BRAC Boat Schools

Context and Issue

Climate change has drastically impacted the transportation infrastructure, adding to education barriers. To ensure enrolment in areas with limited access to primary schools due to fragile transportation and disrupted communication networks in villages in the Sylhet part of the Haor basin in Bangladesh. Boat’s Schools project was introduced.

EAC and BRAC worked in Bangladesh through boat schools to break down the barriers children face to accessing education in disaster-prone and remote rural areas, where households are constrained due to challenging geographies and the negative consequences of extreme weather.

Solution

The boat schools follow the standard BRAC education program in which students complete five grades of education in four years. The project intended to impact 13,000 out-of-school children (OOSC) by enrolling them in non-formal primary schools. Specific project activities include training local boat manufacturers, constructing and equipping 400 boats, selecting and training 500 teachers, and creating 400 School Management Committees with representatives from the community, schools, government, and parents.

Impact

The Boat Schools initiative, 'Shikkha Toree' ("The Boat of Education"), aimed to educate children in inaccessible Haor areas. Supported by EAC, BRAC established schools near students' homes, providing quality education and relief to communities. With a target of enrolling 13,000 out-of-school children, these boat schools, serving as both transportation and classrooms, successfully educated 14,581 students across five grades, fostering a sustainable future through joyful learning experiences.

An innovative solution that ensures education continuity; however, operationally, there might be difficulties in managing the class timings. Climate conditions could also have adverse effects on the operations.