We here at Friendship believe that development is not sustainable without education. This is not exclusive to educating children but people of all ages. Thus we started an education programme aimed at increasing literacy of not only the children of chars but literacy awareness of the adults of the char communities as well. The project aims to develop a sustainable and replicable model of primary and vocational education for the poorest of the poor in hard to reach areas.
As part of the project, we have till date established 73 learning centres with 3000 students in two districts in the north and 3 districts in the southern part of Bangladesh. The activities of the schools are managed by School Management Committees (SMC) and Friendship staff with active involvement of local community members including parents as well as local government body members. Active involvement of the community has made the school management smooth as well as effective. To run schools which are well-functioning, strategies employed is to recruit teachers from the local community, implement active learning methods, regularly carry out monitoring activities and follow-up trainings.
The schools have 30 students in each batch with a male to female ratio of 45:55. After six years of schooling, students graduate from primary school where they are taught English, Bengali, mathematics and receive civil education as well as vocational training with the vision to create self-dependent and conscious citizens. After completion of primary education they are expected to be prepared to join the mainstream schooling system.