British government has guarantees education in Bangladesh

The British government has guaranteed that 600,000 poverty stricken school children in Bangladesh will continue their education, officials say.The Department for International Development (Dfid) says that it has provided over $30m for pre-school and primary education.The grant is an emergency package which will ensure schools across the country can stay open.The money will be used to make up a shortfall in funding education.

The Dfid grant will keep 25,000 non-formal schools open and 25,000 teachers in their jobs for the duration of the school year.It will also help older children by making sure 2,500 after-school clubs for teenagers, 100 community centres and 150 secondary schools stay open.The funds will go through BRAC – a well established Bangladeshi non governmental organisation that provides schools, teachers and after-school clubs for millions of children in Bangladesh.Founded in 1972, BRAC also provides healthcare, legal and other services to poor communities across Bangladesh, complementing services provided by the government.

“Without the UK’s help, schools across Bangladesh would be forced to close and teachers would lose their jobs because of the global financial crisis. This would have a disastrous effect on children’s education and future prospects,” International Development Minster Mike Foster said.”The UK’s grant will guarantee that hundreds of thousands of boys and girls will continue to get the decent education they deserve and give them the chance of a brighter future.”About 67 million adults in Bangladesh are illiterate, 42 million of whom are women. Less than two-thirds of children complete five years of basic education and three million children in total still have no access to education.