In Cooperation with: ASIA SOUTH PACIFIC ASSOCIATION FOR BASIC AND ADULT EDUCATION (ASPBAE)
In Bangladesh made significant progress during the past two-three decades but the progress due to the COVID-19 pandemic the entire process has been slowed down. The schools in Bangladesh has been closed since 18 March 2020 that result in adverse effect on 40 million learners across Bangladesh. The Rapid Response Survey on the impact of COVID-19 on education, carried out by CAMPE, expressed concern on learner’s psycho-social health and learning loss. Although the government of Bangladesh has taken numerous initiatives to reduce the loss particularly introduction of distance learning using Television, Internet, Mobile phone and Community radio. But the study findings show that significant portion of learners do not have access to those emergency responses to education. The COVID-19 response plan of the government of Bangladesh is also under financed.
CAMPE has developed 20 cases on the situation faced by the youths from the marginalized families form four locations in Bangladesh that demonstrated their concern about the household economic condition, how they are trying to cope the challenges. affected in terms of psycho-social wellbeing and trauma, learning loss, digital divide, etc. Many of them, particularly from the marginalized family are at risk of dropouts, child labour, and early marriage (particularly for girls) among others. The state initiatives are insufficient for addressing the needs of Bangladesh’s youth. It has also tried to document how some of the youths could cope with the situation but many of them do not have any concrete idea about how they can cope with the emerging situation.
Campaign for Popular Education, CAMPE as a national coalition of NGOs in education in Bangladesh, providing a platform for advocating formal engagement in the education sector policy and practice change discourse. It intends to see an educated, creative, democratic, secular, progressive, humanitarian, equitable, and poverty-free Bangladesh through education, active citizenship, and life-long learning. The key strategies of CAMPE for advocacy are networking with stakeholders, informing them of progress and challenges, developing grassroots evidence and enhancing the constituency's capacity, and influencing the national policy and practice change discourse through evidence-based advocacy and engagement in the process at a different level. CAMPE use the SDG4 and interrelated goals and targets as guiding principle and consider as the minimal standard to ensure leaving no one behind. Thus, it intends to carry out some exemplary initiatives to engage youths in selected location under the YAR 2021 initiative and contribute to knowledge generation, and contribute to advocacy initiative focused on the youths form the marginalised communities in Bangladesh and also linking with the regional initiative coordinated by ASPBAE.
Objectives of the YAR 2021
The main objective of YAR 2021 of CAMPE is to conduct Youth-led Action Research (YAR) in selected locations of Bangladesh to generate evidence, strengthened evidence-based youth engagement in the advocacy initiatives in Bangladesh and also contribute to the regional and global process. The Specific Objective of the initiative is to:
i) Build capacity of the youths in eight selected communities in two districts through the member organisations of CAMPE;
ii) Empower the selected youths through enhancing knowledge on SDG4, right to education, human rights-based approach to education, and orient them with some leadership quality for example, 21 irrefutable laws of leadership by John C. Maxwell.
iii) Capacity building of selected youths on the youth-led Action Research methodology and follow-up support to conduct YAR in selected communities;
iv) Encourage youths to carryout local level advocacy and also engage some of their representatives in the national and regional level advocacy initiatives;
Methodology/Process:
CAMPE in collaboration with two-member organisation will identify 32-40 youths from four locations, two per districts. Based on the experience from SDG 4.7 capacity building and Case development initiatives conducted in 2020, Cumilla and Khulna has been considered as the potential location for this purpose.
Youth’s age range 15 to 25 years will be considered as the core participants of the YAR 2021 supported by ASPBAE. More than half of the participants will be from the marginalised families in terms of sex, ethnicity, household economic condition, social exclusion, geographical challenges, or based on the personal abilities or disabilities. Out of school youths, child labourer or victims of early marriage will also be considered as criteria to engage in the process.
Once the youths are selected, capacity building initiative well be taken for enhancing their understanding on SDGs, (particularly SDG4), right to education, human rights-based approach to education, leadership qualities. The issues also include the holistic development of youth, promoting 21st Century Skills, addressing adversity factors in education, understanding demographic dividend, and encouraging youth leadership and youth-led action research.
Strengthening understanding including of the concept and metadata and the methodology and debates etc. on human rights, gender equality, cultural diversity, ESD and GCED (global citizenship), climate change, education in emergency, etc. Also have a deeper understanding about the local government institutions in selected location through member organizations to support young representatives in the GECD initiatives and carryout follow-up interventions for promoting right to education, address exclusion factors in education, promote TVET, ICT for education, school to work transition, and youth entrepreneurship.
After the capacity building initiatives, they will engage more youths from their community, try to understand their community, identity key concerns of youths focused on right to education, their livelihood, and school to work transition.
On implementation of the YAR, the youths will engage with the community leaders and local level duty bearers to address the issues and challenges identified by the YAR and carryout advocacy to solve the problem or address the concerns.
Raise youth voice on enhanced use of ICT – ranging to ICT for workplace and school, ICT based classroom management and teaching-learning process, understanding big data and data visualization, advance use of social media, etc. Also promote future education thinking, including the online teaching-learning process and its management, blended learning, have an orientation of big data, AI, IoT, blockchain, and some other innovations in education. Some of the issues from the local level will be passed to the national and regional level for strengthening the advocacy initiative for upholding right to education.
A compiled report will be prepared and disseminated as part of the advocacy initiatives of CAMPE. There will be section to provide brief highlights of each of the districts/communities as appropriate.
Also link with other similar initiative of CAMPE and downstream partner organisation for mainstreaming the initiative. It could be worthwhile to mention here that CAMPE will coordinate this initiative with other initiatives, for example, initiative taken under the EOL-ASA so that both the initiative complements each other instead of duplication of actions.
YAR findings and recommendations will be used in CAMPE advocacy including, strengthening our engagement with different ministries, including the ministry of education, Finance Ministry and Planning Ministry, Ministry of Youth and Sports and Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, Ministry of Commerce, among others for youth development issues.
Besides, CAMPE has engaged with different cross-country interventions, including the regional and global levels, and contributed to the policy debate, dialogue, and experience sharing. Some of the platforms included ASPBAE, CCNGO-2020, CSO-2, Global Education Coalition, GAML process, GCE, INEE, among others.
Project Completion Report
