Diversity and Indigenous Peoples Leadership Project Final 2015

Diversity and Indigenous Peoples Leadership Project

Evaluation: Plains Adibashi Pre-Primary Education

Presented by

Sandra Basgall, Evaluation Consultant

February 2015


Cover Photo: Anita Dhanoar, 7, attended PPS run by BSDO 2012-2013. She is continuing her

education at Choto Mohammadpur Primary School, Potnitola Sadar Union of Naogoan District in

level 2. Her elder sister, 11, years is also attended the PPS and now is in level 3 of the BTAC Primary

School near their village.

During PPS, her teacher, Ms. Shitoli Ekka, came from her community. She is a good teacher, loves

the children much, and is very caring in teaching her students in their mother tongue. She easily

explains the differences in languages so she and other students could understand their studies. It was

easy to communicate with her as a teacher. Any hard task in the class work was made easy by her and

she was very caring to teach them well. Ms Shitoli is her idol.

In PPS, she was happy to have the school tiffin once in a month prepared by their mothers. It gave

them incentive to more attentive and have a regular presence in the school.

Anita found this PPS experience has had a great impact on her life as well as that of the other

students. They could now envision continuing their education. Her goal is to continue her education

as high as possible.

The PPS books are good and the colour to make them very attentive. The students really got a chance

to be introduced to a bi-lingual education system. Mathematics and English are harder than studying

Bangla. They need a private tutor for mathematics and English. She is getting support from her elder

sister and also from her PPS teacher.

She thinks that the only way others will have her success is to continue the PPS education system.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................... iii

Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... v

1.0 Introduction and Purpose .................................................................................................. 6

2.0 Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 7

3.0 Bangladesh and Adibashi ................................................................................................... 7

4.0 Bangladesh Educational History ....................................................................................... 8

5.0 Diversity and Indigenous Peoples Leadership Project .................................................. 11

5.1 Testimonials ....................................................................................................................... 18

5.2 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 22

Appendices ................................................................................................................................... 24

People Interviewed ...................................................................................................................... 25

Open advertisement on Primary School Teacher recruitment ............................................... 26

Summary of the Advertisement ................................................................................................. 26

Newspaper Article ....................................................................................................................... 27

Fear, threats trigger Adivasi displacement .............................................................................. 27

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 29

Maps

Map 1: The catchment areas where this project was implemented ………………….…………iv

Figures

Figure 1: Project Results Framework……………………………………………………...………6

Tables

Table 1: Bangladesh Literacy rates for youth 15-24 from 1981 to 2014 broken down by gender.9

Table 2: Bangladesh GDP from 1981 to 2014……………………………………………………...9

Table 3: Distribution of Number of Girl and Boy Students by Year……………………………14

Table 4: PPS School Established by Year………………………………………………………...17

Table 5: Number of PPS by District……………………………………………………………....17


ii

Acknowledgement

This study could not be accomplished without the support of Oxfam Great Britain which includes

Claire Hutchings, Global Adviser on Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, and Deborah Hardoon,

Senior Researcher, and Oxfam in Bangladesh which includes Snehal Soneji, Country Director; Saikat

Biswas, Project Coordinator; Afroz Mahal, Program Coordinator; and Md. Safiur Rahman, MEAL

Coordinator. I could not have done this without the assistance of Mohammad Mosabber Hossain who

acted as my interpreter and assistant throughout the process. Thank you, Mosabber! There are many

other people to thank and many of their names appear in the appendix as people interviewed. The

most important actors, though, are the adibashi people who live in the plains of Bangladesh.


iii

Abbreviations

BSDO Barendrabhumi Samaj Unnayan Sangstha

CHT Chittagong Hill Tracts

DANIDA Danish International Development Agency

DKK Danish Krone

ECCE Early Childhood Care and Education

EFA Education for All

GoB Government of Bangladesh

MOPME Ministry of Primary and Mass Education

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

PEDP3 Primary Education Development Program III

PPS Pre-Primary Education


iv

Map 1: The catchment areas where this project was implemented.


v

Executive Summary

The Diversity and Indigenous Peoples Leadership Project had three prongs:

To enhance the capacities of the adibashi1 population and local community based organizations

(CBOs) to enable them to claim their rights and entitlements from government and different

service providers;

To strengthen the school to ensure that adibashi children have greater access to bilingual pre-

primary information and formal education provided by NGOs and Government respectively;

and

To strengthen women’s leadership to protect women rights and ending violence against women.

This evaluation only looks at the second prong which strengthened the pre-primary schooling for

adibashi children by starting them in bilingual education which, as their Bangla skills grew, eventually

placed them into government schooling. Starting in 1999 and ending in 2014, it served adibashi

communities in 12 districts, 32 sub-districts, 89 Unions, in 790 villages in Bangladesh.

During this period, 184 pre-primary school were opened which served the majority of pre-primary

students and changed the dropout rate in government school by adibashi children from 80 to 20

percent.

1 Bangla word to describe the aboriginal population of Bangladesh. The Government of Bangladesh uses a variety of

different names, often with derogatory meanings, in describing all of these different ethnic groups and those from the

Chittagong Hill Tracks are called ‘tribal’. There is a push toward using adibashi as a unifying name as they all face similar

issues, discrimination and oppression, throughout Bangladesh.


6

1.0 Introduction and Purpose

The Diversity and Indigenous Peoples Leadership Project (Figure 1: Project Results Framework),

completed in June 2014, supported the rights of the adibashi communities in 12 districts, 32 sub-

districts, 89 Unions, in 790 villages of Bangladesh (Map 1). They had 75,000 beneficiaries and 100,000

indirect beneficiaries of which half were women. This Oxfam project worked with its 22 partner

organizations to:

Enhance the capacities of the adibashi population and local community based organizations

(CBOs) to enable them to claim their rights and entitlements from government and different

service providers.

