Reaching Out-of-school Children (ROSC) Project

Directorate of Primary Education

Bangladesh has a strong national commitment to education and has one of the largest primary education systems in the world. Rapid growth in participation and completion rates and strong overall growth in the primary education as a whole has taken place over last 15 years.

	Nearly 17.7 million students enrolled in over 78,000 primary level schools in 481 education Upazilas while the net enrollment rate rose to 80 percent in 2001
	Gross enrollment rate at primary level rose from 76 percent (in 1991) to 96 percent in 2002 while the corresponding net enrollment rates rose from 64 percent to 80 percent
	Dropout rates fell from nearly 60 percent in 1991 to 30 percent in 2003.

However, the very success of the Government’s endeavors to ensure universal education and “Education for All” has created pressures at many tiers of the system that are themselves barriers to further improvement, especially for improving for quality.

	In fact about three million children of primary school age (6-10 years) were out of school that include who have never enrolled in school, those who had enrolled and dropped out from the formal primary education system, street children and children of displaced families who have migrated from rural to urban areas
	About one third of the children dropped out before completing the five-year cycle
	Children in remote locations across the country have very little access to education and
	High levels of student absenteeism during rainy and winter seasons.

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The Genesis of ROSC Project

Government of Bangladesh like to ensure access of the most disadvantaged children into primary education through ROSC project, which has laid emphasis on the demand side inserted of supply side interventions. This strategy is adopted to complement to: (i) encourage out-of-school children to attend LCs; and (ii) improve the quality of education in these centers.

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Objectives of the ROSC Project

	The objective of the project is to reduce the number of the Out-of-School children through improved access, quality and efficiency in primary education, especially for the disadvantaged children, in support of GoB’s national EFA goals
	The number of the Out-of-School children reduced by about 5 lakh
	Percentage of students reaching expected competency level based on teacher’s assessment in Bangla and mathematics not less than 65%
	Average annual student attendance rate not less than 75%
	Student grade completion rate not less than 80%
	Average teacher attendance rate not less than 90%
	Students in each grade to have on average, the same number of textbooks as those in corresponding grades in the formal primary education system
	Student transition rate to public and NGO schools to grade 4 (from3) not less than 80%, or to Grade 6 (grade 5) not less than 70%

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ROSC Overview

Project Area : Sixty less-advanced Upazilas of the Country and 73 Shishu Kalyan Trust (SKT) schools

Target Population : Out of School Children of Age 7 – 14

Learners per Center : 25 – 35

Teacher per Center : 1 (Multi Grade System)

Duration of the Project : July 2004 to June 2010

Area Coverage of the Project : Sixty less-advanced Upazilas of the Country and 73 SKT schools

Selection Criteria of Upazilas : (i) Net enrollment rate 80% or less

(ii) Gender gap in net enrollment is at least two percentage

(iii) Cycle completion rate at the primary level is 50% or less

(iv) Head count poverty is about 30%

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Financing Arrangement of ROSC

Source of Funds	Taka in Mil.	US$ in Mil.
GOB	236.84	3.82
IDA grant	3221.41	51.97
SDC grant (Co-financier)	371.94	6.00
Total	3830.19	61.79

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Project Management

The management structure of the ROSC is illustrated below.

Legend

Formal line

Communication line

Contractual line

Ministry of Primary and Mass Education

Directorate of Primary

Education

Project Director

ROSC Unit

Director Shishu Kalyan Trust

Educ. Allownce & Grants

(Asst. Director)

Training & Educ Dev.

(Asst. Director)

Monitoring Eval. & Research

(Asst. Director)

Communication & Social Awareness

(Asst. Director)

Finance & Admn.

(Asst. Director)

MIS Cell

Learning Centers (Center Management Committee)

ROSC Committee

Upazila Ed. Offices

Education Resource Provider (ERP)

Education Service Provider (ESP)

Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME) at national level is responsible for oversight of the Project. Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) is the implementing agency of the Project. There is a `Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROSC)’ Committee headed by the Secretary, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has been overseeing overall project implementation, carry out joint annual reviews, and resolve implementation issues.

The ROSC Unit is headed by a Project Director who is directly responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the Project. Five Assistant Directors (ADs) each heading a section are responsible for implementing various project activities. At the Upazila level, the Upazila Education Officer (UEO) is responsible for processing applications for establishing LCs, facilitate disbursements of education allowances and grants, and coordinate the monitoring of LCs.

