Our CEO, Munia Islam Mozumder, proudly represented Teach For Bangladesh, joining esteemed education leaders to discuss practical, research-backed strategies for improving learning outcomes.

Panelists included:

• Moderator: Dr. Syud Amer Ahmed, Operations Manager (Interim) for Bangladesh/Lead Economist, World Bank

• Dr. Halsey Rogers, Lead Economist, Education Global Practice, World Bank

• Dr. Manzoor Ahmed, Convenor, Primary Education Reform Consultative Committee

• Dr. Muhammad Azad Khan, Director General, Bangladesh Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education

• Mr. Fahid Ahmed, Director General, Bangladesh National Academy for Primary Education

The discussion underscored the importance of system-wide collaboration, localized interventions, and teacher empowerment in strengthening foundational literacy and numeracy. A moment of pride for Teach For Bangladesh was when Dr. Halsey Rogers highlighted our model as a global example of effective education strategies while referencing the 2023 World Bank Smart Buys—a framework identifying the most impactful approaches to improving learning outcomes worldwide.

At Teach For Bangladesh, we remain committed to translating these global insights into meaningful, scalable action. This conversation reinforced the urgency of our mission and the need to expand our efforts to reach more children, especially those in marginalized communities.

It was an honor to contribute to this dialogue alongside such distinguished policymakers, and we look forward to continuing our collective pursuit of transformative change in education.

The post Advancing Foundational Learning in Bangladesh: Insights from Global Best Practices appeared first on Teach For Bangladesh.

The forum spotlighted TFB’s growing role in integrating climate education into classrooms across Bangladesh.

The event highlighted the organisation’s Climate Education and Leadership (CEL) initiative, launched in 2023 in partnership with Teach For All, as a replicable model for cultivating environmentally aware learners and communities. Through storytelling, school team presentations, and hands-on examples, participants witnessed how TFB Fellows are enabling students to engage in rooftop gardening, waste segregation, and tree distribution.

In his opening remarks, Rajasree Guha, Deputy Manager of Partnership Development at TFB, underscored the urgency: “Bangladesh’s youth must become climate leaders in their communities. The future depends on how we educate and mobilise today.”

A student-parent-teacher presentation led by a TFB Fellow showcased how grassroots engagement can drive sustainable behaviour. The panel discussion, “Classrooms as Climate Catalysts,” featured frontline voices, including Fellows, alumni, youth climate activists, and development professionals. Tahiya Islam, a 2022 Fellow, shared how she began her climate education journey with small classroom activities: “I introduced plants and simple lessons on plastic pollution. Real change starts with small, emotional connections.”

Youth climate activist Shohanur Rahman warned: “By 2050, one-third of Bangladesh could be underwater. Climate education must be about survival, not just awareness.” Mohammad Mahmodul Hasan of Helvetas Bangladesh called for policy-level change and curriculum integration tailored to local contexts.

Speaking as Special Guest, Harun Ortac, CEO of United Aygaz, said, “TFB’s work is not just about education; it’s about the future of the country. If we stand together, we can act together.”

The forum’s Chief Guest, Professor Robiul Kabir Chowdhury, Chairman of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), reaffirmed the government’s position: “Climate education must be embedded in every subject from Class 1 to 10. This is no longer optional—it’s essential.”

In her closing speech, Munia Islam Mozumder, CEO of Teach For Bangladesh, issued a collective call to action: “The climate crisis is a justice and education issue. Education cannot change the world directly, but it changes people, and people change the world.”

The event concluded with a participatory discussion session, Collective Leadership for Climate Resilience, where attendees developed strategies to scale CEL efforts nationwide..

The post Teach For Bangladesh hosts national climate education forum appeared first on Teach For Bangladesh.

Arafat completed the TFB Fellowship in 2017 and received the prestigious Chevening Scholarship this year. Arafat is working to ensure that people in Bangladesh are no longer deprived of quality life choices. 