Strengthen the school to ensure that adibashi children have greater access to bilingual pre-

primary information and formal education provided by NGOs and Government respectively.

Strengthen women’s leadership to protect women rights and ending violence against women.

Figure 1: Project Results Framework.

The project included activities at the community level and the national policy influencing level,

particularly regarding education for the adibashi. This evaluation will specifically, though, focus on the

educational aspect of this project, but will be informed by the other areas as each supports the other.


7

2.0 Methodology

The methodology initially planned was to visit the adibashi communities in the northern Bangladesh

and Sylhet to assess the extent to which the capacity changes of the adibashi influenced national policy

toward their wellbeing and what evidence there is that the project contributed to these changes. The

evaluation team’s plans were thwarted, though, because of the current political climate in Bangladesh

and the danger it presented in traveling to these areas and, sometimes, even traveling in Dhaka. For

instance, at the end of the first day of interviewing key stakeholders in Dhaka, the team returned to the

office and was told to immediately return to their homes/hotel and not to come to work the next day as

the situation had become dangerous. In talking with partners in the field, they told us there is great unrest

in the areas we planned to visit and it was not safe to visit.

It was still hoped the situation would lessen and we could spend a few days in the field talking to

partners, graduates of the Pre-Primary Education (PPS), their parents and teachers, and the community,

but it became obvious this would not happen and the tenure of the project needed to be change.

Although, not the best method, we were able to interview a few people in the field by phone to get some

idea of primary and secondary experience with this project and we increased the number of stakeholders

in Dhaka we were able to interview. We were fortunate in that Md. Abdur Rauf, Executive Director of

Barendrabhumi Samaj Unnayan Sangstha (BSDO), who was one of the originators of the project, was

able to visit Dhaka and we had an extensive interview with him in the Oxfam Office.

From secondary data, Oxfam staff, and the few people the team was able to talk to in Dhaka, it rapidly

became apparent that the history of the project was fascinating unto itself and that there was a more

interesting story in the organic process in which the project started and evolved, and the fact that Oxfam

and the original donor, AusAID, each allowed space for questions, research, thinking, and planning;

and that a full blown project was created through this organic process. It took a number of years for

things to ‘jell’ and there was a significant amount of research and pilots which took place before the

project’s formal inception. The following is a discussion about Bangladesh and the adibashi, a brief

history of education in Bangladesh, and ultimately the early beginnings story followed with the project

fruition and achievements.

3.0 Bangladesh and Adibashi

According to the 2011 census, Bangladesh has a population of 149,772,364 people2, of which 39.7

percent3 are under 18 years old. The majority of the people are Bengalis who are primarily Muslim, but

the adibashi, who settled the land long before this newer influx, belong to more than 54 different

indigenous ethnic groups2 now number only about 3 million people, slightly over 2 percent. In 1945,

their population made up about 8.2 percent, but many have migrated to other countries to flee

persecution and find economic stability (see Newspaper Article in Appendices: Fear, threats trigger

Adivasi displacement, Anwar Ali, Rajshahi, January 21, 2015). Those left currently residing in two

geographic regions, Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and plain land.

2 Dalem Chandra Barman and Mong Sing Neo, 2012, Human Rights Report 2011 on Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh,

Dhaka: Kapaeeng Foundation, 21.


8

They have their own language, customs, social organization, religion, foods, and culture. This social

and cultural identity that is distinct from dominant group and make them some of the most discriminated

and poor in Bangladesh. That Bangladesh does not recognize the adibashi or indigenous people is a

fact. The term ‘tribal’ is used and only the CHT is recognized as a ‘Tribal Area’ and have specified

rights. Although all adibashi have similar issues, the CHT are better protected because of the 1997

Accord signed between them and the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) which recognized their area as

a tribal inhabited region and affirmed their special governance system. The CHT are the best known of

the indigenous groups and receive the most benefits. Other indigenous peoples do not have any specific

policy to protect them. The Human Rights Report 2001 states:

The indigenous peoples of Bangladesh remain among the most persecuted of all

minorities, facing discrimination not only on the basis of their religion and ethnicity,

but also because of their indigenous identity and their socio-economic status.3

Fifty-eight percent of all tribal groups live outside CHT4. In the plains land, are scattered in small poverty

pockets, especially in the northwest, north east, south west, and central, eking out a living as subsistence

agriculturalist. They are the most discriminated against in the country and the most disadvantaged live

in the north-west plains5. The plains adibashi have no access to the decision making process and

experience structural prejudice, discrimination, and violence from the majority Bengali Community

with remains unaddressed by the government, police, or the counts. Their human rights are frequently

violated. They are subject to land grabbing and eviction as they often do not hold title to land that

historically they have lived on for generations. Women face a double burden of discrimination in that

Bangladesh does not hold women as a whole in high accord and adibashi women face even more distain

as they are marginalized in their own communities and there are no provisions to protect them from

trafficking, sexual harassment, forced and early marriage, violence, and rape from others6. The adibashi

are not only marginalized, discriminated against, and denied their basic human rights, but often denied

education.

4.0 Bangladesh Educational History

Education has shown to be the great equalizer. In 1981, the literacy rate (Table 1) in Bangladesh for

females was 18 percent and for males 44.57. Today, the literacy rates for girls stand at 80.4 percent,

compared to boys at 77.1 percent in the 15 to 24 year olds8. This is almost a 50 percent increase.

