hasan Abed’s vision of a world free of inequality, through inspiring education practitioners across the world to get education to every child.
September 5, 2021

Bridge Schools: A second chance at education in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a remarkable primary education enrolment rate – 97.97%, but 18.85% of students drop out before completion. Drop-out rates are even higher in urban informal settlements, hard-to-reach areas, such as haor (wetlands) and char (riverine islands). BRAC is seeing significant improvements in drop-out rates through the implementation of its Bridge Schools initiative – specially-designed, accelerated programmes to bridge learning gaps and support children to complete primary education
July 27, 2021

Early childhood development should be a global priority

The Global Education Summit convenes this week in London, gathering in virtual or hybrid form. It offers an extraordinary chance for the world community to focus on the vital role of education in transforming lives.
June 5, 2021

5 ways BRAC supports people to adapt to climate change

Bangladesh has been often called the ground zero of climate change. Geographically located at one of the world’s largest deltas, with more tropical cyclones occurring than any other country, means that its population of 163 million deal with the impacts brought on by the changing climate every day. On World Environment Day 2021, we look at five examples from BRAC on how to adapt to climate change.
March 31, 2021

Agents of change: Three primary schools in Bangladesh being watched by the world

As vaccinations are distributed globally and schools closed for months start planning to open, questions are being raised about what changes we need to our education system in a post-pandemic world. We have a unique chance to shape our curriculum and teaching and learning methods now for when we reopen, and climate change, diversity and gender equality are challenges that should be high on that priority list. Three schools in Bangladesh were globally recognised for their work in these areas in 2019; this blog takes a closer look at them.
October 19, 2020

Stepping up hand hygiene: How to make hand hygiene more accessible and inclusive

Can installing handwashing stations in public places help people adopt the habit of washing hands with soap? Here are our key findings.
October 13, 2020

Snapshot: 30 ways BRAC supports girl children

Bangladesh has four million child brides, the second-highest in the world. More than half of all married women now in their twenties were married before the age of 18. At BRAC, tackling this challenge is one of our highest priorities. Here is a snapshot of how we are trying to change the futures of girl children.
October 13, 2020

How do we get more people to wash hands?

What can we learn from successful global initiatives which promote hygiene behaviour change at scale?