At the local community level, the CMCs are responsible for managing the LCs and utilizing grants properly with support of ESPs hired by them. To support quality improvement of the LCs, the CMCs seek assistance from ERPs chosen by them.

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Project Components

Component 1 : Improving Access to Quality Education for Out-of-School Children

Aim

Support schooling & completion of primary education for 5 lac out-of reach children through: 1) Education allowances to eligible students & 2) Grants to Learning Centers/Schools

Improving Access to Quality Education

Education Allowance

Shishu Kallyan Trust

Grants

Education Allowance & Grants

Allowance- Learning Center

	The annual education allowance is ranging from Tk.800 for class 1-3 and 970 for class 4-5 students
	Education allowances are channeled through bank account, operated by their mothers or guardians, and is disbursed twice a year in March/April for the January- June semester and in September/ October for the July- December semester.

Grants- Learning Center

	The LC grants ranging from Tk.25,700 for class 1-3 to about Tk.30,950 for class 4-5 per annum
	In upazilas where only grants is provided to LCs, and students do not receive education allowances, the value of the grants are approximately between Tk. 55,000- Tk. 65,000 per annum.

Shishu Kallyan Trust (SKT)

	The education allowance meets direct and indirect costs of schooling and compensate for a portion of the opportunity costs for working children reading in the SKT schools
	The grant is being provided on a regular basis, covers a part of SKT program management expenditures
	The annual education allowance is around Tk.1250 for each student. Grants are in the range of Tk. 25,000-30,000 per annum
	45 SKT schools were eligible for the education allowances and grants for the first year of the project. Later based on the recommendation of SKT School Performance Evaluation, 2006 the rest 28 SKT schools were included in the project.

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Eligibility Criteria for Participation of Children in the Program

a) Newly established LCs

	Enrollment in the project affiliated LCs
	Appropriate age (entry age 7-10 years for class 1)
	The child never been enrolled in formal schools, or LCs, or had dropped out from school or from LCs for at least one academic year.

b) Existing Centers

	Enrollment in the project affiliated LCs
	Appropriate age (entry age 7-10 years for class 1).

c) Children enrolled in LCs will continue receiving education allowances if they:

· Maintain an average of at least 75 percent annual attendance in the LCs

· Show evidence of satisfactory achievement level deemed adequate by the classroom teacher.

Eligibility Criteria for Participation of LCs

a) For newly established centers

	Establishment of a Center Management Committee (CMC)
	Formal request by the CMC to the UEO for participation in the program
	Student enrollment: minimum of 25 children, maximum of 35 children per class of which 60 percent preferably girls.

b) For existing centers (and for centers to continue receiving grants)

	Existence of a functioning CMC
	Formal request by the CMC to UEOs for participation in the program or for renewal
	Student enrollment: minimum of 25 children, maximum of 35 children per class of which 60 percent preferably girls
	Existence of appropriate teaching and learning environment (e.g. use of books with supplementary materials, appropriate utilization of grants etc.)
	Grants to LCs that meet these criteria will be renewed annually. Grants will be withheld for LCs that do not meet the criteria outlined above.

Component 2 : Communications and Social Awareness

Aim

Communications and Social Awareness

Social Awareness

Community Mobilization

Raise community awareness, Mobilize families, communities, and local ESPs to open and run LCs, Disseminate information on operational guidelines and assess the effectiveness and "reach" of the activities

The Social Awareness and Community Mobilization activity started prior to introduction of allowances and grants disbursement. In the case of new centers, the expected outcomes of the Social Awareness and community mobilization activity include:

(i) Identification of target areas/pockets/communities

(ii) Formation of CMC by parents to establish and operate a learning center and training of CMC

(iii) Identification of potential students

(iv) Identification of teachers

(v) Identification of academic supervisors and

(vi) Arrangements for the classroom.

Component 3 : Project Management and Institutional Strengthening

Aim

Establish a strong structure for managing and implementing the project; develop and strengthen the capacity to deliver quality primary education to out-of-school children; and establish a network of participating ERPs & ESPs.