3 Ibid, 22. 4 Bangladesh – Primary Education Development Program II: Plan for Expanding Primary Education of Tribal Children,

2007, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education. 5 In 1991, it was estimated that 85 percent were landless and only 9 percent literate

www.vso.org.uk/about/cprofiles/bangladesh.asp. 6 “Violence against indigenous women is one of the most widespread violations of human rights.” Dalem Chandra Barman

and Mong Sing Neo, 2012, Human Rights Report 2011 on Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh, Dhaka: Kapaeeng

Foundation, 164. 7 http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/bangladesh/literacy-rate. 8 UNICEF Bangladesh, www.unicef.org/infobycountry/bangladeshbangladeshstatistics.html.

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/bangladeshbangladeshstatistics.html.


9

Table 1: Bangladesh Literacy rates for youth 15-24 from 1981 to 2014 broken down by gender.

For the same period of time, the GDP (Table 2) increased from $11.7 million to $111.8 million which

is a 94% increase. It is not surprising to see increase in education having a direct correlation to increase

in GDP. Education not only increases national wealth, but contributes to overall individual, family, and

community well-being.

Table 2: Bangladesh GDP from 1981 to 2014.

The UN Declaration of Human Rights9 recognizes that basic rights and fundamental freedoms are

inherent to all human beings whatever their nationality, place of residence, gender, national or ethnic

origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status and it confirms that everyone has the right to

education. Bangladesh, as a signer, further supports universal education through the Bangladesh

Constitution and confirmation to the Education for All objectives and the Millennium Development

Goals. Further, as a part of a comprehensive approach to achieve Education for All (EFA), both the

9 http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml/drafters.shtml.

18

.0%

25

.8%

40

.8% 5

2.2

%

80

.4%

44

.5%

51

.8%

67

.2%

75

.5%

77

.1%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

1981 1991 1001 2010 2014

Girl Boy

$19.7 $30.9

$46.9

$100.3

$140.2

$-

$20.0

$40.0

$60.0

$80.0

$100.0

$120.0

$140.0

$160.0

1981 1991 1001 2010 2014

http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml/drafters.shtml


10

World Declaration on Education for All (Jomtien, 1990) and the Dakar Framework for Action (2000)

have accentuated the importance of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)10.

Bangladesh is a signatory country to all these international initiatives. Several national policies and

programs have adopted the issues related to these international pledges. The major national policies and

programs which have indicated strategies and actions related to pre-primary education formulated by

government include the National Children's Policy (1994), Poverty Reduction Strategy (2005-08),

National Program of Action for Children (2004-09), Education for All: National Plan of Action II (2003-

2015) and Third Primary Education Development Program (PEDP3, 2011-2016).

These benefiting from basic human rights, fundamental freedoms, and education, though they should,

do not include the adibashi. These indigenous communities speak approximately 26 different

languages, not Bangla. A 2007 Save the Children study observed that more than half of the adibashi

speak their own language at home more than 80 percent of the time11. The common belief by the

majority is they are not capable of learning and the education system does not paint an attractive picture

of their life or culture.

Adibashi literacy rates and social indicators are quite low. Males are more literate than females, although

their educational enrolment rates have increased over all. In 2007, only 14.5 percent adibashi children

were enrolled at the primary level. A study showed that in 47.4 percent of the households no male and

in 65.6 percent, no female was able to read or write a letter12.

The majority population holds a widespread belief that the adibashi are incapable of learning and have,

therefore, been excluded from the national education plans. That has been changing through the Oxfam

Diversity and Indigenous Peoples Leadership Project. The National Education Policy 2010 now

categorically emphasizes introduction of pre-primary education: a one-year pre-primary schooling must

be introduced for all 5+ children. Later, this will be extended up to 4+ children. The adibashi will be

taught in pre-primary schools in their native language, using teachers from their community, and

indigenously appropriate textbooks and methods. Upon entering primary school, Bangla will be

introduced a little more each of the three first years until grade 4 when they will be taught exclusively

in Bangla.

Currently, the Primary Education Development Program III (PEDP3) plan is to expand primary

quality education to all tribal children, but like other educational plans, no budget has been passed to

implement this plan. There is, though, a stipend program for the poorest 40 percent of primary

children, including tribal children, amounting to 10013 taka a month. PEDP3 plans to construct 30,000

new classrooms the first year. The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MOPME) will review

and develop appropriate educational material and recruit and train more teachers, especially head

10 http://www.childresearch.net/projects/ecec/2013_07.html. 11 Save the Children UK, 2007, Mother Language First: Towards Achieving Education for All for Adivasi Children in

Bangladesh, Dhaka: Save the Children and Khagrachari Hill District Council. 12 Bangladesh – Primary Education Development Program II: Plan for Expanding Primary Education of Tribal Children,

2007, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education. 13 This is about USD1.28 or 84 British pound sterling.


11

teachers from tribal communities.14 The Department of Primary Education has produced the first

training manual for supervisors of teachers working for inclusion of indigenous children in education.

5.0 Diversity and Indigenous Peoples Leadership Project

Most projects start with a beginning and an ending, but the start of this project began with serendipity

and curiosity before it became a full-fledged project. This is the tale of this beginning, through to its

becoming a full-fledged project, and culminating with its ending, 1999 through 2014.

Australia was working with its own aborigine

population and AusAID, which is the international

development arm of the Australian government,

wanted to know if there were indigenous people in

Bangladesh and if their needs were being addressed.

