Improving Early Childhood Education in Rural Bangladesh

Only 40 per cent of children in Bangladesh are enrolled in pre-primary education, with this figure estimated to be much lower in rural areas. Research led by Monash University, Australia, and supported by local partner the Global Development and Research Initiative (GDRI) Foundation, has evaluated whether introducing preschooling in remote rural communities in Bangladesh can help prepare children for primary school. By developing a set of policy interventions designed to improve children’s educational outcomes, the research demonstrates how early childhood programmes could be effectively adapted for implementation at scale, using locally available resources and infrastructure.