Asfia completed the Teach For Bangladesh Fellowship in 2017. She received the prestigious Chevening Scholarship this year and is working to ensure early childhood education and care for all children regardless of their socioeconomic background.
In the community where I grew up, many parents are still unaware of the importance of early childhood education. My siblings and I didn’t have the most conducive environment for learning by ourselves. Our childhood was filled with various forms of abuse from my parents. Even though this was common among many families at that time, I always felt it was unjust. Today, I know that the actions of adults often stem from ignorance about early childhood education. My journey in the education sector began when I was accepted as a Teach For Bangladesh Fellow. Through the Fellowship, I learned about pedagogical theories and gained practical experiences about the primary education system in Bangladesh. Additionally, the intensive professional development training I received from the Fellowship helped me to become a compassionate leader. I am grateful for the hands-on experience in the classroom where I started believing that all children have the potential to be successful in their lives. My best takeaway from Teach For Bangladesh Fellowship is that leaders must have the temerity to stand against injustice and fight for positive change in society.
After completing the Fellowship, I worked on early childhood development intervention at BRAC IED. I observed that a large number of children in Bangladesh are deprived of early years education and much-needed care. While co-authoring the Standard Operating Manual for the Bangladesh government’s day-care centers, I saw this challenge at national scale. Only 13.4% of children aged 3-5 years attend early childhood education in our country. Meanwhile, only 8.8% of Bangladeshi children under the age of 5 have three or more books at home. I felt an urgent need for early childhood education in Bangladesh. In 2021, I was awarded the prestigious Chevening Scholarship for a one-year masters program in early childhood studies in the UK. I have chosen the University of Huddersfield to complete my masters as they are offering a great early childhood education focused module. This achievement makes me feel honored and it also reminds me of my responsibilities towards my community.
My plan is to create opportunities for caregivers to receive purposeful training on parental and early years education. As a Chevening scholar and Teach For Bangladesh Alumna, I would like to ensure early childhood education and care for all children regardless of their socioeconomic background.
Title: On the occasion of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 202, Hla Thoaiching Marma and Rechel Auditi Rema reflected on their experience as Teach For Bangladesh Fellows and their work as alumni of the program