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Dhaka, Bangladesh

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is one of the fastest-growing megacities in the world and the world’s 9th largest city. Over 10 million people in its 307 km² area exhausted its housing supply, transport, and other urban facilities and services. Air pollution, severe traffic congestion, poor access to urban amenities, and waste management are some of the critical urban issues that made Dhaka one of the least livable cities in the world.

However, the city is the most desirable place for livelihood opportunities for migrants. Dhaka not only contributes to 36% of the national GDP, in terms of GDP, but it also holds the top position in South Asia and 78th position among the cities of the world. Still, the unemployment rate in this city is as high as 27%, and 25% of the city residents are engaged in the informal employment sector.

Around 34% of households are living below the poverty line suffer from multiple dimensions of poverty. In response, emphasis on sustainable and inclusive development is explicit in the recent key planning policy documents and quality educations provision is a prioritised essential social service.

In effect, the national-level education and development policy documents that include the “National Sustainable Development Strategy”, “Seventh Five Year Plan: FY2016-FY2020” and “National Education Policy 2010” set the broader context, targets and mechanisms for delivering quality education provision in Dhaka city.

Formal and Non-Formal Learning infrastructure

Education facilities of Dhaka city follow the national structure of formal, non-formal, and semi-formal education. Formal education is offered in four different tiers that include early childhood education, primary education, secondary education, and tertiary education with a parallel religious education stream. While the public sector predominantly offers primary education, the private sectors are the foremost provider of secondary and tertiary education. Another mainstream of formal education is dedicated to technical and vocational education and training programs (TVET) that contribute to upskilling people of age groups through technical education.

Dhaka city is a prime host of formalised education opportunities in the country, and billions of students receive education from the formal education institutes of this city (Figure 1). Non-formal education (NFE) offers an alternative route of education to different age groups. Four types of NFE include family and community-based early childhood education for pre-school children, non-formal basic education for the unenrolled and dropout children and adolescents, NFE for the youth and adults, and post-literacy and lifelong learning opportunities. NGOs are assisting the government in implementing NFE programs. There are 517 NGO schools in the city, many of which provide education to the dropout and unenrolled children. Many religious institutions also offer NFE in the urban slums and low-income communities of the city.

Dhaka city has several cultural learning institutes such as art schools, sports academies, and specialised departments within universities, and colleges as semi-formal education opportunities. Many public libraries including, the Bangladesh National Library, Sufia Kamal National Public Library, Central Public Library, etc. are offering inclusive learning opportunities to different age groups of people. The mobile library of Bisshaw Shahitto Kendro provides inclusive access to the children. Around 20 museums in the city are also places to learn about art, national histories and traditions. Still, the neighbourhood level learning opportunities through libraries or museums are extremely deficient and offer limited inclusiveness in terms of access to children, elderly and physically challenged people. As most of the available opportunities are privately operated, it excludes the access of a large share of marginalised people.

Learning City Development

Education is considered a fundamental human right in the constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Yet, the country had its very first National Education Policy (NEP) in 2000, and after that, following the progress in the education sector, the second NEP was adopted in 2010.

Although the potential prospects of the learning city and the building blocks of this concept have received an insignificant focus in education policies, strategies and city-level plans, few notable policy areas implicitly carry the notion of learning city. NEP 2000 and 2010, and the Sixth and Seventh FYP indirectly introduced the idea of creative, life-oriented, and continuous learning. NEP (2010) emphasises life-oriented learning to foster creativity among learners with different ideologies in a democratic culture. Community learning opportunities and inclusive educational facilities are further stressed in this policy which largely contributes to lifelong learning city. Informed by the National Sustainable Development Strategy 2010-2021, the Fifth Five Year Plan (FYP) (1997-2002) and Seventh Five Year Plan (FYP) (2016-2020) emphasises gender and geography inclusive education, which is the first building block of learning cities. In the Sixth FYP (2011-2015), under the Primary Education Development Program, the National Plan of Action sets goals for literacy and adult education as an effort to create eventually lifelong learning opportunities for all citizens.

SDG4 aims to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, and therefore, the SDG focused national policies are closely aligned with learning city development. For instance, the seventh FYP emphasises technical learning opportunities to ensure effective learning for workplaces, promotion of teacher’s training to enhance the quality of learning, and extended use of modern learning infrastructures and technologies, which all are contributing to the building blocks of learning cities. Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan provides spatial guidelines and neighbourhood standards for the provision of formal education services.

