BRAC Programs reach over 91,000 ultra poor households: 26 June 2014
BRAC programs have covered 91,300 ultra poor households in 37 districts of the county in 2013. More than 12,114 core taka was disbursed to 42 lac borrowers and about taka 2,000 crore was disbursed among 3,91,244 landless farmers (borga chashi). BRAC school children numbering 96,177 passed the Primary School Certificate examination with 99.99% pass rate.
Launching of BRAC Annual Report 2013 was held on 26 June 2014. Since it was founded 40 years ago the organization has extended its reach to 11 counties, serving 135 million people, the report said. (1 crore=10 million)
Dramatic rise in Pre-Primary Enrolment: 2014
A dramatic rise in pre-primary enrolment rate was observed in five years since 2008 when access to pre-primary education increased manifold. The increase was uniform for children of both genders in both urban and rural areas.
According to “Education Watch 2013” published by CAMPE, the attendance rate was highest in NGO schools (78%) compared to 52% in government schools and 51% in non-government ones. Over 95% of the NGO school teachers, 53% of government, 17% of non-government and 6.5% in kindergarten schools were trained in pre-primary education. Two-thirds of the pre-primary teachers were females the percentage of whom was highest in the NGO schools (98%) which are 70% in both government schools and kindergartens, and 60% in non-government schools.
The study said that a huge number of children of pre-primary age were still out of the network of education. The number may be as high as 1.5 million among children aged five years and 3.8 million if the children of age four were added. It was recommended that pre-primary education should be made an integral part of compulsory education.