MEETING ON TEACHER DEVELOPMENT FOR INCLUSIVE RELEVANT QUALITY EDUCATION

1. MEETING ON TEACHER DEVELOPMENT FOR INCLUSIVE RELEVANT QUALITY EDUCATION F.M. Enamul Hoque Director (Finance), Directorate of Primary Education Bangladesh 29-31 May 2012 New Delhi, India Lesson Study in Bangladesh

2. Country Background • Bangladesh is situated to the eastern side of the Indian Subcontinent, flanked by India in the West, North and Northeast and Myanmar to the Southeast • Bangladesh is a tropical country and threaded by rivers, the three great rivers, Padma, Jamuna and Meghna • The highest density of population in the world having a sustained economic progress with more than 6% growth for last three years. • Government of Bangladesh attaches strong importance and priority for achieving the goals of EFA through implementing free and compulsory primary education especially ensuring quality and inclusive education and maintaining gender parity

3. Organizational Structure of Primary Education in Bangladesh Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MOPME) Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) National Academy for Primary Education (NAPE) Divisional Deputy Director Office Primary Training Institute (PTI) District Primary Education Office Upazila Resource Centre (URC) Upazila Education Office SCHOOL

4. Constitutional Rights Education is the fundamental right of citizens of Bangladesh. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has preserved rights for education with more focus on women development

5. Education Policy 2010 • Education policy 2010 gives much emphasis on primary education and adds separate chapters to express the philosophy of the nation about primary education.

6. Primary Education in Bangladesh

7. Inclusive Education in Bangladesh • Achieve Universal Primary Education. • According to Census 2010 conducted by Directorate of Primary Education, the enrolment rate is 99.1% in Bangladesh. • Promote Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women • Bangladesh is committed to meet the Education For All (EFA) goals that all children have access to a completely free and compulsory primary education of good quality. • National Plan of Action (NPA) 2002 – 2015. • The Bangladesh Primary Education (Compulsory) Act 1990 • The E-9 Declaration (2000)

8. Second Primary Education Development Program (PEDP-II) It covers 4 main components

9. Inclusive Education Framework • Detailed strategy and action plans have been developed separately specifically to cover Gender and Children with Special Needs. • Strategy and action plans have been prepared to Mainstreaming Ethnic Minority Children’s Education and to Mainstreaming Education for Vulnerable Groups.

10. Strategies and Action Plan to Mainstream Special Needs Children The key areas need to be addressed • Improved accessibility and ensuring seating for disabled children • Awareness-raising at all levels in the system and within communities • Teacher training and support for teachers at school level to bring about changes in teaching methodology • Increased teacher awareness of their responsibility to provide for all children • Improved identification and assessment of children’s difficulties • Flexibility in curriculum and school assessment • Children with mentally retarded • Children with physically impaired • Children with hearing impaired • Children with communicational impaired • Children with visually ampere

11. Enrolment State

12. TRAINING IMPARTED

13. PLAN TO IMPART TRAINING

14. Gender Strategy and Action Plan • Document was approved by MoPME in January 2006 • Increased numbers of female teachers • Greater gender balance in all recruitment • Building gender awareness and sensitivity throughout the system

15. Strategy and Action Plan for Mainstreaming Vulnerable Children’s Education • This document considers vulnerability • It identifies the following specific groups as being vulnerable: street children, children from the very poor families, working children, child sex workers and children of the sex workers, children from refugee and Biharis (Non- Bengali) communities, children from disaster prone, remote/ river island/char, haor and coastal areas, children living in urban slums, children of special occupation groups and communities (gypsy, sweeper, cobbler etc.), children with HIV/AIDS, trafficked children, orphaned children, children from the tea gardens, children from the fishing community, imprisoned children

16. Action Plan for Mainstreaming Ethnic Minority Children’s Education • Main recommendations are: • Recruit community based teachers • Organize training and orientation courses for teachers. • Introduce pre-primary schooling using mother tongue languages • Review curriculum and textbooks • Improve infrastructure of the schools • Strengthen the supervision and monitoring • Strengthen the SMC • Establish new primary schools

17. Emphasis on autism in PEDP-III • DPE & UNICEF jointly will organize a consultative/idea-sharing workshop with autism experts in Bangladesh. • It is decided that a Meena Cartoon would be developed from the ideas of the sharing workshop. • The developed Meena Cartoon will be used for growing awareness about Autism all over the country. • Sub cluster training for quick coverage for the teachers. • One-day orientation for all level officials/teachers. • Ensure screening in the appropriate way at school level. • Easily understandable concept paper on different kind of special needs children/excluded children/vulnerable/the reason for drop out could be developed and ensure use.

18. FUNDING FOR PRIMARY EDUCATION Share of Education in National Budget is about 16.25% Allocation for Primary Education is about 41.15% of total Education Budget Government has Allocated about 7.7 billion BDT in this FY 2011-12 For FY 2012-13 Government is planning to Allocate about 10.0 billion BDT

19. Key Achievements • 6 divisional workshops • 64 district workshops • 54 PTI trainee teacher’s orientation program on IE • IE, Gender, Special Needs/Disability, Tribal & Vulnerable Brochures developed (12 brochures) is under procurement process • Calendar on IE developed, printed & distributed (86,000) for year 2008 and 2009 • Incorporated IE in SMC training manual (60,000 participants trained during 2008-09 FY) • Developed sub-cluster training leaflet on IE issues • Incorporated IE in Head teachers’ School Management Training manual (24,000 participants trained) • Training manual developed for field level officer • Incorporated IE in SMC training manual

20. National Teachers Training • Training in many ways: • Inclusive Education incorporated as a subject in DPEd • IE training manual developed and training conducted in URCs • IE incorporated in pre-primary curriculum developed by NCTB • Sub cluster training leaflet developed and ongoing in the system • IE leaflet developed and shared with all stakeholders • A number of sharing workshops organized for trainee teachers in PTIs

21. Challenges • The main challenges are : • Breaking down existing attitudes and values • Developing awareness and understanding at all levels • Providing support for teachers • Providing appropriate teaching and training methods • Providing appropriate teaching materials and teaching aids • Ensuring transfer of training into teaching practice • Ensuring teachers share new knowledge and methodologies • Developing a flexible learner-friendly environment • Governance especially ensuring good governance up to the grass-roots level

22. Recommendations • Mass awareness-raising of the importance of education within the various communities • Provide Early Childhood Education as preparation for formal schooling • Link schools with secondary schools, vocational training and other institutions or organisations to assist children • Schools to be flexible to respond to the specific difficulties of the local community, in particular schools timing, contact hours, holidays, students evaluation system, teachers appointments, transfer, posting • Inter-ministerial coordination and cooperation to improve health, sanitation, education, security, financial support, and relief in times of disaster and food crisis

23. Thank You