Basic Education and Professional Training with CMES in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, many children and young people have never received basic education or have dropped out of school too early. The CMES (Centre for Mass Education in Science) project allows them to acquire basic knowledge coupled with some professional training.

Background
CMES was created about 25 years ago with the goal of providing professional perspectives to disadvantaged young people.Today, the organisation is active in 12 districts throughout Bangladesh. Tens of thousands of youngsters have received basic education since the project began. However, there are still too many school dropouts.

The non-governmental organisation CMES operates within a context in which there are numerous players. The existing Bangladeshi education and training system cannot be sustained without private initiatives. The SDC has been supporting CMES since 1996 with an emphasis on organisational development. National schools have succeeded in recent years in increasing the enrolment rate of children. Also, the government aims at improving the whole school system with new programmes, while the international community (including the SDC) contributes to this development through financing and dialogue at the ministerial level. Many of the impulses for improving the quality of schooling are, however, still coming from private organisations in the field of education.

Goals
The goal of CMES is to provide training in its so-called "Rural Technology Centres". Young people are often willing to learn a trade if they are offered the possibility. At the same time, however, they must be able to contribute to the upkeep of their families.

In practise
Various skills can be learnt at the vocational training centres, such as sewing, blacksmithing, carpentry and farming – activities which may be pursued independently as a livelihood afterwards. The 17 centres are able to train an average 10,000 people yearly.

Along with the Swedish development agency, SIDA, the SDC contributes to the organisational development of CMES. Furthermore, the SDC can provide international know-how, thereby helping to develop local knowledge. In this way, international trends in the field of "education for all", for example, can flow into the country and the project.