I joined the Teach For Bangladesh Fellowship program after I graduated from Jahangirnagar University to understand the widespread educational inequity at the grassroots level. The Teach For Bangladesh Fellowship helped me develop some pivotal skills, such as understanding the context of an issue using multiple lenses, creating effective relations with key stakeholders, developing community leadership, etc., that I am still leveraging today. Most importantly, I learned that the rapid GDP growth rate does not necessarily guarantee quality education for low-income communities in countries like Bangladesh. After completing the Fellowship, I joined as a researcher at Jeeon Bangladesh Limited. I observed first-hand how underserved communities in rural Bangladesh struggle to access primary healthcare services due to the absence of pro-poor decision-making. Economic growth and development are undeniably important. It is also crucial to introduce and implement policies that include the voices of people from all strata of society in the development process and ensure equal opportunities in life for everyone. 

The Chevening Scholarship provides the opportunity of a lifetime to meet the world’s most talented leaders from diverse fields, exchange ideas, and collectively envision positive change. Applying for this prestigious scholarship is an arduous task that stretches over a year of preparation. After being selected as a Chevening Scholar, I feel truly honored and excited to be a part of a global network of 50,000 alumni from more than 160 countries. My joy became twofold when I realized that I would be studying at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a renowned global institution for social science with a fully-funded scholarship. After finishing my Master’s degree in International Political Economy, I see myself influencing the future decision-makers of Bangladesh to bring positive change with my research and expertise. 

I look forward to improving my knowledge and skills and learning about world cultures during my time in the UK. My future goals involve connecting my fellow idea partners from the alumni networks of Teach For Bangladesh and Chevening to build an interdisciplinary research platform. I envision that this institution will provide critical feedback on state policies while addressing the interests of underprivileged communities. I look forward to when people will no longer be deprived of quality life choices in Bangladesh.

The post Building an interdisciplinary research platform after receiving the Chevening Scholarship appeared first on Teach For Bangladesh.

Growing up as an indigenous person, I faced demeaning questions from peers at school and university about my food, language, and culture that always set me apart from others. I felt stressed answering questions like, “Do you eat snakes?” I was born to a middle-income Garo family and could pursue my education without hardship. Still, around me, I saw how discrimination and financial barriers kept many children from my community out of school. For many indigenous families in Bangladesh, education remains a luxury.

After completing my master’s in Agricultural Economics from Bangladesh Agricultural University, I joined Teach for Bangladesh as a Fellow. I wanted to learn about our education sector and gather hands-on teaching-learning and leadership experience to ensure quality education for disadvantaged and indigenous communities like my own. The Fellowship helped me to sharpen my leadership skills. It taught me to overcome challenges with creative solutions and to make learning fun and engaging for children. 

In the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, I started a project that delivered much-needed workbooks to children in underserved communities with four of my co-Fellows. We successfully delivered customized workbooks to 2,500 students from 40 schools, including students of my community, enabling children to keep learning at home. Being able to make this contribution to children’s education has inspired me to engage further with national initiatives and achieve something more significant for my community.

After completing the Fellowship, I joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as an intern. I am currently working on an assignment to explore the potential supply chain for agricultural products from indigenous communities of Bangladesh. Indigenous people pursue sustainable livelihoods and have unique food systems adapted to their ecosystems. Unfortunately, despite being the primary food producers in their areas, they do not always get a fair price at the marketplace. This discrimination forces them into poverty, a situation aggravated by the pandemic.

As an Agricultural Economist and a Teach For Bangladesh Alumna, I advocate for equal opportunities for all in both the education and agriculture sectors. Today, I am working to find the problems, challenges, and possible solutions to improve the network between my community and the marketplace through research, and to empower my people to make informed economic decisions. Together, we are working on a new social contract that will lead to social and economic benefits for indigenous peoples of our country for generations to come.

