Digital School Program

Bridging the quality gap of education among urban, rural, and hard-to-reach areas

The Digital School Program is an innovative and sustainable solution to deliver quality education using digital classrooms and enabling synchronous and blended learning approaches, exclusively for underprivileged children in rural and hard-to-reach areas in order to mitigate the educational quality gap and break the cycle of poverty through quality education.

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Overview

HundrED has selected this innovation to

EdTech: Bangladesh

Web presence

2011

Established

5K

Children

1

Countries

Target group

Students basic

Updated

March 2023

JAAGO Foundation through its Digital School Program envisions bridging the quality gap of education between urban, and rural along with hard-to-reach areas. The program aims to provide ICT-based quality education under the national curriculum to the underprivileged and hard-to-reach children of Bangladesh to break the cycle of poverty through quality education.

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

The educational institutions in rural and hard-to-reach areas face several obstacles due to the quality gap including inadequate resourcing, lack of certified and trained instructors, and high poverty levels which results in high dropout rates. Aiming to bridge the quality gap between rural and urban education, the Digital School Program was initiated to provide quality education to the last mile.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

The key components of the program are an ICT-based digital schooling system; a pool of skilled and qualified teachers; and a modern, creative curriculum and digital content designed by in-house experts. The use of an interactive whiteboard, facilities for desktop, document, slide-sharing, video-sharing and a sketch board makes it sufficiently versatile for an education setting. The trained teachers deliver their class and conduct interactive sessions with students along with support onsite by two classroom facilitators who assist the children with classwork management. It is the only organization that offers the EdExcel Curriculum of English along with the National Curriculum. As per the assessment report of the program, the data proves that the teaching approach in digital school is highly participatory in all classes (100%). Starting with 17 students in 2007, the Digital School now has over 5000 students and 180+ qualified teachers in 11 digital schools in 5 divisions of the country.

How has it been spreading?

Digital School Program currently has more than 5000 students with 180+ skilled teachers in 11 digital schools across 5 divisions of the country. In 2013, only 30 students appeared in the secondary board exam, but the number increased to 365 in 2021 with a passing rate of 100%. Receiving basic education for whom was merely a distant dream, they are now able to pursue higher education both at home and abroad, along with participating in economic opportunities, like Lelin Ahmed, who received a fully funded scholarship to study in the USA. The initiative provides a platform for the children to build a strong foundation for their growth and development. JAAGO intends to expand its program to colleges and establish residential campuses for extremely disadvantaged children.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

In order to adopt the digital school solution, a baseline study needs to be conducted in order to identify and analyze the feasibility of the approach. As per the outcome of the study, JAAGO Foundation can provide the necessary guidelines, training, and support to help establish the digital infrastructure and implement the program successfully.

Impact & scalability

HundrED Academy Reviews

Excellent innovation that clearly has a huge impact on those children's lives who have geographical and other hurdles in going to school. A digital classroom as seen in the video is giving them the atmosphere of a classroom while the lessons happen online.

This innovation will have high scalable in many areas in my country. Rural population can benefit of urban resources can be shared from urban areas giving access by way of digital classrooms. The biggest issue in rural areas is getting good teachers

- Academy member

Academy review results

High Impact
Low Scalability

High Impact
High Scalability

Low Impact
Low Scalability

Low Impact
High Scalability

Media

He thought he would grow up to be a rickshaw-puller. Instead he is a US exchange student

Bangladesh Digital School makes learning delightful

With lessons in English, children at remote Bangladesh tea estate dare to touch the sky

Implementation steps

1. Baseline study

The first step is to determine the locations suitable for the program. A thorough baseline study and community survey need to be conducted which can help analyse the social-economic condition and identify the challenges faced by the people of the distant areas.

2. Recruiting qualified instructors

Qualified instructors and community teachers need to be recruited to assist with the lessons. While an equipped teacher can conduct the class through online media, the community teachers can facilitate the classroom. After recruiting, the teachers need to be provided with necessary trainings on subject content, online delivery, and classroom management.

3. Establishing IT infrastructure

Digital classrooms need to be established including setting up computers with internet access, installing the necessary software, and ensuring a reliable power supply. A digital assessment tool can be introduced, including a student performance management system and a centralized tracker system to monitor the digital school system.

4. Engaging community

Involving the community members is an integral part of establishing a digital school program. In communities where basic education is hampered due to the financial condition of the people, the concept of our new model of education might be unconventional to them. In this case, the community members need to be made aware and motivated towards ensuring quality education for their children.

5. Training and Support from JAAGO Foundation

Pioneering the concept of digital school in Bangladesh, JAAGO Foundation has been implementing the program for over 16 years across 5 divisions of the country. Back in 2011, when the usage of the internet all over the country was astronomically low (4.5%), JAAGO created a scope for underprivileged children to receive education from miles away. Having decades of experience, JAAGO can provide support in pedagogical and setting up and training for those interested in implementing this approach.