UNICEF has handed over 110 classrooms in 22 schools of Cox’s Bazar to the Bangladesh government. Of the classrooms, 76 are newly constructed and 36 are renovated. The new and improved classrooms will provide more than 8,000 under-age students in Bangladesh with a child-friendly learning environment and better opportunities for education.
This is a part of UNICEF’s initiative to support Bangladeshi children in Cox’s Bazar. Cox’s Bazar district is facing the challenge of sheltering nearly one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. UNICEF is helping the Bangladesh government strengthen teaching and learning through grants. Through which 657 schools of Cox’s Bazar have benefited.
The grant program, titled ‘School Level Improvement Plan’, enables schools to identify their needs and address them.
In this regard, Sheldon Yate, the representative of UNICEF in Bangladesh, said that children spend a large part of their waking hours in the classroom. The classroom should truly feel like a second home to them. Research shows that children are motivated to learn when classrooms are child-friendly and safe. Their school enrollment and attendance increased. At the same time, school completion rates also increase.
The classrooms were built and renovated with the help of the Global Partnership for Education. They are fully furnished with desks, benches and chairs for teachers and students. UNICEF has also ensured ramps and child-friendly sanitation facilities for children with disabilities in those schools.
Before the construction, UNICEF conducted a needs assessment of 100 schools in Cox’s Bazar and identified 22 schools that are most in need of child-friendly classrooms. The newly constructed and renovated 110 child-friendly classrooms have been handed over to the Directorate of Primary Education under the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education on behalf of UNICEF.
Shah Rezwan Hayat, director general of the Directorate of Primary Education, said that the issue of excess students in eight upazila schools of Cox’s Bazar was a problem for children. These schools now provide a healthy and inclusive learning environment for children. which is essential for children’s education as they recover from the Covid-19 crisis.
According to government statistics, there are more than 1,600 overage students in government schools in the country. Besides, there are more than 40 students in each classroom on an average in Bangladesh. According to UNICEF, however, government primary school standards should have 40 students or less per classroom.
