Life Based Learning
- Bangladesh
- Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit
Education and Learning are the backbone of any Nation and the future progress of the Nation depends entirely on the quality of the future citizens of the Nation. Creation of knowledge and its dissemination to the society is at the heart of an illuminated society. Our Education system is unfortunately an exam based learning where the students learn to pass the exam not to improve their lives with the application of new learning to better lives and achieving their live goals.
Our education system somehow are made for the privileged class leaving out the majority of the peripheral students with little choice of aligning their life goals with that of our education goals. This misalignment brings frustration among the unprivileged students in our society. As a result, they start dropping out in the secondary levels and take up manual labor work in the agricultural fields. As a result, the collective intelligence of the Nation liquidates.
Our existing curriculum and the contents are age old and as a result the learning process is outdated and does not provide the challenges that are needed to create a conscious citizen of the Nation armed with innovation and creativity. The curriculum fails to instill the benefits of a forward looking and citizens inculcating a process designed outcome. Most of the students fall behind in the curve of life and their dreams for a better life get shattered at the outset.
The pedagogy is also a problem where most of the Schools and Colleges follow a “One Way” of learning method, where the teachers deliver everything and the students are needed to digest and produce in the exam papers. This one way communication disregards the collective knowledge and creativity of the students and fails to capture their imaginations. Most of the students are taught to respond to the exam papers. There is no connection of that knowledge and the life’s mission. This one way delivery system makes our students lazy and non-creative. They learn how best to memorize the lessons and deliver it to the exam papers. There is no real knowledge creation and its dissemination.
Our students fail to pick up life based skills that are so very much needed like the cooking, painting, cleaning, upgrading scientific applications to better lives, or the lifesaving skills that is so critical for the survival. Swimming is a lifesaving skill in a country like Bangladesh, crisscrossed by some 700 plus rivers. Every year 40 to 50 thousand people die drowning in the rivers and other water ways.
We intend to change all this Exam based learning to a more strategic life based education, where the learning begins at home with the insertion of critical family and social values before they are sent to school.
Our solution is simple, where we use a life based target setting for true learning of the skills and knowledge to achieving life targets. The learning of our children starts with setting life goals using a Venn diagram of:
- Love doing
- Good at
- Skills that earn money
- Universe wants something
With the purpose being defined, the students shall understand the strengths and the weaknesses and the opportunities and threats that lie on the chosen path. Students shall then create 4 BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals for life to achieve the set purpose. Students shall get coached in the areas where one needs to make the weaknesses turn into strengths, acquire the necessary skills needed to achieve the ultimate purpose. The teachers shall sit for a strategic and directional meeting with the parents to come up with a yearly plan for the learning targets that shall encompass life based skills like family values, cleanliness, discipline, oratory powers, communications, leadership etc.
The Class Teacher shall agree with the parents about the yearly learning basics and develop a strategic direction for the learning and coaching required to achieving the set targets. The parents and teachers signoff on the document that becomes the evaluation foundation for the year. The teachers shall use an Inquiry based learning, where the learning is a collaborative efforts not a one directional teaching. The students shall learn the skills and knowledge experimenting first before knowing the theory like going for a swim before learning Archimedes Principle. There shall be Group assignments after each class that would relate to the knowledge being imparted from the next day’s class. Students shall be marked 70% from the class performance in 7 key areas
Evaluation Criteria: Students
- Students shall be evaluated based on their academic and class performance
- Students shall be evaluated on their content of character and moral values they carry
- Leadership skills in leading other students for structured and innovative work together
- Cleanliness, organization, discipline and consistency
- Timing, ability to keeping their words, and self-reliance
- Compassion, sympathy, empathy for the down-trodden
- Environmental consciousness and activities to beautify campus with trees and flowers
Students shall learn 7 pillars for success in life under the setting of 3 levels of consciousness and 19 skills sets important for life.
- Art of Communications:
- Senses of Logic and Rationality (Math
- Senses of Innovation and Ingenuity (Science):
- Leadership Skills:
- Morality and Human Values
- Environment Friendly
- Cleanliness, Discipline and Organization
The project will deliver special tools that will enhance the following skills among the students of the Secondary and Higher Secondary Institutions:
- Speaking, understanding and writing English effectively
- Understanding science better and linking the theories to real life stories
- Understand and be proficient in using computers for information management
- Enhancing senses of math, logic and reasoning and presenting ideas in a structured format
- Debating issues and discussing critical issues confronting life in a civil manner
- Conducting healthy life style to better individual and group health issues.