Project Management & Institutional Strengthening

Project Management

Institutional Capacity Building

Networking Improve Quality

The functions of Project Management, Institutional capacity building and Networking to Improve Quality are as follows:

(i) Based on need assessment appropriate in-country training is arranged for institutional capacity building of ESPs and ERPs

(ii) The purpose of networking is to provide technical advisory services and equipments to ESPs and ERPs to ensure services for quality of education through development of teachers training materials in line with the NCTB curriculum

(iii) Arrange training for teachers

(iv) Develop student competency tools

(v) Develop instructional materials for use in the classroom by the teachers.

Component 4 : Monitoring, Evaluation and Research

Aim

The objectives of this component are to develop an effective MIS system, and to provide and effective monitoring and evaluation system to monitor the use of grants and education allowances, and evaluate the impact of these interventions.

Monitoring Evaluation & Research

Monitoring the use of Grant

Evaluating Impact of Grants & Allowance

Monitoring & Assessing use of EA

Analytical Studies of Non-Formal Education

The activity of this component includes:

(i) Carry out baseline survey at family and at community levels

(ii) Conduct action research, thematic studies, and impact assessment

(iii) Conduct Analytical studies of Non-formal Education.

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Project Implementation Strategy

· The process of establishing and operating new LCs involves four steps: a) community mobilization, supported by communications and social awareness activities for establishing the CMC, which includes the training of its members; b) CMCs, through the UEOs, submits application to the ROSC Unit for participation in the Project (including list of potential students, teachers, location of LC etc); c) once established, the CMC is responsible for setting up new LCs, recruiting teachers, identifying ERPs with the help of ESPs for teacher training and acquisition of other educational services; and d) CMCs is then opens an account with the local Nationalized Commercial Bank and all project financial transactions is being channeled to LCs (grants ) and to parents/ guardians (education allowances) through the bank.

· Communities/CMC select ESPs and ERPs

· GoB has no role in selection of NGOs

Step 1 : Awareness raising of parents and community

n Outcome

- Identify

· Out of School Children (OSC)

· Teacher

· Learning center (LC) venue

· Education service provider (ESP)

Step 2: Formation of Centre Management Committee (CMC)

n Outcomes

· CMC formed

· Contract education service provider

· Contract teacher

Step 3 : Learning center approval

	Forms filled
	Application submitted to Upazila Education Officer
	Upazila Education Committee recommended to Project Director for approval
	Proposal approved

Step 4 : Award Confirmation Form (ACF) Preparation

	Forms processed
	Approved form sent to MIS cell
	ACF prepared (eligibility ensured)
	ACF sent back to Project Director

Step 5 : Fund disbursement

	ACF + fund authorization sent to Sonali Bank Head Office (service charge 2.5%)
	Sonali Bank Head Office sent fund to Upazila Bank Branch
	UBB+UEO+ESP organize meeting for fund disbursement

Disbursement

	Time/Venue fixed and notified
	Disbursement from UBB or booth
	Report to Sonali Bank Head Office/Project Director

Step 6 : Teacher Training

	Selected national level NGOs to act as Education Resource Provider (ERP) and list provided to upazilas by Project Director
	ERP contracted by CMC
	Teachers trained by ERP
	Subject-based training

Step 7 : CMC Training

	At the first stage the Master Trainers are trained
	Later CMC members are trained by the Master Trainers

Step 8 : Preparation for next fund release

	Monitor learning center performance by UEO/AUEO and third party (LGED)
	Monitoring reports and forms sent to Project Director
	Monitoring forms sent to MIS cell

(Step 4 followed again)

Step 9 : Project Evaluation

Hiring of external evaluation firm is under process

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Modality of Community Participation for LC Opening and Management

Establish M&E System

Opening Bank Accounts

Establish

Center Management Committees (CMCs)

Extended Meetings

Parents-AUEO-UP members

Parent Group Meeting

Social Mobilization

Create Ownership

Further Orientation

Courtyard Meeting &

Social Awareness Workshop

Identify Key Actors

Identify potential area

Social Mobilization

Create Ownership

Orient Key Players

ROSC Project Orientation Workshop at Upazila Level

Assign ERPs & ESPs

Formation of LC

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Functional Relationship between CMC and Other Stakeholders

Parents & wider community

•     Identify eligible learners, appropriate ESPs & qualified teacher

•     Ensure regular attendance of children in school

UEO Office

•     Sign contract with CMCs

•     Monitors LC operation

•     Ensure timely supply of books and materials

ROSC Unit

•     Provide supportive supervision for smooth operation of LCs

•     Ensure timely input supply for teaching learning to the CMCs

Sonali Bank

•     Opening CMC account

•     Disburse EA &            Grants

ESP

•     Assist community to identify out-of and hard-to reach children

•     Assist CMC to establish and to run LCs according to project document

ERP

•     Carry out educational technical services for capacity building of LC teachers

