Room to Read Bangladesh has completed registration with the NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) under the Prime Minister’s Office of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on 10 July 2008. Our registration number with NGOAB is 2376. The registration has been renewed till 2028.
Room to Read Bangladesh officially launched Literacy and Girls’ Education Programs in 2009. The initial focus was in rural areas – particularly the sandbar islands of the Sirajganj district (Rajshahi Division), the low-lying terrain of the Brahamanbaria district (Chittagong Division), and the remote plains of the Natore district (Rajshahi Division) where realities meant high illiteracy and drop-out rates, low government funding for education, and weak or no support from other international non-profits focusing education interventions.
Demonstrating the Program approach and collaborating with the central Government, we have made several inroads with Governmental entities to integrate literacy component and equality interventions into the classrooms. Towards achieving SDG4, the Government’s five-year Primary Development Education Program (PDEP-4) has adopted Room to Read’s classroom library model despite limited resources to fully implement it across the country.
Room to Read is working closely with the Department of Primary Education (DPE), the National Academy for Primary Education (NAPE), and the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) to support broader professional development for teachers. Discussion with NAPE to create a Master Trainer is underway. Members of the Bangladesh literacy staff are currently part of the national curriculum review committee and have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to share best practices on the Government’s digital platform.
For girls’ education, Room to Read Bangladesh has been working with the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) to advocate on issues such as child marriage and girls’ rights. The organization is building the capacity of Government teachers to deliver life skills sessions within classrooms, instead of through Social Mobilizers. Besides targeting girls in the rural communities, Program within Dhaka city was taken up to address the gender inequality that increased the risk of safety, health, educational attainment, and life outcomes for girls.
