The STEM and ICT Skills for Girls of Coastal Area project is conducting various activities to improve the information technology skills of 6 schools in the remote areas of three coastal districts of Bangladesh and connect them with Digital Bangladesh. In continuation of this, a teacher-parent assembly was held on October 3 with the participation of 42 parents and teachers of Comrade Ratan Sen Collegiate Girls’ High School, Khulna, with the aim of creating awareness among parents to acquire technical skills for girls.
Socio-economic barriers are a major problem in girls’ education in coastal areas. Factors such as child marriage, family dysfunction or social taboos still hamper girls’ formal education. Students and their families are not aware of the vast potential of technology-based skills. This awareness raising meeting was organized in the presence of parents along with school teachers to facilitate technology based education of girl students. The event was presided over by the school principal Laxman Kumar Saha.
It should be noted that the project is imparting skill enhancement training on science, mathematics, programming and robotics to the girl students of 6th to 8th standard of the three coastal Upazilas: Rupsa of Khulna, Rampal of Bagerhat and Tala upazila of Satkhira have a total of 6 secondary schools – Shahid Ali Ahmed Government Girls’ High School, Tala; Shaheed Kamel Model High School, Tala; Comrade Ratan Sen Collegiate Girls’ High School, Rupsa; Naihati Secondary Girls’ High School, Rupsa; Perikhali Model High School, Rampal; Barakatali Bahumamukhi High School, Rampal. With the aim of sustainable development of the project, teacher training workshops were also organized with the participation of the teachers of the schools.
In addition, students are provided with hands-on technology science, robotics, programming and math lab equipment in these 6 schools. Schools are provided with tablets and a computer each for self-practice using digital devices, hands-on science experiments, tools for robotics, and fun math tricks. Experienced project mentors are imparting hands-on training to the students using the labs provided in the school. By participating in the regional school-based competition of Bangladesh Junior Science Olympiad, 6 students were selected for the national phase and came to Dhaka to participate and gain the experience of an Olympiad for the first time.
As a part of the project activities, libraries have been created in the schools to inculcate the habit of reading among the students. Every school was provided with books on Science, Mathematics, Programming, Robotics, Science Fiction, Adventure Novels, and Juvenile Books etc. which will create interest in reading among students.
Also, cyber security seminars were organized under the project in the month of August to create awareness among students to prevent online violence through the use of technology. In the seminar, officials of Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira Upazila police departments talked in detail with the students about how to avoid online risks and prevent violence. Apart from this, motivational sessions were organized where a female tech personality shared her experience and career story with the students to encourage students to enter tech-based careers.
The project is being implemented by Bangladesh Open Source Network (BDOSN) under the auspices of international donor organization Malala Fund and overall supervision of Bangladesh Freedom Foundation.