•     Monitor teaching-learning in LCs

LGED

•     Process ACF for LCs

•     Monitors LC performance

•     Produce report

CMC

•     Responsible for establishment & management of LCs

•     Sign agreement with UEOs, LC teachers ESPs & ERPs

•     Ensure better use of grants for LC effectiveness

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Stakeholders and Their Roles

NCB•

Provide support for quality enhancement

ROSC Committee

·       Carry out joint annual review of ROSC progress and plans and provide policy guidelines

MoPME

•   Provide overarching policy & operational      guidance

•   Develop a regulatory      framework for the ROSC

•   Sign MoU with relevant      agencies

WB & SDC

•     Provide technical support and supervision

ROSCU

Responsible for implementation and oversight of project activities

LGED

•   Process ACF for LCs

•   Monitors LC      performance

•   Produce report

ERP

•   Carry out educational      technical services for capacity building of LC      teachers

•   Monitor teaching-learning      in LCs

•

ESP

•   Assist community to identify      out-of and hard-to reach      children

•     Assist CMC to establish            and to run LCs according to project document

Sonali Bank

•     Disburse EA &            Grants

•     Prepare statements

CMC

•   Responsible for establishment      & management of LCs

•   Sign agreement with UEOs,      LC teachers ESPs & ERPs

•   Ensure better use of grants for      LC effectiveness

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Achievements up to December 2008

• Five million children enrolled in about 15,000 LCs of which 49% are female

• Declining trend has been registered in drop-out rate 0.48% in 2006 to 0.28% in 2007 and 0.16% in 2008

• Up to 2006, 981 children completed primary education cycle from ROSC LCs of whom 57% moved to secondary education

• 18,717 students of 73 SKT schools receiving education allowance

• Since 2005, 4138 students of SKT schools graduated of whom 77% moved to the next ier

• Up to December 2008, the cumulative expenditure stood at tk. 2053.3 million (53% of project cost) while tk. 633.16 million disbursed to learners and tk. 1152.54 million to LCs

• Tk. 48.86 million disbursed to SKT students and tk. 44.61 million disbursed to SKT schools

• Tk. 15.89 million disbursed to 20 SKT schools for repair and renovation of existing SKT Schools

• Under a MoU, ROSC project supporting skill development program for 252 students of SKT schools and tk. 5.3 million disbursed up to December 2008.

• 94% of the teachers met the required minimum qualification set for teachers SSC or equivalent.

• Majority of the LC teachers are female (78%) and most of them belong to 21-30 years of age group.

• Teachers receiving salary ranging tk. 1000-1200 per month.

• Learning achievements in Bangla and Mathematics was notably satisfactory. The monitoring report of MIS Cell depicts that, in Bangla and Mathematics 95% students achieved average to excellent grade, with only 5% having achieved poor grade.

• A training program for building social awareness and community management for 1,20,000 CMC members and 400 ESP Executives has been implemented by the program.

• After having training, CMCs took active participation in a good number of cases like: record keeping and prepare statement 38%, monitor grant utilization 51%, Monitor teacher-student attendance 79%, teacher selection 73%, selection of LC location 78% establishment of LC 73%, identification of eligible children 90%, 99% learners received textbooks in the beginning of academic year, training also increased transparency within the committee as regards education allowance and grants utilization and proper maintenance of records/registers, etc.

• 15,000 LC teachers received foundation training from the ROSC Project. Besides, the teachers are also provided with 3-day Refreshers’ Training to develop their knowledge, delivery skills, and learners’ assessment skills.

• For professional development of LC teachers Teacher’s Group Meeting (TGM) has been introduced that enable teachers to share their experiences about teaching and to find solutions to the problems that they face in LCs.

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Office Address:
	Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROSC) Project (Ground Floor)
	Directorate of Primary Education
	Mirpur, Section-2, Dhaka-1216
	Bangladesh.

	Telephone: +880-2-9009230, 8034061
	Fax : +880-2-9009353
	Email : rosc@dhaka.net, rosc.dpe@gmail.com
	Web : www.dpe.gov.bd/rosc.htm