By then, the Chittagong Hills Tribes were well

known, but Bibhash Chakroborty, who was then the

Oxfam in Bangladesh Program Coordinator and now

Bangladesh Country Program Manager of Saferworld

and who originally was from Mymensing said he was

aware of some indigenous people, the Garo, in that

area who were quite poor and very underserved.

AusAID wanted to find out about them and develop

programming. They asked: “What can you (Oxfam)

do with these people?”

It was felt that illiteracy was a big problem and this particular need was hard to address as the

government education did not meet the needs of this population as it was in Bangla and the adibashi

speak a variety of different languages; the majority of the population are Muslim and the adibashi are

Christian, Buddhist, and animist; there are also major differences in culture from the mainstream. It was

them felt that a pre-primary school (PPS) program might be what was necessary to ‘kick start’ these

children so they would successfully start and finish their government primary education. AusAID came

up with funds for a pilot project running from 1999 to 2000.

At about the same time in a parallel, but independent move, Md. Abdur Rauf, the Executive Director of

Barendrabhumi Samaj Unnayan Sangstha (BSDO) located in Mohadevpur Upazila15 of Naogaon

District of the North Western Region of Bangladesh stated that when he was a school child, he noticed

that when one of the adibashi children tried to attend school, they were ostracised, and beat up until

they quit, he felt this treatment was wrong so he was more aware of their plight than the average person.

14 Bangladesh – Primary Education Development Program II: Plan for Expanding Primary Education of Tribal Children,

2007, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education. 15 Bangladesh is broken into 7 Divisions which would be equivalent to states or provinces in other countries. Then each

division is broken into Districts which number 64 and then further broken into sub-districts, upazilas, which number 488,

finally the union parishads are the smallest rural administrative and local government units. Each of these have their

administrative functions and as Bangladesh functions primarily in a top-down manner, the union parishads have little

political power.


12

Naogaon is a very poor district with about 80 percent

of the people in the region living under the poverty

line16. Initially, the BSDO was established by a few

social activists in the region in 1986, they

supplemented and complemented different

government activities.

In 1991, BSDO established an adult literacy program along with social awareness for the adibashi

people in the area, targeting adibashi women and men and funded my Community Aid Abroad. It was

observed that during the program, the school-age children of the participants were playing in the

community. Questions began to be asked as to why these children were not in school and why. BSDO

studied this issue and the found the same constraints as Oxfam: language was a barrier, the curriculum

was in Bangla and not in any of the adibashi languages (Oraon, Pahan, and Santal), and the education

was not culturally aligned at all, and the teachers were not part of the adibashi community and looked

down on these people and did not understand their culture.

BSDO had by then joined with Oxfam as their funds shifted from the adult literacy project which was

scheduled to run until 1998. In 1997, Community Aid

Abroad closed their country program and shifted all

of their funds to Oxfam in Bangladesh because of

their work with adibashi people rights issues. BSDO

discussed the children’s education issue with Oxfam

and joined the pilot PPS program.

In searching for school teachers, BSDO first

discussed with the adult learners from their literacy

program whether any of their spouses had the

capacity. They found 2 women with basic education

background who had married into the community and

recruited them. Initially there were 25 children in each

class. As the classes progressed, parents found their

other children wanted to join them and they requested

more children join. The classes swelled to 30. The

success of PPS came when all 60 children’s enrolled

in the government primary school. Originally, there

were 2 pre-primary schools which served 200

children who were taught in their own vernacular with

culturally appropriate textbooks and teachers hired

from this community. With this success of piloting

two PPS, Oxfam came forward to extend the

education program for the Indigenous people in all 6

sub-districts under the Naogoan District in 2001 and

increased to 37 PPS. Usually the schools were

established in small rented mud houses with

16 BSDO. Undated. Profile of Barendrabhumi Samaj Unnayan Sangstha – BSDO.


13

corrugated tin roofs. The community was encouraged to decorate the interiors of the schools and often

they were very colourful.

These programs were a huge success. All of the children registered for and excelled in and the majority

completed primary school. Many children were first in their classes and went on to secondary school

and even university. The PPS respected and mobilized through the adibashi culture. The second step

was to mobilize the community and the Mothers in School Forum and the School Management

Committees were formed. It was felt that one of the keys to success was the Mothers Forums as they

often bridge the gap between the community and the school.

In 2006, the program expanded further with the support of DANIDA17. Oxfam added 16 implementing

partners in 8 districts. With this, the program also expanded beyond education which was then used as

a tool for grassroots capacity and confidence building and women’s leadership building (Figure 1 shows

the Results Framework). These also focused the community establishing land ownership18 which would

make them less vulnerable to exploitation. In describing the success of the project, Bibhash

Chakraborty, who was the original Oxfam project coordinator, described the project “as a good model”

as it allowed the indigenous people to ‘shine’ as they began to find their voice in civil society and the

politicians saw them as an advantage as they were votes.”

Oxfam’s educational aim was:

To reduce the language barrier, increase school attendance, and support the adibashi

children in reaching the level required to participate fully in primary school and

express their needs and opinions19.

In 2007, a baseline survey was implemented in two parts: a household survey and a formative survey

which gained a more in-depth understanding of the adibashi issues.

With the increase of the children’s participation in PPS and further educational opportunities, the

Mothers Forums and the School Management Committees learned new skills and become less

vulnerable. The program motivates the adibashi to claim what is theirs from the government.

