Gender Responsive Education and Skills Program in Chittagong Hill Tracts

This project aims to improve learning outcomes and employability for vulnerable and low-income Indigenous and Bengali girls adolescent women and women including the disabled in Bandarban and Rangamati in the Chittagong Hill Tracts district of Bangladesh. Project activities include: (1) improving access to quality learning for dropouts and providing gender-responsive subject matter training to teaching assistants to teach dropouts in their indigenous language and bridge them into primary school; (2) reducing gender-based violence to ensure safe and secure communities and institutions education administration and training officials to recognize signs of harassment; (3) developing adolescent women’s leadership skills to set up co-curricular activities in secondary schools; (4) establishing community watch groups to prevent child marriage gender based-violence and sexual harassment; (5) enhancing employment skills training girls and women on market-driven trades followed by job placement and informing employers on best practices creating decent work environment; and (6) raising community leaders’ awareness on the benefits of women’s participation in the labour market. This project expects to benefit 30 000 indigenous and Bengali primary school students and 15 000 secondary students. Also this project is estimated to reach 410 teaching assistants and 50 school management committees; and 1 230 women and men participate in skills training supported by 375 master crafts persons.

The expected outcomes for this project include: 1) increased equitable provision of quality inclusive education and learning for girls and adolescent women including those with disabilities in government primary schools (grade one to five) and in non-government secondary schools (grade six to ten); 2) enhanced community and institutional practices to eliminate gender-based violence against girls adolescent women and women in specific districts in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT); and 3) increased equitable gender-responsive and demand-driven employability for quality jobs and business opportunities for women and adolescent women including those with disabilities in specific districts of the CHT.