Bangladesh and UNICEF have signed an agreement to expand education and skills training for 38,400 children and young people who are out of school.
The three-year Alternative Learning Opportunities project will support 19,200 children ages 10 to 14 through alternative basic education. Another 19,200 young people ages 15 to 24 will receive market-focused vocational and employability training.
The programme is planned for 960 learning centers across 64 upazilas, or local administrative areas, nationwide. The government says it will invest about 1.587 billion taka, while UNICEF will provide technical assistance for design, implementation, and quality assurance.
The project builds on a pilot programme whose organisers reported that 82 percent of graduates found decent employment. The new effort aims to help at least 60 percent of participating young people move into wage work or self-employment.