- Developing leadership qualities through special classes...
Our solution is targeted to the unprivileged students from the outreach locations, mostly dominated by the farmers and farmer families, who have very little to look forward to from formal education channels. They come from very poor families, who become forced to take up farming, supporting their parents for financial reasons. In spite of their high caliber and ingenuity, they fail to use their talents to change the fate of their immediate families. The school infrastructure in the remote areas are very rudimentary and the quality of the teachers are abysmal for obvious reasons. The beauty of life based education has not reached their fate and as such in their lives. They can dream big as well like the privileged few from the urban centers. We have seen the outcome during our pilot program involving these students. Some of them are internationally accredited students studying in the US and other countries around the world, bagging some of the most prestigious awards locally and internationally. The best debaters and extemporary speakers are from such schools and colleges. They are joining some of the finest universities with their versatility and ingenuity and performing better than the privileged students.
Our home visits to meet and discuss their children with their parents in presence of both the teacher and the student creates a new aura of Education that integrates the wishes of the parents and those of the students feeding into the education of their children. These discussions are documented with yearly targets sets for the students in not only education but also the life goals. Some of the teaching might be provided by the parents at home to create the right value system inculcated to the students. The performance in the target sectors are monitored by the Class Teacher and reported every quarter to show the progress and the shortfalls. Corrective measures are documented for the shortfalls so that they can also be monitored before the year end.
The system has been invigorated by the fact that the community development is part of their curriculum and that all critical community development work are identified and distributed among the students to find practical solutions. The students go into the community and discusses the community based problems with the admin officers and local leaders to understand their perspective. They conduct research into the matter and comes up with appropriate solutions and presents the solution to the Municipality for their actions and budgeting. The students participate in the project for their knowledge and understanding. They also get some pocket money that they can keep for themselves. These activities make the student agile and responsive to the community needs and creates a central value of self-help and empathy for others in the community.
This life based education shall provide new opportunities and bring about equity among the population at large and make good to the promise of no child left behind and of equal opportunities for all without any biases to social statuses
Our Team has been selected on the basis of their skills, competence, knowledge and the understanding of the Education problem in Bangladesh. They have been working hand in hand with the peripheral schools, colleges and universities to solve some of the critical problems in our Education and Learning Systems. . Our team includes local experts, who have been working with the community in alleviating their problems and the academia providing expert support for a long term sustainable solution for our education systems. We have included the Teachers Training colleges that are responsible for the training of the teachers. They come from the Governmental Agencies. The Team represents the true diversity of our population and the demographics. The Team has been carefully crafted to represent our visible minority across race, religion and gender. We represent the best of all communities bound together by a value system that has been crafted to address some of the strategic changes intended for the Education Systems.
Our teaming brings experts from the Universities and colleges who have performed with an edge and knows the inherent problems. Our team also includes members with full knowledge of the unprivileged students and their lives. They shall be able to address the issues with solutions that are close to the hearts of the parents and guardians. We have people with proper knowledge of social and psychological impacts of the changes being proposed in the program.
Our knowledge of International interventions is kept at the highest levels with advisors coming from Canada, the US, Germany, the UK and Australia. This international Networking capacity gives us a window to get the best practices used in other countries that can be easily adapted to suit the local needs of the vulnerable areas of our choice.
We have grouped together several organizations working hand in hand to bring the best possible solution to institute our long term life based education solution for the unprivileged students from the remote locations.
- Pedagogy
- Teacher Professional Development
- School Strategic Planning and Monitoring
- Co and Extracurricular Activities Management
- Leadership Traits
We have created a Consortium using the PPP format to include NGOs, Universities, Rural Development Academy, and other Government Agencies working in Education sector along with an Advisory Board bringing international best practices to support developing a sustainable solution to elevate the marginal students of Bangladesh.
We also provide ample gender equity in developing our Team and include most of the Minority members of the society to make it more representative of the overall mix of the population in the targeted areas.
Our intent has always been to engage the local people from all walks of life including the local administration in our day to day communications and making them part of the decision making for the targeted solution. This brand of Grouping gives us the access to the brightest of the breed coming from the local area with members from all minorities.
- Ensure that all children are learning in good educational environments, particularly those affected by poverty or displacement.
