Education for Deprived Students
Subtitle
Effects of EDS
EDS started in 2005 with ten children. Now EDS is an action oriented program where about 400 poor children and youth help each other to get education, improve their livelihood and become change agents and leaders. In EDS university students volunteer to teach EDS high school students, these teach EDS secondary school students who teache EDS primary school students. The achievements below are due to the EDS staff and continuous dedication and hard work by the EDS students supported by their parents, university students and professors, various people in the local community and international volunteers.
When you read what the EDS students have achieved bear in mind their challenging life situation: the parents of the EDS students have poorly paid work (1-2 UDS/day as daily laborers in the market, rickshaw drivers, beggars or factory workers) in often unhealthy working conditions. Some EDS students are orphans or have only one parent.
Responsible change agents and leaders
EDS has developed many young, responsible leaders and change agents who work from their heart to help poor children and youth to get education. EDS leaders learn life skills like problem solving, colleague guidance, team work, respect, honesty (say no to corruption, drugs, ilegal activities and too early marriages) and possess great motivational capacities.
Although the EDS students often do not have enough to eat they prefer to teach younger EDS students voluntarily than teaching privately and earning money. They also have increased confidence in taking leadership during the sport activities, speak in class and perform during the cultural events. The EDS boys take care of the EDS girls like their own sisters and ensures their safety to/from EDS and school.
There are many outstanding young, leaders in EDS, some of them are:
Alamin
(EDS coordinator)
Alamin (left in the picture) is a university student. He spends the entire day (apart from his own university lectures) seven days a week for EDS. Alamin implements action learning and develops young leaders by giving them real responsibilities for teaching and other tasks in EDS. Alamin observes and guides the young leaders and motivates them to conduct colleague guidance and help each other to solve problems.
Alamin also motivates poor children, youth and parents for education, arranges parent meetings, social gatherings and picnics in EDS, maintains contact with university students who teach in EDS, helps EDS students to access higher education, collaborates with the local community to ensure good relations and support for EDS, conducts home visits to EDS students, maintains contact with local schools and headmasters to identify poor children and youth in need for support from EDS and to monitor the EDS students’ academic performances. The EDS youth respect Alamin, the EDS children loves him (as he plays with them, behaves like a friend and teaches very well) and poor parents often call Alamin to get advices on how to solve family problems.
Shaun
(EDS teacher and student)
Shaun's father works in Shonali jute mills and earns 1-2 dollars a day. This is not enough to provide sufficient food for the family. Many parents working in the jute mill industry send their children to work in the industry instead of letting them go to school. Shaun (left in the picture) dreamed of getting higher education and when he was 12 years old he started in EDS. He studied hard and got good grades. When Shaun was 14 years old he thought that as EDS had supported him to get education he should support other poor children. So on own initiative he started teaching children in the Shonali jute mills area. Now he is 18 years, studies BSc at the university and makes sure 70 poor children in Shonali jute mills area get educaion.
Shaun and his brother Masum have motivated 15 university students to teach EDS children in Shonali. Shaun is very responsible and always comes well prepared and timely to teach in EDS. He never misses a single day because he knows from own experience how important it is to support poor children so they get education. Shaun could easily earn Money by giving private tuition, but for him it gives more meaning to teach poor children in EDS voluntarily.
Seba
(EDS teacher and student)
Seba (with green scarf in the picture) studies in grade 10. She is responsible for the female volunteers teaching class 1-10 in the Mohewarpasha EDS group. She starts teaching in EDS in early mornings before her school classes and continues teaching in EDS after school.
Ibrahim
(EDS teacher and student)
Ibrahim studies in grade 8. His dream is to become a leader like Alamin and work for poor children. So Ibrahim follows Alamin nearly everywhere to learn how Alamin motivates and communicates with people, solves problems and coordinates EDS.
Ibrahim is also eager to learn English as he thinks an EDS leader needs to know languages to communicate with international volunteers.
Ibrahim is responsible for the young, male volunteers in Mohewarpasha and he is responsible for practical teaching of grade 1-5 EDS students in the EDS garden.
Ibrahim is very committed to education and he is a very responsible and caring person.
Excellent school results - good learning community
Prior to joining EDS many of the EDS students were unable to write and read properly, got bad grades and did not go to school regularly. We create a child-friendly learning environment in EDS. This makes the EDS students eager to learn and some like EDS so much that they come hours in advance of their EDS classes as one student told:
"We like it here (in EDS) because here the adults behave friendly and don't beat us. Juboraj is an orphan and his grandmother Fatema Begum looks after him. Photo: Taslima Miji The EDS students go regularly to school, get (and give) tuition in EDS before and/or after school and they are among the best students in the school exams (see table below). In Bangladesh students have Board (national) exams in grade 5, 8, 10 and 12. Each Board exam consist of 12 exams, so the grades below are the average of 12 exams. * Total number of EDS students taking the exam that year A+ > 80% (GPA 5)
Here we learn through playing, it's fun".
Taslima Miji visited EDS on request from NORAD (the Norwegian agency for development cooperation) and wrote the article "The dream of a change maker" (http://eds2005.webs.com/apps/links/). Juboraj, an EDS student, told Taslima:
"Here (in EDS) I can ask the teacher any question without fear. I never felt free to ask the teacher a question in the primary school as the teachers beat us in response to questions".
