Access to education remains a challenge for children of Bangladesh, particularly working and indigenous group, living in remote areas or those in extreme poverty. Tribal children, for example, have a net attendance ratio of just 68 per cent, far below the national average of 81 per cent at the primary-school level.
Urban-rural divide in the quality of education in Bangladesh is vivid, and the factors cited behind the disparity are the quality of teaching, school infrastructure, and educational materials. Moreover, the factors are also immediate determinants of whether children attend school and what they gain when they attend.
As it is difficult to find and retain good teachers in rural areas, JAAGO Foundation came up with an innovative solution of ‘Online School’. The idea of online schooling is designed to bridge the quality gap by connecting skilled teacher and resource with the disadvantaged students living in remote area through the modern technology. With support from partners, JAAGO Foundation succesfully installed online schooling in 5 schools in different district and all of the schools are now in operation with a demand of further expansion.
Within the end of 2014, 5 of our existing online schools will be expanded and 5 new online schools will be established to offer education for additional 400 students and approximately 800 students in total around Bangladesh. Moreover, evaluating the feedback and outcome of the online school project, interactive contents will be developed and teacahers centere’s will be enriched with necessery equipments to ensure interesting learning experience for the disadvantaged children who would be deprived education otherwise.
The Online schooling and synchronous learning through internet is a leap towards educational revolution specifically in context of Bangladesh as our country has not experienced this schooling method before that has the potential to solve the issues regarding quality education and lack of skilled teachers in remote areas of the country. Under the project, we are working to replicate the online school project in every district of Bangladesh and even build colaboration with neighboring countries.