- 4. Quality Education
- 5. Gender Equality
- 10. Reduced Inequalities
- Pilot
The project got started some 6 years back with some 20 Schools and Colleges participating to understand the proof of concept and its viability to stand a good chance of succeeding at the outreach level. We had set the following goals for our schools and colleges:
- Full grasp of conversational English by the End of First Year
- Making Group Presentations using methodical slides.
- Good Debating, Set and Extemporary Speaking Skills
- Knowledge of formal Preventive and Mental Health using Physical and Mental Education for the students
- 19 Leadership Skills embedded along with 3 Levels of Consciousness and 7 Pillars Success
- Senses of morality and ethics embedded into the Program
- Senses of Cleanliness, Compassion, and Discipline instilled
The outcome was a thumping success with most of the schools. We had set the following Key Performance Indicators for the proof of concept and we had achieved the intented targets by 80%:
- 60% of the students will be capable of speaking and understanding English.
- 40% of the students will be able to write short notes and emails in English
- 10% of the students will participate actively in debates and public speaking forums
- 80% of the students will actively participate in free hand exercises and would understand
- the basics of healthy living and food habits.
- 60% of the students will shun math phobia and be efficient with minimum math and
- Science skills and connect them to practical links to everyday life.
- There will be adequate gardening as part of the extracurricular program with each class
- Participating in a competitive gardening program.
- About 10 key teaching staff gets trained on Leadership skills.
- There will be at least one extracurricular and a cultural show in a fortnight with school
- wide competition once a year
- All students should be capable of handling computers to gather and analyze information.
With the success for the proof of Concept, we are now ready to expand the zone and the domain of our project by extending additional subjects and additional leadership skills needed to be embedded into the program. With that intent we would like to expand our 19 skills sets at the targeted schools as a Pilot Program. The Pilot Project shall include the following targets:
- Develop Professional and Quality Skills for the Teachers using an IBL Method
- Teach students how to cook and arrange a free lunch program for the students
- Develop Leadership Skills through a Language and Leadership Club
- Integrate School program with Online Courseware of MIT
- Create an effective IT systems to integrate schools and share knowledge
- Institute Best Teacher and Student of the Year Program
- Institute a strategic planning program for the schools.
Upon successful completion of the Pilot, we shall spread the program out to various countries in the area. The following tasks have been planned for the Pilot Program:
TASK 1: TRAIN THE TEACHERS ON IBL
TASK 2: TAKE ENGISH, MATHS, SCIENCE, AND LEADERSHIP CLASSES
Life will undertake 2 classes each week to instill senses of logic using mathematics, senses of innovation and ingenuity using Science and Leadership classes to instill 3 levels of Consciousness, 7 pillars of success and 19 skills sets for success.
TASK 3: GARDENING PROGRAM
LIFE would like to start a gardening program in each of its participant school. Where each class will be given a plot of land to grow flowers and another area to grow vegetables. Each class will maintain their garden and that the school will evaluate each three months and at the year end the champion class will get a prize. This will beautify the school, and the students will get firsthand experience in gardening. LIFE will evaluate the school in each division through the offices of the Teachers' Training College and declare the best school within each division and at the National Level. The competition starts from January 2017
TASK 4: CULTURAL PROGRAM
Stage a biweekly cultural evening in each school inviting the cross section of the community. This cultural evening show will encompass a short play staged by one of the classes as part of a drama competition, debates among various classes on contemporary issues as part of inter-class competition, Set and Extemporary speeches, an inter-class and individual competition, Songs and dances, an inter-class and individual competition, and Spelling bee competition both as individual and inter-class competition. At the end of the Year tabulation will be made to find the best class and the best performer in the individual categories in all faculties.
TASK 5: GAMES AND SPORTS
It is required that the Schools will focus on outdoor games including swimming and creating school Teams in Football, Volleyball, Cricket, Hockey, and Gymnastics. In preparation for the school Teams, each school will have inter class games competition and at year end, class championships will be declared along with individual excellence of the participating players. The school teams will participate in the District School competition and then the divisional and finally in the National School Championship. Special scholarships will be available for distinguished players to pursue their future dreams
TASK 6: SCHOOL COMMUNITY DAY
It is intended that Schools will have the last Thursday of each month as the Community Day, where the students will participate in the community development work. Some of the community development work will entail, Road side cleaning, Garbage disposal, destroying mosquito habitats, planting trees, supporting building homes and other that are priorities set by the community administration. These activities will be coupled by each student paying visit to their classmates’ house and interviewing the parents about the community issues and how best to tackle such issues including those of the school as well. These interviews will be documented and discussed during the Morning Assembly and students will discuss those issues raised as part of the debate program. Each class and individual students will be graded on their community work performance and a champion class and a champion student will be awarded at year end and a scholarship will be provided to the champion student.