Juboraj also told Taslima he had learned to read, write and count easily thanks to EDS and said:
"I want to study in higher classes and I will help people like Hafizur Mama (uncle)"Year Class/grades A+ A A- B C D Total* 2013 HSC** SSC*** 5 11 2 18 Grade 8 Grade 5 2012 HSC SSC Grade 8 7 9 11 27 Grade 5 3 40 7 50 2011 HSC 7 3 3 13 SSC 2 4 6 Grade 8 4 5 3 12 Grade 5 3 22 14 4 43 2010 HSC SSC 1 8 2 11 Grade 8 4 7 5 16 Grade 5 1 25 9 7 42 2009 HSC SSC 2 5 3 10 Grade 8 Grade 5
** Higher School Certificate (Grade 12)
**' Secondary School Certificate (Grade10)
A 70-79% (GPA 4)
A- 60-69% (GPA 3.5)
B 50-59% (GPA 3)
C 40-49% (GPA 2)
D 33-39% (GPA 1)
F 0-32% (GPA 0)
Parents - gain hope and confidence in education
Prior to joining EDS most parents were not aware about the importance of education and pedagogic methods to guide and support their children to get education, become confident and motivated to help others. When the children got bad school results their parents thought their children were not able to learn and wanted to take their children out from school and send them to work in factories or marry them away.
The parents have gained hope and confidence that they can influence their children's education and future positively. Now they motivate their children to get education and do not marry off their daughters at early ages, as expressed by parents at the meeting July 2009:
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"Earlier I was thinking that my children didn't need education as they were going to get married or work as labourers in the jute mill industry like me. When my daughter started in EDS, I realized the importance of education and now I want that all my children get good education so they can get better jobs and a better life than I have" (father).
"We have three daughters. Through EDS we have learned about the importance of education and we have decided to not marry off our daughters young, but to support them to get good education so they can get good husbands" (father)
"Prior to EDS we were thinking as we are illiterate there is nothing we can do for our children's education. Now we have gained self-confidence and know that although we are illiterate there is a lot we can do to support our children's education"
(a mother telling on behalf of the EDS mothers)
When Taslima Miji visited EDS on request from NORAD, Rahele (mother of an EDS student) told her (http://eds2005.webs.com/apps/links/):
"A poor woman like me can think of sending her son to school because of Hafizur. God bless him, may his dreams come true"
A 13 year old girl in grade six had never passed an exam before, so her parents and teacher thought she was lazy and beat her regularly. Her parents thought she was unable to study s they wanted to marry her off. When the girl came to EDS we realized she was illiterate. Nobody had bothered to find that out before. She started to study in EDS and at passed all the following school exams. Her surprised and happy father said:
"Now I see that she is able to study. I will not marry her off, but rather pay all her educational expenses as long as she will need it".
International exchange of knowledge and skills
International teacher students and volunteers have visited EDS to exchange knowledge and skills with the EDS students. In addition to enhanced skills and knowledge this mutual exchange increases understanding, respect and accept for differences. The teacher students 1) learned about Bangladeshi school system by visiting local schools, universities and a teacher training institute, 2) learned about the EDS action oriented learning system by observing EDS students teaching in EDS and visiting all EDS branches and 3) learned about the EDS students livelihood by home visits and visits to the jute mills where the EDS parents work.
January 2013 the pedagogy students Signe and Hilde had three weeks practical teacher training in EDS. Signe and Hilde studied at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB, Senter for læring og lærerutdanning, SLL) in Norway. Hafiz was their local supervisor.
Signe and Hilde shared their great pedagogy, organizational and leadership skills with the EDS students and also taught inquiry based learning in environmental sciences, role play, problem solving and colleague guidance.
The EDS students, Signe and Hilde made a movie on challenges the EDS students face in their strive to get education. Over 300 children, youth and parents were exited to watch the movie.
Mid June to mid July 2013 the two Norwegian youth Enya (teacher student from NTNU) and Ann-Synnøve (sociology student) volunteer in EDS with focus on English and computer skills.
Local community - increased respect and support
When starting EDS many people in Moheswarpasha village had prejudices against poor children and youth. People didn't understand why Hafiz bothered to spend time with the poor children as he didn't gain economically from it. They tried to discourage Hafiz by telling that he would fail and become poor himself if he continued spending his own money for poor children's education. People adviced Hafiz to improve his own livelihood first and only help the poor children when he himself was rich.
Hafiz knew that if he did not help the poor children now to get education it would be too late. The children were at risk of destroying their lives by dropping out of school followed by or due to drug abuse, illegal activities, too early marriages or being child labourer in factories or at the market. Hafiz could not watch this happen, he was not able to eat when seeing that the poor children had nothing. So he decided to start EDS and do what he could with the small resources he had.
Through EDS arrangements like sports, picnics, cultural and social activities EDS students and children, youth and adults from more resource rich families have fun together and create friendships. Through great school results and by teaching in EDS the EDS students proove to the society that they are able to learn and that they are responsible and honest.
The inhabitants of Moheswarpasha village are grateful to EDS that the EDS students have improved their behaviour and are studying instead of hanging out in the streets disturbing people.The local community is getting more supportive towards EDS and many wish to help EDS. Students from Khulna University and Khulna University for Engineering and Technology teach voluntarily various subjects and computer in EDS. Also professors from these universities support EDS and visit EDS to inspire the EDS students for higher education. Local volunteers help out during picnics and other events, two doctors give, as far as possible, free consultation to the EDS participants and Transparency International has held a seminar on anti-corruption. EDS also holds the local politicians and police responsible for ensuring a safe school road for the EDS students.
Gulshanara - an excellent EDS teacher!
Gulshanara went to school for eight years before she had to stop due to economic problems. Now Gulshanara teaches in EDS. People used to criticize her telling "How can the EDS students learn anything from her when she only has eight years education and no teacher training? She is not qualified". December 2012 Gulshanara's 50 EDS students in grade 5 got their exam results. Three of her students got A+, 40 got A and seven got A-. Then people stopped talking and Gulshanara herself said surprised "I didn't know I was that good teacher". The secret is that Gulshanara is is very committed to teach in EDS, she is friendly and explains well to ensure that her students understand and are confident to ask her questions.