Publications
Country Director Rakhi Sarkar on Bangladesh
March 2021 marked the 50th year of Bangladesh’s independence. After categorical domination, destruction of assets, and intellectuals followed by a brutal and long War of Independence, Bangladesh had to face numerous natural disasters – all of which not only upped the stakes; these also reminded leaders to team up and rebuild the nation from scratch. With support from numerous funders in the global North, non-profit organizations joined in. Bangladesh also had its home-grown charity steer development directions. The country is now in a stable condition and eying growth in all socio-economic parameters.
Bangladesh’s economic growth, which has been consistent over the last few years outpaced two neighboring countries – Pakistan and India. Bangladesh has also beaten the two in education. We are hugely appreciative of the necessary reforms in education management such as waiver of tuition fees, free textbooks, midday meals etc. rolled out/pivoted by the Government. A significant portion of the success can fairly be credited to non-profits who have relentlessly been supporting Government’s initiatives in achieving its MDGs and now the SDGs.
Analysis on the last couple of years shows we have less than 2% dropouts in Primary schools. Compared to the 80s, this alone is a huge achievement. I am proud to say this and I also say this with a content heart, that a typical classroom Room to Read Bangladesh supports has more girls than boys in it. The community-based School Management Committees (SMC) that we have worked with take an active interest in how teachers and students can benefit and grow.
The education sector officials as well as the central Government with all the Ministries and Directorates are supportive and appreciative of the work Room to Read Bangladesh has been doing, and so has opened up space for us to give inputs to national policies and the learning resources. Our classroom library model has also won over. We are waiting to see every Primary classroom across the country is equipped with a library and Government as its main undertaker.
Literacy rates among adolescent girls and young women are also rising at a steady pace. World Bank data published in The Economist shows girls aged 15 and over are doing much better. I stand testimony to it. Bangladesh successfully cut down its child marriage rate (one of the biggest factors that lead to girls dropping out of schools) and also raised the literacy rate among adolescent girls. I see more and more girls completing Secondary schools and then either landing a job, enrolling into the tertiary level education, or even managing both at the same time. I am proud to introduce Hawa who hails from a low-income sandbar community in Sirajganj district.
An alumna of Room to Read Bangladesh’s ‘Girls’ Education Program’, Hawa studies ‘BA in Management’ and dreams of contributing to the national education policy one day, which is why she is preparing herself for the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) exam. But first, to earn practical knowledge of working in the grassroots, she has joined a Primary school as an Assistant Teacher. What good thinking!
One of six thousand adolescent girls Room to Read Bangladesh supported, Hawa recognizes how a visit to Room to Read’s Gala platform in Japan inspires her and embeds confidence in her. She says, “I want the support I received to go forward – so that girls who are missing out on so many things get to complete education and become someone in their own right.”
Room to Read is fighting generational poverty. And our target is to end it in one generation. We know it’s possible. All that we need is children to continue learning scientifically, and girls to complete education with the necessary life-skills that we give them. And then a conducive environment and broad market that appreciate equality and absorb diversity.
So, like what Robert Frost said, “And miles to go before I sleep,” Bangladesh is on the cusp of taking off. We need to be more vigilant to solidify the development interventions. We need to take care of our children, let them enjoy their childhood and help them learn – to dream big, to think collectively and to conserve for a sustainable future for the world.