TASK 7: IMPLANTING ART OF COMMUNICATIONS
The major tool for success is our power of communication in English. As such, LIFE will focus on teaching English as a communicative tool at BGB School so that the students are capable of speaking, comprehending and writing in English before they enter into the Colleges and Universities. In doing so, BGB schools will ensure that due focus is given on English Education. BGB Schools, will ensure that all English classes are delivered in English and the Teachers and the students will have to use English as the medium of communication during the class. Classes will be conducted with Multi Media presentations that will display contextual digital pictures, videos, and animations related to the subject at hand. Every School will create an English Club that will include amenities to support learning English. Whoever comes to the club will have to speak in English during their stay at the club. The club will be supervised by students of Final year from the Teachers’ Training Colleges and IER departmental students taking their internship in one of the schools as their prerequisite for graduation. The students of the Universities are requested to volunteer their time in one of the schools of their choice to mentor students in English.
TASK 8: SENSES OF INNOVATION AND INGENUITY
Science education will get bolstered in the BGB Schools to better educate our children with the appropriate knowledge of Science and their applications in the daily lives to improve quality of our life. Our main aim will be to remove the general phobia about science education with the introduction of friendly and play like teaching aids that will entice the students in improving their interest and understanding of science. In doing so, Each chapter of the prescribed science books from grade 6 to grade 10 will be augmented with a low cost science experiments that will get demonstrated in the classrooms or in the adjacent fields, where more space will be required e.g..presenting the concept of Rocket launch using water pressure. Each School will create a Science Club and that the members will participate in the yearly science fairs or exhibitions conducted by the Teachers' Training Colleges or Universities. School Science Clubs will participate with their innovative and scientific creations either by individuals or by classes or in groups of students. LIFE will evaluate these entries in the Fair in terms of its excellence, employability, effectiveness and innovation declaring the best school and the best scientific mind along with an award and a scholarship.
TASK 9: CREATE THE SENSES OF LOGIC AMONG OUR CHILDREN THROUGH MATH…
There is a general phobia of math among our children and we are unable to break that phobia and as such we fail to build the senses of logic and rationale that Math is required to institute in the hearts of our youngsters. LIFE intends to change that. LIFE would like to use the method of “story telling” in going beyond the numbers and finding the roots of logic in every operation it tackles. LIFE will focus on why 1+1=2 and not what 1+1 is. LIFE will discourage memorizing math solutions and institute the model of rational thinking to arrive at the solution. Every LIFE School will create a math fun club that will utilize mathematical operations and quizzes as the base for events linking our daily lives. The fun club will host monthly presentations in the biweekly cultural nights of their activities as part of the cultural programs. BGB Schools will arrange to participate in the Math Olympiads held at the district, divisional and national levels and compete with other schools. These competitions will announce the best school in Math and the best math student as well for a scholarship award yearly.
TASK 10: INSTITUTE SENSES OF SELF RELIANCE
School will start using hands-on life skills among its students including cooking, cleaning, painting, woodwork, metalwork, electrical works and mobile repairs, sewing, handicrafts etc.
The main aim of this task is to equip our future generation with the much needed life skills so that they can be self-dependent and be able to create opportunities for themselves should they fall out of our Education systems. Some of the trades we will focus are:
Wood Work, Metal Work, Electrical Work, Mobile Phone Repairs, Cooking and Sewing. We will partner with the technical schools and colleges to support the schools to carry out these vocational classes and educate our children with the much needed skills.
TASK 11: INSTITUTE SENSES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND ASTROPHYSICS:
Schools will undertake activities that will bolster environment, conservation of rainwater, lessening carbon footprints, increasing ecological balance, planting trees and study of astrophysics to understand the world and the universe around us.
The purpose of this segment of the program is to sensitize the students about the environmental friendliness, the impacts of climate change and the neighborhood we live in. Bangladesh is uniquely positioned to model itself as a “Green Nation of the South and South East” fighting the negative impacts of climate change and spread the good name of Environment friendly country around. This will position Bangladesh on the world stage and bring the needed glory as our Father of the Nation had envisioned.