Many discrete private and NGO institutes have already undertaken several semi-formal and informal initiatives towards learning city development. While the government's focus is on inclusive learning, private and NGO institutes are promoting learning in families and communities and creating a culture of learning through different workshops and Non-formal Education programs. The appropriate measures of learning city indicators are yet to determine the progress and to evaluate the efficacy of NFE towards learning city.

Key activities in the LC field

Since 2015 the concept of ‘learning city’ has just been introduced in development policies. It was highlighted as a tool of national skill development; yet, community-level learning activities remain inadequate. However, many initiatives implicitly and explicitly are contributing to building learning cities in Bangladesh.

Towards inclusive learning

To eliminate illiteracy after independence, all the government primary schools provide free education for all (https://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/en/1990/primary-education-compulsory-act-1990-act-no-27-1990-4770). Since 1993 monthly ration or one meal per day in deprived areas under the government initiated “food for education” program (https://www.ifpri.org/publication/food-education-program-bangladesh). The government offers merit scholarships in board exams, stipends to the poor, disadvantaged, and female students (http://www.pmeat.gov.bd/) to ensure access to education. Free textbooks are distributed every year among the students of primary schools (http://m.thedailynewnation.com/news/241295/19-lakh-books-distributed-among-students-in-3-dists). Public sector-led initiatives are adopted by different private institutes that further accelerate inclusive learning.

Since 1997 the importance of adult education came to light. Under the ROSC project of Bangladesh government (http://www.rosc-bd.org/aboutus.php), some institute provides free non-formal primary education to the dropout children and pre-vocational training to 15+ aged children to offer access to employment. In response to gender discrimination in the education and employment sector, females receive subsidised admission fees in TVET programs according to government regulations. Many religious organisations and NGOs also offer NFE to safeguard adult literacy.

Learning for and in the workplaces

The Dhaka Ahsania Mission undertook the Community Learning Center (CLC) project for four years in two areas of Bangladesh with facilities for providing life skill training on income-generating activities to the neo-literate CLCs members and organising socio-cultural programs (https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000152479). The continuous emphasis on NFE and TVET encourage the private sectors to invest in TVET (https://www.adb.org/publications/innovative-strategies-tech-voc-education-training-human-resource-development-south-asia). At present, Dhaka city has 19 public and private technical and vocational learning institutes that facilitate professional courses and several technical and skill-building activities to the youth and adults. Different government and private organisations arrange various training programs (http://speed-bd.com/courses-and-programs/schools-program.php) for their employees aimed at capacity building and skill development in relevant sectors.

Aid for excellence

At the tertiary level, students receive innovation awards, fellowships based on their research activities (https://www.youthop.com/bd/scholarships/bangladesh-prime-minister-fellowship-announcement-2020-21) to foster creativity. Many private and NGO schools provide different types of incentives for regular attendance, excellent result, and co-curriculum activities.

Dhaka city hosts many global Olympiads (https://global.olympiadsuccess.com/bangladesh) and other competitions (https://www.thedailystar.net/shout/cover-story/student-competitions-bangladesh-1287499). A private organisation, namely Bishwa Shahitto Kendro (http://www.bskbd.org/demo/index.php) offers classes on world literature for Higher Secondary students and operates a nationwide reading program. The city also hosts the program of the StartUp Cup, a flagship business model competition, that has begun in the city intending to create an ecosystem of entrepreneurs (https://griffinworx.org/bangladesh-startup-cup-launches-seven-citydistrict-nationwide-business-model-competition/).

Figure 2: Annual international book-fair in Dhaka city (Photo credit: Das, 2018 from the Daily Star, 2nd February 2018)

Shift to a vibrant culture of learning

In the Novo theatre, the space and the culture of the country are exhibited with motion pictures, planetarium shows, exciting ride simulators, 5d movie, 5d interactive edutainment simulator, models of planets of the solar system, scientific & digital exhibits (http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/bsm-novo-theatre/). The National Museum of Science and Technology organises science education activities at a national level and supports young scientists financially and technologically in developing their works (https://dailyasianage.com/print-news/148589).

