CholPori, a digital learning platform, hosted a roundtable discussion on "Scaling Blended Learning for Smart Bangladesh" with key stakeholders from government, education institutions, NGOs, and the technology sector, including NCTB, a2i, UNICEF, Sesame Workshop Bangladesh, Save the Children, Plan International, ActionAid, Teach for Bangladesh, The Asia Foundation, government officers from Hathazari Upazila, Sajida Foundation, The Daily Star and USAID.
The roundtable was chaired by Rasheda K Choudhury, ED and CEO of Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) and Zareen Mahmud Hosein, MD and founder of CholPori.
CholPori revealed the findings from their pilot study in 56 schools in Hathazari Upazila. During the 12 months study, CholPori observed an improvement in Maths and English scores as well as classroom engagement, said a press release.
The participants of the roundtable explored the potential and challenges of implementing blended learning solutions on a large scale in both urban and rural areas of Bangladesh.
Rasheda urged everyone to work on this matter together by saying, “When the teachers will think of them as the solution, only then the implementation of digital and blended education can be successful. We need to work together - not just by celebrating success stories but with evidence based advocacy.
“Our government is always there to listen to us, so we need to present to them our case supported with facts,” she added.
She also emphasised on the importance of including all the stakeholders, especially the parents in the implementation of the new curriculum.
Zareen Mahmud Hosein expressed her hope in bridging the education gap of students all over from Bangladesh by incorporating blended learning in classrooms. She said, “By harnessing the power of peer-to-peer learning with technology we can create a system that is adaptive, responsible and goal oriented.”
The round table discussion shed light on the importance of creating a current policy framework for blended learning for all localities. The speakers also felt that this mammoth task can only be done if the effort is collaborative and data driven. The media representatives expressed the hope of playing a big role in sensitising and highlighting the greater cause of the new curriculum.