We intend to involve the students in environment friendly work in and around the schools focusing on water, air pollution, Carbon reduction and use of alternate energy.
TASK 12: SCHOOL LEADERSHIP PLAN
School will develop a strategic plan covering 10 years down the line and in light of the strategic plan, school management will prepare a tactical and an operational plan that will detail out the activities to be undertaken to accomplish both the short and the long term goals of the school. The plans should be ready in place by June 2018 for assessment and finalization to start the program in July 2018
The purpose of the task is to institute leadership skills in the schools so that the school is managed using an appropriate method of school leadership. This will entail the documentation of a formal strategic plan for the school covering some 10 years down the line. In light of the strategic plan each school will develop a formal yearly operational plan. The following table details out the activities to be undertaken to bolster school administration.
Schools will do their best in uncovering the talents imparted in everyone and polish them up for better applications of their talents in improving their and others lives. It is intended that each school identify the future Leaders early on and provide them with special opportunities to hone their capabilities of Leadership.
MIT is a mighty name when it comes to Education especially embedded with the excellence of its Technology. Having a window of access to the resources of MIT is a great opportunity for anyone globally. We are no exception to the rule. We plan to use the MIT resources to support our endeavor in making our project outcome attractive and global with an edge over others. We are already a member of MIT OCW program that shall provide a Mirror station in our Education Program to support our students get an access to the best and the brightest. We plan to make a union of the best from the West and the East. Solve shall provide us with such a Platform where we can get the best advices for the success of our Project.
We hope to create a solid advisory body that has the diversity and the excellence of Best Practices. We hope to go global with Partners and well-wishers here and abroad. We would like to setup a long term Partnership with Solve and their Partners developing a knowledge center under this program that shall integrate the information from various Institutions. This Partnership shall evolve with them for the integration of the best from all entities and store they experience and tools in the knowledge Repository.
We intend to bring international experts to provide guidance, technology, best practices, and the know how in the areas that we have targeted. The Advisors shall have the expertise and knowledge of similar projects in a setting of a developing Nation where similar work has been conducted. We intend to install the OCW Program of MIT at the Pilot University to make the students participating in the project conversant with the recent technologies, best practices and the content of some of the key lectures.
Our motto is to better human lives with the best use of knowledge and technology. This goes hand in hand with MIT. In spite of being number 1, they are committed to elevating the unprivileged students from around the world. This philosophy is synonymous to ours and with limited capacity we need to get united on a common platform for the general good of the humanity and a sustainable world.
We shall need expertise in the Education and Learning sector’s management aspects of the Project, which can guide us and monitor our activities in terms of Quality and strategic planning and conduct strategic audits to ensure that the project is advancing in the right direction meeting the needs of our clients.
We would need some funding from some sources to augment our own funds that we plan to raise in due course. We would require some support on the matter to gain access to international sources of funding.
- Business Model (e.g. product-market fit, strategy & development)
- Financial (e.g. accounting practices, pitching to investors)
- Technology (e.g. software or hardware, web development/design)
The project in itself is very creative and all that we need is to make it happen on the ground with the desired outcome used effectively for the targeted population. We are very knowledgeable about the local environment and the culture. Technology need sensitization to make it effective on the ground. We shall ensure that we have the best quality software for learning and pushing the new program to the outreach location.
Our innovation is characterized by a zero-based approach to applying technology in our prototype that would address all facets of a life based education program meant for the unprivileged students at the outreach location. The student and teachers themselves are the main driver of the cause. The technology and the process is quite standard and therefore, would be easy to implement. Change is always difficult given the challenges faced by the previous management owing to the turf sensitivities, we shall need to break that turf balance.
One of the main issues relating to our Innovative solution is the process of bottom up rather than top down. We start at the field level in the outreach locations with the resources they have at the hand. We open up a Language and Leadership Club that focuses on our communication skills, body language, postures and the dresses. The students are taught English following the American Method of Teaching. They would have fun items at the club that will draw the attention of the students to attend the club activities e.g. Computers, Books, Video Projector, English Movies, and games. The whole learning process shall be fun filled activities and group assignments. These clubs will be administered by the school authorities with a full time University students attending the club. Choice of the University students shall be adequately managed to get the best of the breed. We shall bring successful entrepreneurs, educationist, business leaders, government leaders, and religious leaders to come and speak at the club to share their stories.