Multiple museums and art galleries are located in this capital city that exhibits different historical event and culture (https://www.gpsmycity.com/tours/dhaka-museums-and-art-galleries-tour-5104.html). An international book fair is also arranged annually as a part of the learning culture (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhaka_International_Book_Fair). National Academy of Fine and Performing Art with its innovative events and colourful programs facilitates the practice and preservation of national culture (http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/bangladesh-shilpakala-academy/).

Under the Mobile Library Program (MLP) organised by private initiative, books reach the doorsteps of all sorts of readers as the libraries-on-wheels travel aims to upgrade the reading habits of the people (http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bishwo_Shahitto_Kendro).

Key Priority Areas for Future Development

Ensure equal access to education for all

• Ensuring inclusive participation of all irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity, social class, physical ability, and geographical context in all kinds of learning activities.
• Facilitating neighbourhood-based education to ensure equal spatial access to all.
• Discouraging the excessive commercialisation of education.

Promote education for economic wellbeing

• Prioritising technical and vocational learning and objective-focused NFE through public-private partnerships to develop skilled human resources and to create self-employment opportunities.
• Advocating IT education to facilitate technical and remote learning and also to support self-employment at all ages.
• Promoting interactive, favourable, and joyful learning methods in all learning hubs, including workplaces, to strengthen learner’s knowledge and skill.

Learning through the celebratory process

• Encouraging mass people participation in education events like conferences, seminars to showcase personal skills.
• Promoting science, techniques, technologies and arts through the establishment of different science galleries, exhibition halls, cultural academies.

Revitalise learning in communities

• Introducing community-based learning centres complementing formal education to train the primitive society.
• Furnishing the public space and community infrastructures with learning elements to engage citizens in community-based learning.
• Developing community-based organisations to create a learning environment within the community.

Enrich the quality and excellence in learning

• Increasing the number of skilled teachers, ensuring the adequacy of appropriate learning infrastructures, and encouraging practical and technical learning to achieve quality learning.
• Ensuring uniform quality education so that every student gets equal opportunities for learning.

Extend the use of modern learning technologies

• Ensuring the use of different analogue and digital equipment under various courses of science, arts, techniques, and technologies to foster creativity, innovation, and self-confidence among students
• Promoting remote learning activities through modern technologies to ensure equal opportunities of education irrespective of learner’s geographical location
• Organising training on ICT

Resource mobilisation

• Improving and reshaping existing facilities like public spaces and buildings to create a creative learning environment.
• Utilising media to promote interactive, innovative, and lifelong learning opportunities

Participatory planning and evaluation

• Involving the idea and features of learning city within the city plan.
• Engaging all possible stakeholders irrespective of social or economic class, gender, age, and physical condition for preparing a plan to create a learning environment.
• Ensuring a stable supply of funding to support the initiatives towards a learning environment.
• Establishing systematic, regular monitoring and evaluating processes to measure the progress in the culture of learning.

Sub-networks of LCN of most interest

Bangladesh, as a developing economy is still struggling to create an inclusive learning environment. The FYPs (sixth and seventh) and the NEP 2010 emphasised equality in formal education and, also, highlighted the alternatives of formal education. Still, the rising exclusion in terms of gender discrimination, socio-demographic, economic and geographic context in the education sector of Dhaka city inhibiting the foundation of the learning city. There are hardly any educational opportunities for the elderly and physically challenged people. Alternative channels of formal education are hardly admired. Therefore, the most interesting sub-networks of learning cities for Dhaka city is:

Addressing the disadvantages to build learning cities

• Application of city-specific education policies to shape inclusive, fair, and equitable education opportunities in Khulna city irrespective of socio-demographical, economic, geographical, and situational characteristics.
• Increased public funding, effective coordination among different levels of education, and decentralisation of responsibilities among the local authorities to ensure equitable and quality learning outcomes to all including the elderly, physically enabled, and other disadvantaged groups.
• Proper spatial distribution of educational institutions with equal opportunity, and appropriate infrastructure, and environment to benefit all sections of the community irrespective of their social status, age, race, ethnicity, gender, disability, and geographical location.

Reimagining inclusive economic futures

• Prioritisation of NFE and TVET focused learning opportunities as emphasised in NEP 2010 for up-skilling human resources, development of active citizenship, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work opportunities for all.
• Enablement of the environment for ‘Entrepreneurship Ecosystem’ through public-private collaborative training and skill-based education, increased financing, and support to ensure inclusive access to all in response to the changing economy.