The post Breaking the barriers: An indigenous story appeared first on Teach For Bangladesh.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, children were trapped at home, disconnected from friends and schooling, and experienced stress and uncertainty. Mou thought it was even more critical to continue the storytelling practice for her students during school closure. She believed that listening to and telling stories can help children experience joy, find courage, and learn values like empathy and friendship. She recorded a series of classics from Bengali literature where she acted as her storytelling character named “Bubun” (a word children traditionally use to refer to one’s eldest sister).

Mou made these videos available free of charge on Teach For Bangladesh’s YouTube channel for her students and children everywhere. When Mou checked in with one of her students, Muntaha, she told her she wanted to see Bubun in real life when school reopens. “I want to be a storyteller like Bubun when I grow up,” Muntaha said.

The post Bubun: The Storyteller appeared first on Teach For Bangladesh.

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

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“গুণগত শিক্ষা লাভ করা গরিবদের জন্য নয়। এটি ধনীদের বস্তু।” এই কথাটি লোকে-মুখে শুনে এবং এর করুণ  বাস্তবতা দেখতে দেখতে আমি বেড়ে উঠেছি। আমার জন্ম দেশের একটি প্রত্যন্ত অঞ্চল থানচি হলেও বেড়ে উঠি রাঙ্গামাটির একটি আবাসিক বিদ্যালয়ে। অনেক মানুষকে বলতে শুনেছি, ছোটবেলা থেকে পরিবারকে ছেড়ে আবাসিক বিদ্যালয়ে যাদের পড়তে হয়, তাদের মত অভাগা আর নেই। কিন্তু আমার এবং আমার মতো হাজারো শিক্ষার্থীর জন্য তা ছিলো সৌভাগ্যবানদের আশ্রয়স্থল। কারন, সেখানে ন্যুনতম খরচে পড়ার সুযোগ না হলে প্রত্যন্ত অঞ্চল থেকে আসা অধিকাংশ শিক্ষার্থীরা হয়তো শিক্ষা থেকে বঞ্চিত হতো। 

ছোটবেলা থেকেই নিজের এলাকার এবং পার্বত্য অঞ্চলের মানুষের শিক্ষায় অনগ্রসরতার করুণ বাস্তবতা অনুধাবন করে শিক্ষা নিয়ে কাজ করার ইচ্ছাকে লালন করে আসছি। আমার দীর্ঘদিনের এই অভিপ্রায় স্নাতক শিক্ষাজীবনের চতুর্থ বর্ষে এসে যেন দিশা খুঁজে পায়। তখন ২০১৮ সন, যখন টিইচ ফর বাংলাদেশের অবহেলিত শিশুদের মানসম্মত শিক্ষা প্রদানের চিন্তা ও অঙ্গীকার সম্পর্কে জানতে পারি। আমি তখনই আবেদনের জন্য নিবন্ধন করে ফেলি এবং পরের বছর থেকে সুবিধাবঞ্চিত একটি বিদ্যালয়ে শিক্ষক হিসেবে কাজ করার সুযোগ পাই। 

দুই বছরের ফেলোশিপে আমার দারুণ কিছু অভিজ্ঞতার পাশাপাশি দেশে বিদ্যমান প্রাথমিক শিক্ষা ব্যবস্থাকে খুব কাছ থেকে বুঝার ও অনুধাবন করার সুযোগ হয়। মানসম্মত শিক্ষাদান এবং শিক্ষার্থীদের কমিউনিটিতে বিদ্যমান সমস্যাগুলো নিয়ে সচেতনতা তৈরিতে কমিউনিটি প্রজেক্ট করা ছিলো ফেলোশিপের কাজ। কাজ করতে যেয়ে যখনই শিক্ষার্থীদের মুখে হাসি ফুটাতে পেরেছি তখনই মন আনন্দে ভরে যেতো আমার। খুব অনুপ্রাণিত বোধ করতাম। তেমনই একটি প্রজেক্ট ছিলো “আনন্দ শিশু পাঠাগার” নামক শিশুতোষ বই সম্বলিত একটি পাঠাগার স্থাপন করা। কোভিড-১৯ ভাইরাসের ভয়াবহতার কারণে বিদ্যালয় বন্ধ হয়ে যাবার পর থেকে খাদ্য সহায়তা, স্বাস্থ্য উপকরণ বিতরণ, শিশুদের মানসিক স্বাস্থ্য, শিক্ষা উপকরণ বিতরণ এবং এরকম আরো বিভিন্ন ইস্যু নিয়ে কাজ করি। আমরা ১৭ টি বিদ্যালয়ের শিশু-কিশোর ও তাদের পরিবারের সহযোগীতা করেছিলাম, যা আজও আমাকে অনুপ্রাণিত করে। 