We shall use AI driven technology to create class attentiveness and to support the teachers and students alike to get acquainted with AI applications at the schools. Most of the school management activities will be automated with AI tools for the teachers to get their support in class planning. Most of the classes shall start with a fun activity that is linked to the subject matter at hand. Like the students shall get a lesson in swimming before they are taught Archimedes Principle. Every chapter shall start with a Practical application of a theory that they are going to learn. The teachers become just a catalytic agent of creating knowledge rather than being a knowledge giver.
Students shall participate in games and sports of their liking every day in the afternoon hours. They shall participate in a weekly variety show to hone their skills in cultural activities. They will participate in the beautification of the campus using garden of flowers. They shall cook food and also grow vegetables in their designated locations.
It is our intent to bring about equity into our Education System at the outreach locations directly targeting the unprivileged students from the village coming from the farmers and laborers family. We have been working on the program for the last 3 years and we have already monitored the progress of solving our main problem. We have already recorded a jump of 20% in school admissions, science admission has had the highest change with 35% and class attendance has secured 80% of the students marking a change of 30% over the last 3 years. Class dropouts is reduced to only 2% for the same period. It is expected that the numbers will continue to rise in the days to come. The Schools are collaging by region to share their resources and optimize their quality. Most of the outcome has been a direct impact of making the education a fun filled life oriented exercise, involving the guardians and parents in the process and pinning education to life purposes rather than being a tool for jobs in the market.
Our innovation in engaging the parents and the family to contribute positively to the life based education of their children. The program has been successful in enticing new students into the program and making them ready to becoming all rounded and smart citizens of the Nation. The impact has been remarkable with the unprivileged students of the outreach locations.
One of the finest changes has been the trilateral relationship among the teachers, students and parents, who all become part of the Life based Education Program and contribute to developing specific skills to the future citizens. The teachers meets with the parents at their house with student being present and sets targets for the students for the year. Parts of the goals are assigned to parents for their completion. These assignments are mostly to do with behavioral values and morality. Evaluation are done to assess the progress every three months and all deviations are corrected. This method of elevating our student’s morality and character is bound to yield results and they have in the past.
Most of our Program are based on life skills taught in and outside the class and we have reversed the method of teaching and the pedagogy, that is not a one way teaching coming from the teachers rather is a two way process where the teachers are mostly facilitators and a catalytic agent for the creation of knowledge. The greatest factor of our impact is in the fact that we have linked the Life Goals with our Education Goals. This makes the students more enthusiastic and attentive in the classes. Education imparts only 20% of the total skills needed for life goals. Our program covers 360 degrees of life cycle and our students are trained enough to succeed in their lives. They have mentors and guides in every step of the way to make teaching with a personal touch.
We intend to create an equity in our education system where the unprivileged students from the outreach locations will have equal opportunity to better their lives through quality education system. The following are our targets set for the program:
- Increase the admission of unprivileged students in the outreach locations.
- Reduce fall out students due to financial reasons.
- Ensure good nutrition for all students by providing school cooked lunch.
- Instill good communication skills using various popular languages.
- Develop senses of logic and rationality among all students
- Create a balance of strength between Science and Arts sections and bring gender equity in both.
- Students will be able to participate in debates, speak publicly, and participate in co-curricular activities.
- Participate in outdoor games and free hand exercises.
- Instill knowledgeable about healthy food habits and healthy living style
- Understands manners and civility and shun conflict prone minds.
- Be able to sustain themselves in all aspects of LIFE skills including cleanliness, participating in wood, metal, electrical, welding and plumbing skills.
We shall monitor all students’, teachers’ and school based performance and utilize AI to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the program. We shall use 7 Key performance Indicators to monitor their performance and assess its impacts.
Performance Indicators to continuously evaluate the success of the Program and they are:
- KPI 1: Number of new students’ admission from the vulnerable Groups
- KPI2: Fallout due to financial reasons
- KPI 3: Performance stars from the vulnerable Group
- KPI 4: Grades in Extra and Co-Curricular activities
- KPI 5: Community and Environmental Consciousness
- KPI 6: Cleanliness, Discipline, Communication and Organization
- KPI 7: Empathy, Morality and Value System
We shall use an integrated School Management System and some of the AI Tools to assess the ultimate impact on a quarterly basis to ensure that our set targets are met and exceeded. Every student shall have their life targets and that of yearly school targets that are integrated and synchronized. We shall apply the KPI evaluation and selective AI analysis to assess the impact on the community and changing the fate of the unprivileged families. AI tools shall forecast the change of individual and family status based on their education. We intend to ensure that all performance targets are closely monitored and assessed continuously and identify and deviations from the status. Any deviations shall be dealt with immediately with the corrective measures. We shall do community level surveys to understand the degree of the impact and how they are changing lives for the underprivileged kids.