At its height in 2010, the program covered 11 districts and the curriculum was developed in 6 indigenous

languages. There were 195 PPS and 8 languages centres20. The project was implemented in 13 districts

(Sylhet, Mowlvibazar, Netrokona, Sirajganj, Bogra, Dinajpur, Chapai, Rajshahi, Naogaon, Tangail,

Natore, Sherpur, and Mymensing), which included 31 upazila and about 1,400 communities/villages

containing approximately 1.5 million adibashi21. Over the last decade, about 16,000 adibashi children

passed through the PPS project implemented by 18 partner organizations. Table 3 shows the number of

girls and boys attending from 2002 until 2012 for a total of 13,217 for all ten years. Girls and boys were

17 Danish International Development Agency. 18 The adibashi like most indigenous peoples throughout the world did not have a concept of land ownership, but of being

stewards of the land. This concept means that adibashi have been forced off land on which they have lived for generations

by land grabbing by influential people and are more vulnerable than most poor because of this stewardship view. 19 Oxfam, 2008, Finding a Voice for the Voiceless. Speaking Out, Programme Insights, 3-4. 20 The language centers were a resource where people could come for books and advice. 21 Oxfam GB Lesson Learning Workshop Report, 2010.


14

almost equal in number with a total of 6,583 girls and 6,689 boys. The larger number of 16,000 also

include students enrolled in the pilot program.

Table 3: Distribution of Number of Girl and Boy Students by Year.

Besides the need to find indigenous teachers, there were further issues that needed to be solved as the

project progressed. Books as a basic primers were hard to find. The books available in the local market

were in Bangla and the pictures only had meaning to those in the Islamic culture. They found a few

books which were select and reprint to use as primer in the initial stage, but they were not satisfactory.

Later, Oxfam engage researcher to developing books for the PPS students. A field study was

commissioned which confirmed the earlier studies about the inadequacy of the education material.

Basically, they again found that when the text was in Bangla, the students did not do well, but when it

was in their mother tongue, they did well. They polled the adibashi communities, teachers, Mothers

Forums, School Management Committees, parents,

community leaders, adibashi porishad22, adibashi

forum, to find the pictures and methods that would

produce the best text books. Finally, they prepared 3

bilingual books in 6 adibashi languages, Garo, Patro,

Hajong, Santal, and Oraon, for the PPS students

taking into account all of the feedback they had

received from the various communities. They have

become so popular that other NGOs and government

also uses these books.

There was a huge controversy about using the Bangla

alphabet as early Christians to Bangladesh had

translated the Bible into some of the indigenous

languages using the Roman alphabet and wanted the

children to be taught using that alphabet so they could

read the Bible. Others did not want anything

22 Bangla work for society.

23

7 33

8

28

2

53

8

78

9

71

8

89

2

10

36

75

7

46

4 53

1

31

7

31

3

29

0

59

3

74

6

71

0

86

1

10

92

77

9

47

0 51

8

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Girls Boys


15

translated, but for the children to learn Bangla so they would be able to find ‘good jobs’. Through trial

and error, though, it was discovered children learned Bangla quicker if things were also learning in their

own language and English was already a compulsory education requirement starting in the beginning

of primary school.

One of the other challenges was finding skilled

teachers from the various communities and a

teacher’s training had to be developed. The result was

a 7-day training for all PPS teachers with refresher

courses at monthly meetings. During these meetings,

the teachers were able to discuss issues they faced

with the children, parents, Mothers Forum, School

Management Committees, etc. as well as increase

their skills. The PPS educational supervisor visits the

school at least once a month, the project coordinator

every two months, and the implementing partner

director at least one in three months. This was a

successful strategy because in the 2013 final evaluation, the researchers stated, “Teachers generally

were well educated to teach at the level where they were teaching23.”

The Mothers Forum were made up of 7 members and some of the mothers were also represented on the

School Management Committee. Good nutrition was an issue with many of the students were

malnourished and some of the schools establish a monthly meal prepared by the Mothers Forum, but

this was not too successful as food resources were in short supply within the whole community. The

GoB piloted one PPS in the Porsha Sub-District under Naogoan District to introduce a mid-day meal

for students. This was successful, but was not replicated elsewhere.

Some also initiated a food bank where they placed resource food to tide the community over during the

‘hungry season’ and as a resource for those in more need than others. They and others also created an

emergency fund to take care of children’s health and for education past PPS. None of these things,

though, were universal.

The dropout rate was never high from the PPS, but

there were competing demands on students’ times in

primary and secondary school. Boys were wanted to

help with work and girls always at risk because of

their need to take care of younger children, work in

the home, or for early marriage. They were also at risk

because even though they were beginning to learn

Bangla in PPS and each class until level 4 was taught

with a decreasing level24 of their adibashi language, it

was still hard. To help secure their continued

23 Mahmudul Hasan Sumon, 2013, Diversity and Indigenous Peoples Leadership Project, Dhaka: Oxfam in Bangladesh, 31. 24 Level 1 will be 80 percent adibashi language, level 2, 50 percent, and level 3, 20 percent.


16

education, coaching classes and languages centres were introduced, but this was difficult to sustain as

teachers to staff it were in short supply.

Also, in the union parishad budget, education allowances were not a priority. The Mothers Forum and

School Management Committees were encouraged to learn community mobilization and now most

unions have placed a lump sum education line within the budget. This is a direct result of the formation

and strengthening of the indigenous people standing committee in each union. Now the Government

education officials from sub-district to district level discuss the issues of PPS students in their monthly

meetings and promote others to prioritize the inclusion of indigenous children into their scholarship

fund.

Table 4: PPS School Established by Year.

If we look at the growth of the program by the number of schools established by year, we see that 31

was established in 2009 and 29 in 2006 (Table 4). The lowest growth rates were 3 in 2003 and 4 in

2004. There were a total of 134 established altogether. Looking at PPS distribution by district, we see

that there was a total of 184 with the most, 45, in Naogaon and the least, 3, in Sherpur (Table 5).

