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"Lessons without Borders"

by Mahbubul Alam
IT is 8:30 in the morning. Nasirabad. an industrial neighbourhood of Chittagong has not yet sprung into action. People are coming in ones and twos to work in rerolling mills, engineering workshops and various kind of factories. In the middle of these buildings, there is a 25'xl2' tin roofed house with bamboo partitions. From the surroundings, it could easily be mistaken for another structure producing piecework for a factory. But one does not hear the sounds of metal, but rather young voices. The sound of nursery rhymes and multiplication tables. This is a school with a difference. Shi-mool. Palash. Swapan and Nasima study here. They and their classmates are the sons ■nd daughters LflfWKBsJmttlI
. These 8 to
and girls (some look younger due to malnutrition) are studying the syllabus of class two. They are older than their class compared to the students in government primary schools. They may be late in Joining school, but they do not lack ambition. Shimool wants to be-Wfflft ft MSMHH
boy wants to be an engineer. They spoke to a group of American community development activists who came to visit their school on September 24. as a part of a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) sponsored programme, "Lessons Without Borders." The members of the group were Maxine Reed Vance of Healthy Start. Kate Goddard of Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore. Tanya Johnson of Project HEAL. Joan Whitaker of Action for Boston Community Development. and Kathiyn Tulenko of the Chesapeake Health Plan Foundation. They arrived in Bangladesh on September 19 to learn from Bangladesh's experience in development activities and to see if any of these activities could be replicated in the US. They were especially interested to see non-formal approaches to provide education to the children of disadvantaged sections of society.
The school at Nasirabad is one of 314 similar institutions in the Chittagong are. 34.000 all over the country, run by BRAC, Lone of the largest non-govern-
mental organizations in Bangladesh. Students in these schools learn Bangla. English, mathematics, social studies and environmental awareness in a three-year course. After completion of the programme, they are eligible for enrollment in class five in government primary schools.
At the school, there are no benches for the students nor a chair for the teacher. Students sat in a 'U' pattern on a floor covered with mats and the teacher gave lessons standing in the middle. The American delegation from the community development organizations sat on the floor and talked with the students and the teacher. The visitors wanted to know why 8h«B#W.4nd girls-did h6t g3 JfaXCTWBcnt schools and wSWWitem the-advantage* XCQie pnrCfhmiaf
Raflqur Rahman. Area Man-. ager of BRAC. told them that these schools supplement government institutions. Some of these children of low-income parents were not permitted to go to schools when they came of age of age or dropped out for economic reasons. One advantage of the non-formal schools is their flexibility in class hours. Classes are held in two shifts, one in 8:30 in the morning and another in 12:30. Teacher Daisy Akhtar said that a committee of the parents and the teacher fixes the timing of the session considering other demands on children to work at liome or in the fields.
BRAC's Non-Formal Primary Education (NFPE) began in 1985 In response to a demand for schools which suit the needs of the poorest of the poor. USAID provided 600 million taka through the Bangladesh government for the three financial years beginning 1996-97 for the Non-formal and Adult Literacy Programme, of which 100 million taka has already been a lent in the last financial year ore than a million students are now enrolled in these schools through out the coun try.
The visiting delegation of American community devel opment workers wanted to know how many BRAC school graduates Joined the govern ment schools. The teacher said that they expected 80 per cent ol
them to Join. She said. The reputation of BRAC schools is so high that their graduates do not need to appear at the entrance examination. Many of the graduates even get government scholarships on a merit basis."
A member of the delegation asked about the student attendance. The teacher said that the attendance was near 100 per cent. Mrs Akhtar said. "If a student remains absent, the school committee enquires and even goes to his or her home to know the cause. This ensures the attendance of the students."
The Americans asked the student about their favourite subjects. After Bangla, learning about the environment and social studies seemed to be popu-them, j They also I subjects. jSy£ical*ex5rdfee.
iMniflifgt *&*>fing. tdfaai^A creative thinking processes of the students.
At the end of their visit of Bangladesh, the American delegation met together to exchange their experiences and opinions about the development projects they saw in Bangladesh. At the meeting. Joan Whitaker of Action of Boston Community Development said that she was impressed with the Integration of child care and family planning. Kathryn Tulenko of Chesapeake Health Plan Foundation said that the way Grameen Trust (which they also vr>rr-rr inmzes rts resources gave her an idea as to how their funds could be utilized In a better way She was surprised to know that Grameen Bank has a branch in her area of the United States and planned to contact the branch. She said. The other thing struck me was that the organizations were well prepared. We re also having foreign visitors soon. We will be prepared in the same way." Tanya Johnson said, "1 learned about the re lationship between health and economic productivity. When women are empowered, child health improves." She further said that she was pleased to see efforts to involve poor men. "When men are better off. relationships improve. One thing we have totally forgotten is the role of the rural woman in the US. 1 think this trip was a bless Ing for me — USIS^