বর্তমানে আমি CRDC: Community Resource Development Center এর Founder and CEO হিসেবে কাজ করছি। ফেলোশিপে লব্ধ প্রশিক্ষণ ও অভিজ্ঞতাকে কাজে লাগিয়ে আমি এবং আমার টিম মানসম্মত শিক্ষাদানের লক্ষ্যে একটি লার্নিং সেন্টার স্থাপন করেছি। এর পাশাপাশি Climate Change and Adaptation নিয়ে শিশুদের মধ্যে সচেতনতা তৈরি করতে একটি Climate Learning Hub স্থাপনের  উদ্যোগ নিয়েছি। এর পাশাপাশি Helping Hands প্লাটফর্মের মাধ্যমে আমরা যেকোন দূর্যোগ ও অনাকাঙ্খিত পরিস্থিতিতে দুঃস্থদের সহায়তা করতে কাজ করে যাচ্ছি। 

আজ বিশ্ব আদিবাসী দিবস। দিনটিকে আদিবাসী দিবস হিসেবে পালনের কিছু উদ্দেশ্য হলো আদিবাসীদের উপর হয়ে আসা অন্যায় সমূহ স্মরণ করা, এর বিরুদ্ধে প্রতিবাদ করা এবং তাদের নাগরিক অধিকার নিশ্চিত করার লক্ষ্যে সম্মিলিতভাবে কাজ করা। কিন্তু দুঃজনক হলো আদিবাসীরা আজও অধিকাংশ নাগরিক অধিকার থেকে বঞ্চিত এবং মূল ধারার জনগোষ্ঠী থেকে অনেক পিছিয়ে আছে। আমি দৃঢ় আশাবাদী যে বর্তমান এবং ভবিষ্যতের প্রজন্ম জাতি, ধর্ম, বর্ণ বিভেদ না করে যেকোন অন্যায় ও অবিচারের বিরুদ্ধে সোচ্চার হবে এবং সমাধানের লক্ষ্যে যথাযথ পদক্ষেপ নিবে।”

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Like so many Primary Completion Examinees last year, 12 years old Samir was anxious about his life’s first public exam. It was also difficult for him to stay at home without going to school and away from his friends during government-mandated lockdown and prolonged school closure.

But Samir was fortunate to have a teacher like Shaila Sharmin, who believed in this very different world; educators can never stop educating children. And she introduced online classes over Facebook and WhatsApp, where she taught 25% of her students and gave feedback to ensure learning never stopped.

Seeing her enthusiasm, her school’s Head Teacher showed interest in online classes. Shaila also developed workbooks with other Fellows to reach out to the students for the remaining 75% of her students who did not have access to the internet.

The post Resilient Fellow: Students never stopped learning appeared first on Teach For Bangladesh.

Keeping this challenge in mind, Nadia planned a study pack that was self-explanatory and interactive for her students who did not have access to the internet at home. The study pack included a workbook of 5 subjects and some additional drawing materials and stationery. The workbook also had elements of her classroom. The workbook consisted of Nadia’s photos (in comic format) giving instructions in the teacher’s language and a personalized letter at the beginning,

To make the math part of this workbook more explicit and organized, Nadia collaborated with Sakeef, one of our alum who is currently working at BRAC Kumon. Teachers like Nadia at Teach For Bangladesh are the reasons why many of our students kept learning at an unprecedented time.

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