Table 5: Number of PPS by District.

6

3 4

20

29

7

27

31

16

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

27

12

45

36

812 12

37

1210

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50


17

From 2006 until 2010, DANIDA supported this project, funded at DKK 9.5 million25, which enhanced

the capacity of adibashi community organizations at the community, regional, and national levels to

assert their rights26. The bilingual pre-primary schools (PPS) came under this purview. When

DANIDA’s support ended, block grants from the Danish Embassy kept the program going through

2014.

Research on the adibashi throughout Bangladesh has shown that now the overall dropout rate after 3

years of schooling is 20 percent. Before PPS, it was as high as 80 percent.

The PPS has been replicated by others. Initially,

Oxfam took all 22 partner representatives to visit the

PPS in BSDO before they started their own program.

BRAC and other NGOs also visited and has

replicated the PPS model championed by Oxfam.

BRAC took it a step further and offered it to all

children in their programming areas, not just the adibashi children. It has been so successful that is has

been incorporated into the GoB 2010 National Educational Policy27 strategy.

The project has been called a “good model of taking an issue at the micro level (adibashi PPS) to a

macro level (Ministry)28” as the project affected both the lives of the local people and the Bangladesh

education policies

Currently, a number of adibashi has been elected to union parishad councils. They have been able to

bring their issues to the larger community and have a voice in their future. Former members of PPS

School Management Committees have become part of the Government School Management

Committees.

25 Approximately USD1.8 million. 26 UN Economic and Social Council. 1 February 2010. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: 10-22555 (E) 190210. 27 Dr. Sikder Monoare Murshed who was involved in the original research for the development of and was the author of the

PPS text books is a member of this committee. 28 Personal interview Bibhash Chakroborty, Country Program Manager, Bangladesh Saferworld, former Oxfam project

coordinator (12 January 2015).


18

5.1 Testimonials

Asha Broar, 18, from Oraon community,

former PPS student in 2004, completed SSC examination

In in 2004-2005, Asha was PPS student at Alor Dishari School in her village. Upon graduation, she

attended a BRAC primary school where she completed her level5. She then enrolled at Potnitola High

School where she completed her secondary school certificate (SSC) examination

There were 28 students in her PPS. Many went on to primary school, but only 4 appeared for their SSC

exam. Three girls succeeded and are now studying in level 11 at Nazipur Mohila College, a women’s

college. She has one brother, age 15, who also studied in PPS and is currently studying at level 10 in

high school and one sister, age 8, who also went to PPS, now studying the BRAC primary school at

level 3.

Asha told us that the Adibashi children before the PPS, played all day and did naughty things in the

community. The Bengali community dislike them because they were illiterate and was not at all

supportive of them until the PPS arrived. They were neglected because they were children from the

adibashi community. Things are different since the PPS stated. Adibashi children now enrol in PPS and

after completion, they compete with others to enrol into the main stream government primary schools.

Adibashi children are equal to Bengali children in their education status. At high school and college,

she now is in a very friendly environment from her peers and teachers. She also guides adibashi

youngsters as they needed support due to the new education curriculum. They need to study more, be


19

able to think on their own, and answer questions. She also helps junior students in filling out the answer

sheet on mock Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) tests which are used to determine college admission.

Her suggestion for future PPD classes is that there is a need to include Bangla and English grammar

because in the higher class they need to study grammar. It was hard for them to start grammar suddenly

in the higher class. Also the PPS books need to be update with the introduced of the new Srijhonsil

Syllabus which is the new testing method for the SSC examination. Private tutoring is also needed if

adibashi students are going to go beyond their higher school level.

Suren Dhanoar, 51, School Management Committee Member,

Oraon community at Potnitola, Naogoan District

He is a day labourer and has 4 children; 3 boys, ages 28, 24, and 2 and a 13-year-old girl. Only his

daughter studied at PPS and now is continuing her education in the Government High School. He stated

her performance is ‘Agiye ase’29.

Suren has been a member of the School Management Committee since 2005. He shares the education

related issues in the meeting and then he shares the meeting decisions in the community with a village

committee meeting. They want to continue the PPS in the community. He proposes to raise a

contributory fund by generating monthly subscription of 20 taka from each member in the community

to restart the PPS.

2929 Progressive.


20

He has been involved with BSDO from many years around land issues. They formed ‘Jagroto Adibashi

Shongho’ a community based organization (CBO) in 2003 which has 34 members, 5 women and 29

men. They fought to take lease of khash30 land for cultivation and also khash pond for fishing. Their

CBO collectively worked on these land and the pond to earn their living. They collect monthly savings,

10 taka31, from each member. They have a 3-year lease on the khash land which they cultivated and

earn money by selling the paddy and fish. They distributed their income equally. This year they have 3

khash ponds and 1 acre32 of khash land.

Minoti Tirti, 25, President, Mothers Forum,

Oraon community, Potnitola, Naogoan District

She is the president of the Mothers Forum. She only can sign her name and has little Maths knowledge

and English. She has two boys, 12 and 3. Her elder son enrolled in PPS in 2002 and now is studying at

level 7. His performance is good and she is happy with his son’s study. She is thinking about a private

tutor for him in higher education.

She came to know about the PPS from community leaders in their traditional forum when they gave an

orientation about PPS for indigenous children who would learn with their mother tongue. She then

became interested in sending her son to the PPS. There had been no school in their community. The

children were always just playing. Having no study, they often became naughty, used slangs, quarrelled

and fought, and were always getting into trouble.