We shall start selecting a Student of the year and a teacher of the Year to recognize their overall performance based on 7 criteria and incent them with good awards to bolster an internal competition that will help inspire the students and teachers alike.
We have a variety of technology in use for our Life based Education system, that are embedded with the processes. We run a cloud based planning application for the School, where the strategic intents are documented and translated into its component targets and Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG) are also defined. The application receives all the strategic plan for each of the BHAGs that are fed to an AI for the generation of the options of the variables like the tasks, time frame, internal controls, and management of the tasks, dependencies etc. AI plays a crucial part of the project where most of the degenerative components of future activities are planned through the use of AI.
Technology also tracks the activities of individual students, their set targets, their progress, teacher evaluation of students and their average scores on the 7 criteria for student of the year categories. AI shall make due queries and figure out the possible candidates for Student and Teacher of the Year probable. The package shall review the track Teacher activities and their performance based on predetermined criteria.
All classrooms shall be equipped with latest audio-visual equipment for classroom delivery. Student attendance shall be automatically captured by biometric machines duly connected to the student apps. We shall use Technology in boosting the student experience in the classroom including items that enhances engaging learning environments, that improves communication among students, teachers and parents. Some of the other components of technology are as listed below:
- Make Education being life based.
- Evaluate students based on their life targets.
- Introduce better application of theories to better lives.
- Be self-reliant to support self-life.
- Fosters creativity and problem-solving skills
- Fosters creativity and problem-solving skills
- Saves teachers' time.
- Fosters creativity and problem-solving skills
School management activities shall be recorded and evaluated by the AI module including the strategic objectives, activities, budget forecasts and actuals. All management decisions shall be documented and tracked with the use of the KPIs set for the management tasks. This module shall track the management performance of the school on time, cost, people, and process. Our focus all technology components are student learning oriented. As such most of the technology components are in the classroom and under the management of the teachers. They are mobile so the components can travel with the class to outdoor locations should there be a need.
Teachers and students should be able to access their data from remote locations. We use the following devices at the school to increase effectiveness and productivity and a great learning environment:
- Interactive whiteboards
- VR & AR
- Mobile devices, tablets and laptops
- Devices that have all the functionality required for the lessons being delivered.
- Learning management systems
- Projectors & TV screens
- Microphones & speakers
- 3D printers
- 3D design tools
- HD and 360-degree cameras
- AI & robotics
- Esports
- Remote learning
- Blended learning
- A new business model or process that relies on technology to be successful
- Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning
- Biotechnology / Bioengineering
- GIS and Geospatial Technology
- Internet of Things
- Bangladesh
- India
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
- Egypt, Arab Rep.
We have a total of 15 workers fulltime, 120 part time and 500 volunteers around the Nation.
