Successful Return to School for Disadvantaged Children in Sylhet City, Bangladesh

The Successful Return to School for Disadvantaged Children in Sylhet City (SRS) project aims to support marginalized girls and boys aged 6 to 11 years from urban informal settlements by providing remedial education and fostering a protective, inclusive, and crisis-resilient learning environment. Targeting nearly 4,000 children, along with parents, teachers, school management committees, government officials, and NGO representatives, the project operates through “Catch-Up Clubs” (CUCs) to enhance literacy and numeracy competencies and promote continuous school attendance.

The 2024 endline evaluation utilized a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative assessments and qualitative insights from surveys, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. Results demonstrated significant improvements in children’s literacy and numeracy skills compared to the 2022 baseline. Specifically, literacy competency increased substantially across all grades, with the percentage of children achieving at least 45% grade-level proficiency rising from 34.5% to 66.8%. Numeracy skills also showed marked improvement, particularly in higher grades. Trained teachers and facilitators exhibited a 33.8% increase in knowledge of literacy and numeracy assessments, while awareness of child protection among parents and teachers improved by 6.4%.

Qualitative findings highlighted that remedial support through CUCs improved children’s confidence, engagement, and academic performance. Provision of school supplies and hygiene education further contributed to positive learning experiences and wellbeing. Despite challenges such as limited parental literacy and resource constraints, the project successfully fostered community involvement and strengthened educational outcomes.

Recommendations emphasize expanding the program to additional vulnerable locations, limiting class sizes for quality facilitation, and providing nutritional support to enhance student motivation. The study underscores the critical role of targeted remedial education, community engagement, and supportive learning environments in promoting equitable access to quality education for disadvantaged children in Sylhet’s urban informal settlements.