The parents of the PPS students formed the Mothers Forum. They developed a food bank which was

used during food crisis situations. They also have a monthly subscription cash savings of 5 taka for each

30 Government owned public land or water. 31 About 13 cents US or .08 British Pound Sterling. 32 40% of a hectare


21

member. They organized monthly tiffins33 for the PPS students prepared by the members of the Mothers

Forum. In their Forum meetings, they discussed issues around the children’s education, savings, health

care, land, and women empowerment. They invited government health worker to their forum meetings

to talk about health care and this has increased access to health centres.

The Forum has leased less than an acre of khash land for the past 4 or 5 years which they cultivated for

collective income generation. Mother’s forum fills the gaps with school management committee and

the traditional forum of the indigenous people in the community for ensuring continuing education.

Pulak Kumar Mondol, 65, Head Master,

Uzirpur Government Primary School, Nozipur Union, Potnitola, Nagoan District

He has serving as head master since beginning his job in 1990. He received his teacher’s training from

the Primary Teachers Training Institute from 1997-1998. In his school, there are 11 on the School

Management Committee with 6 adibashi representatives. In 2015, there were 100 students in school

with students at all levels, 1 through 5.

His school is surrounded by the adibashi community and they make up 95 percent of the students.

Earlier, there were less adibashi students because the children did not enrol in school. The causes appear

to be the distance from the community to the school, parents were illiterate and poor so did not see the

need for education, and the children had less interest to learn with Bangla language books and Bangla

language teachers. Thus, the adibashi community children made little progress in education.

Government school teachers also felt burdened with those adibashi students appeared to be slow learner,

33 Hot lunches.


22

understanding gap with the Bangla language and adibashi language was difficult for the students and

the teachers.

The PPS project has done a great job to promoting education by creating a space for the adibashi

children for their right to education. The PPS is situated where the children have easy to access within

their home boundaries. The indigenous teachers in the PPS have built their courage to help enrol them

into the government primary school. The children get their initial orientation on the school environment

from the PPS and it has allowed them to go to school without any fear or hesitation.

Last year in the public examination for the Primary School Certificate (PSC 7), the 7 of the adibashi

students got an A+ grade, 4 girls and 3 boys. Mr. Pulak stated that as a neighbour of the adibashi

community, he has played an additional role of caring the students. Out of his school duty, he has given

access to the students to his home even early in the morning and afternoon for guidance when they

needed study support. He remembers for one of his good student, named Kajol Bhuiyan, for whom he

paid the cost of kerosene so he could study at night because his parents could not afford the cost. Kajol

is continuing his higher education after receiving excellent results in his Secondary School Certificate

examination.

He is concerned about restarting the PPS within the community. He is not confident that the union

parishad will take the needed action. There needs to be additional pressure placed on them by the

community, Mothers Forum, School Management Committee, and the NGOs. These steps are

necessary through highlighting the success the adibashi students have already won. About the SMC and

Mothers Forum he found some limitation in their actions because of their remoteness and voices are not

yet much raised. They need further capacity building strengthening and linkage with other active groups.

He will take the PPS issue and inclusion of indigenous teacher into the government primary schools to

the higher authority where he will get scope in the district level education committee meetings.

5.2 Summary

The success of this project was a result of curiosity and serendipity. Had not AusAID questioned and

been willing to fund adibashi programming this might not have happened or it might not have happened

at the scale or for the duration it did. Although the project expended beyond just PPS education into

capacity and community development and women’s leadership, the educational component was the

‘glue’ which held the program together. Women and community members began to gain leadership

skills and understand how to press for their rights by serving on the Mothers Forums and School

Leadership Committees. Some of these now been elected to the union parishad councils and others are

on Primary School Leadership Committees. Many have secured or are working on securing title to their

land.

Throughout the life of the project some 16,000 students passed through the PPS program. Many enrolled

in primary schools, some completed high school, and others passed their SSC examinations and have

secured a place in college. These children and their younger brothers and sisters and other younger

children in the communities, with the support of their parents and communities, have now seen they can

better succeed with an education.


23

The educational policies now enacted by Bangladesh have a place in them to insure education of

adibashi children. Although many of these are just on paper and are not supported by line items in the

budget, it is a beginning and the GoB has committed to Education for All.


24

Appendices


25

People Interviewed

Afroz Mahal, Program Coordinator, Oxfam

Anita Dhanoar, a former PPS run by BSDO 2012-2013, continuing education at Choto

Mohammadpur Primary School, Potnitola Sadar Union of Naogoan District in level 2

Asha Broar, from Oraon community, former PPS student in 2004, completed SSC examination

Ataur Rahman, Project Coordinator, Borendrovumi Social Development Organization (BSDO)

Bably Chakma, Project Coordinator of Human Rights, Kapaeng Foundation

Bibhash Chakraborty, Country Program Manager-Bangladesh, Saferworld

Chan Chana Chalama, Member of Secretariat, Indigenous Women’s Network

Hiran Mitra Chakma, Manager, Kapaeng Foundation

Manik Soren, Project Officer, Kapaeng Foundation

Md. Abdur Rauf, Executive Director, Barendrabhumi Samaj Unnayan Sangstha (BSDO)

Md. Ayub Ali. Executive Director, Society for Research and Development Steps

Minoti Tirti, President, Mothers Forum, Oraon community, Potnitola, Naogoan District

Pallab Chakma, Executive Director, Kapaeng Foundation

Pulak Kumar Mondol, Head Master, Uzirpur Government Primary School, Nozipur Union, Potnitola,

Nagoan District

Sanjeeb Drong, General Secretary, Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum

Shitali Ekka, PPS Teacher, Oraon Community, Bujrukmahmudpur, Potnitolla, Naogoan

Sikat Biswas, Program Coordinator, Oxfam

Sikder Monoare Murshed, Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Dhaka

Silvia Khyang, Project Officer, Kapaeng Foundation

Suren Dhanoar, Member of School Management Committee, Oraon Community, Bujrukmahmudpur,

Patnitolla, Naogoan


26

Open advertisement on Primary School Teacher recruitment

Summary of the Advertisement

Department of Primary Education, Government of Bangladesh gave open circular through

office memo: 249 of 2014, dated September 14, 2014.

