Current Reality

Current Reality

Jannat, a 10-year-old girl in Cox’s Bazar, dreams of becoming a teacher someday. But her school struggles to provide a consistent learning environment. The 2017 Rohingya refugee crisis brought over 740,000 refugees to her region, adding pressure to an already underserved area. Many teachers left to work with aid organizations, creating a severe shortage in schools.

Even before the crisis, students in Cox’s Bazar faced some of the lowest attainment levels in Bangladesh. For Jannat, these challenges are compounded by poverty and the frequent natural disasters that disrupt her education. The COVID-19 pandemic, which closed schools for over 18 months, further widened learning gaps and increased dropout rates in her community.

Despite these obstacles, Jannat remains determined to continue her education.  Her story highlights the need for urgent attention to education in Cox’s Bazar. Supporting students like Jannat requires addressing teacher shortages, ensuring resources for schools, and creating opportunities for both the host and refugee communities to thrive together.

Our Solution

Our Solution

Teach For Bangladesh is actively addressing the challenges of Education in Emergencies (EiE) by expanding its Fellowship Program into Cox’s Bazar, where both Bangladeshi host community and Rohingya refugee children face significant barriers to quality education. In partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) Bangladesh, we are recruiting and training teacher-leaders, equipping them with context-specific pedagogical skills to support crisis-affected students. Our Fellows are engaging in structured professional development, incorporating healing-centered learning models, and collaborating with system teachers and headteachers to build sustainable teaching practices. Simultaneously, we are mobilizing alumni leaders to work in education leadership roles within EiE contexts, ensuring long-term systemic impact. By integrating EiE expertise with our Fellowship model, we are strengthening local leadership, improving student learning outcomes, and fostering community-driven solutions to sustain quality education in crisis-affected regions.

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Testimonials

“The training on DRR and SEL provided necessary knowledge and skills for educators working in disaster prone areas. I believe that after receiving the training fellows are now more compatible and confident to transfer the disaster preparedness skills to their students. Our students of Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar have to live through intersectional adverse childhood experiences because of the geographical location and refugee crisis and climate vulnerability. The training sessions on SEL were full of hands-on activities of how we can nurture the five socio emotional competencies among our students. Fellows are now more inquisitive about trauma informed pedagogy in the classroom. I personally rely on the manuals provided in the training for SEL exercises and disaster training dissemination among teachers and parents.”

Md Mehedi Hasan Shanto

Fellow, 2024 Cohort

“ক্লাসে পড়তে পড়তে যখন একঘেয়ে লাগে তখন আমাদের শিক্ষক বিভিন্ন গেইমের আয়োজন করেন যা আমাদের পড়ায় মনোযোগ ফিরিয়ে আনে। আমাদের শিক্ষকের সহায়তায় আমরা দুর্যোগের ক্যালেন্ডার বানিয়েছি যা দিয়ে কোন মাসে কোন দুর্যোগটি হতে পারে তা জেনে আগে থেকেই প্রস্তুরি নিয়ে রাখতে পারি। এ ছাড়া আমরা একটি কমিউনিটি ম্যাপও বানিয়েছি যা থেকে আমরা কাছাকাছি আশ্রয়কেন্দ্র, নিরাপদ পানির উৎস ইত্যাদির অবস্থান জানতে পারি।”

কালো রাণী তঞ্চঙ্গ্যা

Student, Grade 7