100 students graduate from US Embassy’s access programme

A total of 100 students from Dhaka and Sylhet recently graduted from the ‘English Access Microscholarship Program’ of the US embassy.

US Ambassador Peter Haas participated in the graduation ceremony of the students, according to a press statement.

Speaking on the occasion, ambassador Haas praised the 50 young women and 50 young men for their leadership skills, including their support last year to victims of the Sylhet floods.  

“You are the leaders of tomorrow that Bangladesh needs today. Your English, leadership, and critical thinking skills are crucial to your community and country,” Haas said. 

The English Access Microscholarship Program, funded by the US Department of State, is a rigorous, two-year interactive program building a foundation in English language, American culture, critical thinking, and leadership skills for students, aged 13 to 17, who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. 

The programme is administered by the Global Educators Initiative for Sustainable Transformation (GEIST) International Foundation.  

The program helps them become more competitive for higher education and employment opportunities.  Since it began in 2004, 1,300 Bangladeshi students have successfully completed the program.  Today’s graduating class joins almost 100,000 other Access program alumni in more than 85 countries around the world. 

The access programme is one of the US embassy’s many endeavors to strengthen and expand people-to-people ties and educational linkages between the United States and Bangladesh, enhance the quality of education locally, and empower Bangladeshi youth through innovative learning opportunities. 

GEIST is a Bangladesh-based non-profit organisation, founded by alumni of US government exchange programs, and is focused on teacher training and English instruction.  Its membership includes 1,000 students, 400 teachers, and 580 professionals from the education and development sectors. 

Currently, GEIST works with alumni of U.S.-funded teacher training programs in 143 partner educational institutions in India, Nepal, Vietnam, Columbia, Cambodia, Guatemala, Iraq, Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Columbia, Lithuania, Nigeria, Germany, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and France.