The advertisement is undersigned by the Director General of Primary Education,

Government of Bangladesh.

Funding source: The positions are from the government revenue fund.

Name of Position: Assistant Teacher for Government Primary Schools,

Special criteria for apply: All Peoples excepting Chittagong Hills areas, 3 districts:

Rangamati, Khagrachori and Banderban.

Age limit: 18 to 30 years;

Qualifications: minimum graduate; relaxed for women candidates, Higher Secondary passed

level.

Category: 1. Trained Teacher and 2. Non-Trained Teacher; trained teacher will get upper

scale in salary grade from the non-trained teacher.

The candidates from the Indigenous community has to submit their identity certificate from sub-

district government officer called Upozila Nirbahi Officer (UNO).


27

Newspaper Article

Fear, threats trigger Adivasi displacement

Anwar Ali, Rajshahi

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

For generations, this land at Rajshahi's Chatrapukur village has been a graveyard for indigenous people. But not anymore. Some

local Muslims have set their eyes on it, erecting makeshift toilets and cow barns on it. They even kept haystacks right on two graves.

Photo: Anwar Ali

Over 150 indigenous families in different villages of the district's Godagari upazila have migrated to India

following persecution by Bangalee settlers and communal attacks during political turmoil in the last two years.

Many more are prepared to go amid the ongoing flare-up of violence.

Indigenous people had been the majority in at least a dozen villages since the British era. But things changed as

hundreds of shoal (char) people, mostly victims of river erosion in Chapainawabganj, started settling in the

villages a few years back.


28

Threats from these settlers made the already-vulnerable Adivasi communities feel more insecure. Then there

were BNP-Jamaat-led attacks on minorities in 2013 and early last year, especially after the war crimes verdict

against Delawar Hossain Sayedee and the January 5 polls.

Selling out land and properties, the indigenous families in the Godagari villages have left ancestral homes

secretly at night for different places in India, particularly Murshidabad, Burdwan and Malda by crossing the

border via brokers.

“This is not a country for us to live in,” said a frustrated Proshanto Murari of Shialipara village. His father

Anonto Murari already went to India seven months ago and he is likely to leave anytime along with his brother

and two sisters.

Fourteen Munda families out of 22 in Shialipara village, six out of eight in Notun Shialipara village and nine out

of 32 in Bottoli have left while the rest are bidding for their time. Talking to this correspondent on Saturday,

some Adivasi people of Bottoli and Shialipara said the Bangalee settlers do not allow them to play drums,

intimidate them during their rituals and often threaten to grab their land.

Sudeb Shaw of Bottoli village took this correspondent to nearby Chhatrapukur where the Munda families have

long been using a roadside abandoned land to burry their dead.

The settlers recently set up a makeshift toilet on the graveyard and are using the land as a temporary cow barn,

Sudeb said, adding they even kept haystacks right on the graves of his parents.

Narayan Murari, a freedom fighter, said there are graves of three indigenous war heroes at the site.

Anisur Rahman, a new settler, admitted that “it was wrong to set up the toilet” and said they would remove it

soon. He claimed the land belonged to him and indigenous people were using it without his knowledge.

The number of indigenous students in local schools has also drastically decreased as their families are sending

the children first.

Saidur Rahman, headmaster of Bottoli Adivasi Government Primary School, said about 75 percent of his

students were from indigenous families in 2009. Last year, the number came down to only 41 out of 412

students. It is likely to decline further this year.

A rough study shows around 250 Munda, Santal and Urao families from Birganj, Sadar and Ghoraghat upazilas

of Dinajpur, Panchbibi of Joypurhat, Dhamurhat and Potnitola of Naogaon and Godagari of Rajshahi migrated

to India in the last two years.

Of them, over 150 are from villages of Godagari said Rabindranath Soren, president of Jatiya Adivasi Parishad.

The villages are Bottoli, Shialipara, Notun Shialipara, Gopalpur, Kurbaria, Gogram, Adarpara, Chouduar,

Basantopur, Gunigram, Agolpur, Sahanapara and Dighipara.

“Adivasis are living in constant fear amid the ongoing political violence across the country. They feel insecure

also for not getting justice following incidents of murder, rape and land grab. So they choose to leave the

country,” he said.

Chitto Ranjan Sardar, convener of Barind Human Rights Defenders Foundation, said the ethnic displacement

began in the '80s. After a decade's interval, it started again in 2001 and rose after the political unrest intensified

in 2013.

The authorities, however, trash reports of Adivasi displacement from Godagari.

Acting UNO of Godagari Alamgir Kabir said, “We have no reports of indigenous migration to India. Some of

them might have left due personal reasons. No such situation has arisen in the country that indigenous people

have to leave.”

Echoing his view, SM Abu Forhad, officer-in-charge of Godagari Police Station, said, “We are highly sensitive

to the rights of indigenous people. There is no threat to them, why would they leave country?”


29

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Documents

Diversity and Indigenous Peoples Leadership Project Final 2015