For 37,300 students in 137 schools in Cox's Bazar

oom to Read Bangladesh’s literacy intervention funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – ‘McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program’ – is supporting the education of all Grades 1-5 students in 137 government Primary school located in Ukhiya and Kutubdia island – a significant part of the host communities in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

2018-2023, the project has supported the education of 86,666 (cumulative) students in two phases and is set to support 37,300 students in 2024. Well-appreciated by USDA/WFP and the government, the comprehensive literacy-focused education support hones its investment into four streams of activity:

  1. Teachers’ capacity development
  2. Family and community engagement
  3. SRM material development & distribution
  4. Creation of a conducive learning environment

As visible as they are, Supplementary Reading Materials (SRM) and Teaching-Learning Materials (TLMs) are the ones that excite the students and their families. As ready references, these also support teachers in planning and delivering classroom instruction, developing/updating relevant skills, and also carrying out literacy-focused interventions. Children get to learn from and practice these materials that help them develop reading skills and reading habit.

In February, Room to Read Bangladesh organized a ceremony to kick-off the distribution of the education support materials targeted to be distributed throughout 2024. Students, assistant teachers and headteacher of the school, local government officials, representatives from WFP and community members as well as the project’s staff members attended the ceremony organized at the ‘Mariccha Palong Government Primary School’ in Ukhiya.

Mr. Mohammad Shahidul Azam, the District Primary Education Officer, inaugurated the distribution of education support materials and conferred huge appreciation to Room to Read Bangladesh for support.

“With these [education support] materials, our children are improving their reading skills and habits. We are thankful for the great support from [Room to Read Bangladesh]. It is really a gigantic task; and without your support, we could not have done it on our own.”

Ms. Emma LEFU, Program Policy Officer of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) emphasized the effective utilization of these materials and requested government officials to have follow-ups on it. She also expressed her satisfaction with students’ academic achievements and reading adventures.

Ms. Rakhi Sarkar, Country Director of Room to Read Bangladesh, thanked the government for extending continuous support instrumental to the successful implementation of the project. She requested parents of the students to increase monitoring and nudge students to keep reading in and out of school.

All of the Grades 1-5 students enrolled in 137 government Primary schools located in Kutubdia and Ukhiya will get access to 22 types of education support materials in 2024 (workbooks, story cards, Pre-Primary activity sheet, book-checkout registers) including 13,960 copies of storybooks and 1,512 Book Captain induction assets, 11,200 school bags and 37,300 stationary kits for students.