- Prof. Dr. Mizanur Rahman +8801729097093
- Prof. Dr. Nurul Alam +8801751332380
- Prof. Samad Mondal +8801718911868
- Mr. Md. Shafiul Alam +8801552475558
- AHM Abdur Rahim KHan +8801707850082, +61467380763
- Dr. Sarwar Jahan Sojol +880 1972-612142
- Mr. Volker Thomsen +49 176 99734909
- Md Sohel Khan +8801715413996
- Mr. Arcie Mizelle +1 912 678-1346
- Mahdi Mahfuz Alam +8801575321154
- Mohammed Sahafaat Ahsan +14168566551
- Abu Yousuf Zobayer Ullah. +8801711177837
- Shovon Kumar Goswami +8801710243058
- Rijvee Ahmed +880 1771972313
We ensure that our staff and support staff represent the diverse setup and demographics of the Nation. We are an equal opportunity employer in Bangladesh and support the development of visible minority and vulnerable groups. Our hiring and promotions are impartial and totally based on quality. We however make exceptions to visible minorities, where we do lower our bars to get a few from them and train them well to make them available for others. Actively seek candidates from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences during the recruitment process. This might involve advertising job openings on platforms frequented by underrepresented groups, attending career fairs focused on diversity, and utilizing diverse interview panels. Implement policies and procedures that promote equal opportunity for all staff members. This includes offering fair compensation and benefits, providing opportunities for professional development and advancement, and creating a work environment free from discrimination and harassment. Recognize that employees have diverse needs and responsibilities outside of work and offer flexible work arrangements where possible. This could include options for remote work, flexible hours, and accommodations for caregivers or individuals with disabilities. Leaders should actively demonstrate their commitment to diversity and inclusion through their actions and decisions. This includes soliciting and valuing input from all team members, celebrating diversity, and holding everyone accountable for upholding inclusive behaviors. Establish employee resource groups (ERGs) or affinity groups that provide a supportive community for employees with shared identities or experiences. These groups can facilitate networking, mentorship, and advocacy within the organization. Offer regular opportunities for employees to learn about diversity, equity, and inclusion topics through workshops, seminars, and other educational initiatives. This helps raise awareness, promote understanding, and build a more inclusive culture. By implementing these strategies consistently and proactively, organizations can create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace where all team members feel valued, respected, and empowered to succeed
We have a very simple business model that takes its empowerment from the cost recovery model. We shall charge a nominal fee from the students for our program that should not exceed 2 dollars per month. Students who cannot afford, shall use the benevolence fund that we have created from the Non Resident Bangladeshis. With the number of students around in our schools and colleges, we shall gather adequate funds to run our day to day operations. We plan to break-even in the first year of our operations.
Some of the Capital Costs needed to upgrade school infrastructure and the support services, shall come from the sources of charity from NRB (Non Residents Bangladeshis). Their name shall get engraved in the honor board in lieu of their financial support. We shall have three categories of the honor board members, Golden, Platinum and Silver based on the amount they share.
Teacher’s Salary shall be given by the Government, as part of the National Program to support outreach schools. We plan to get international donor agencies to participate in our overall program to reform the system itself for a better output.
Our prime objective is to provide equal opportunity to all students in Bangladesh irrespective of their social or financial status. WE hope to bring about tangible changes in our program to include students who are not that much privileged and be able to integrate themselves with the society like the rest. Our program will be self-sustaining and would break even after the Pilot program that we are applying for.
Managing a school’s finances requires precision, capacity, and a commitment to accountability. A school’s leadership team must have the financial competency to manage the day-to-day budget and plan for the future. Budgetary reporting needs to be clear and transparent. Responsibilities for these functions vary, depending on how the school is organized and governed. Schools that are part of a district have their finances overseen by the local school board and district staff, In either circumstance, each school needs someone, usually the principal, who knows the budget inside out who can handle routine transactions that are part of running their school. In addition to the principal, some schools hire a CFO or other staff member to manage finances. For schools that have an independent governing board, board members must have the capacity and expertise to oversee the finances actively, while school leaders and staff are responsible for implementing procedures and routines for regular reporting and review by the board. Sound school finance also depends on familiarity with the state’s public school finance regulations, reporting calendars, and auditing processes, which are available from each state’s department of education.
- Individual consumers or stakeholders (B2C)
Our target is to become financially sustainable for its sustainable outcome to support the less privileged students of the outreach locations. We have been successful so far with our Pilot Program in 5 Schools and we have broken even in most cases. Without financial sustainability the program is bound to fail at all levels. As such we have carefully planned for long term sustainability financially. We charge 200 Taka (2 US Dollars) per month for the special classes they get on Spoken English, Health, Math, Science and Physical Education. With our 10,000 students around we earn 240,000 US Dollars per year, enough to cover our expenses with profit that is reinvested into our Program and the School. Our revenue stream is expected to grow in the coming years where we shall include several new schools under our program.
We set up Language and Leadership Club at each School to teach Communicative English and enhance their leadership skills. Such |Clubs require around 5,000 US Dollars of Capital Costs and 60,000 Dollars to cover the operating expenses. These funds we seek from International Donor Agencies like the American Center or the British Council for support. These are onetime costs covered by the donor agencies. The operating Costs come out of the membership fees for the club set at 2000 Taka per year (200 US Dollars). This is also a self-sustaining effort.
Our School infrastructure funds come from the NRBs as donations and charity. There are quite a number of Individuals of Bangladeshi origin that are ready to support incremental infrastructure development of the Schools and Colleges like the Labs, Clubs, Auditoriums and class rooms. We have a detailed budget in place and would be happy to share as and when needed.
CEO