Browsing by Author "Akhter, Zobaida"

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    Girls Not Brides: Concern of Distance Learning: Strategies to Prevent Child Marriage and Curse of Dowry: Bangladesh Perspective
    (2019-09) Akhter, Zobaida
    Women’s access to education must be treated as their fundamental right. And it is only through education that they wo uld get the chance to prepare themselves in order to play their roles in nation’s social, economic and political spheres as equal members of society. In Bangladesh, very few women can enjoy such rights and live a healthy and prestigious life. At present du e to government initiatives, girl’s enrolment in primary and secondary education is little bit higher than the boys. Despite of such encouraging scenario, there is a dark side behind this. Due to prejudice, mistaken education from family and society, lack of security, dropout rate of girls is higher and their retention rate is low. Marriage is considered as the alternative to education, which ultimately leads to violence against women due to unpaid dowry. Bangladesh has the second - highest rate of child marr iage in the world, behind Niger, and the highest rate of marriage of girls under age 15, according to a 2014 report by UNICEF. As a teaching and learning delivery model there is no option of distance education to meet up the challenges of inclusion girls wi th technological strength. The Open and Distance Learning system with its inherent nature of flexibilities has the potential to reach the unreached. It can provide an appropriate methodology to meet up the skilling needs of the unreached community through its academic, vocational, technical, professional, extension and lifelong learning programs. The article analyze the issues of child marriage, which gives the indication of the real causes of child marriage. The paper examines various strategies to minimi ze child marriage within a distance learning framework, underscoring the crucial role of diversity in culture and socio - economic status // Paper ID 34
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    Girls Step Towards Empowerment: Ladder to Hope through Gender Lens:Bangladesh Open University
    (2013-11) Akhter, Zobaida
    Women’s access to education must be treated as their fundamental right. And it is only through education that they would get the chance to prepare themselves in order to play their roles in nation’s social, economic and political spheres as equal members of society. In Bangladesh, very few women can enjoy such rights and live a healthy and prestigious life. At present due to government initiatives, girl’s enrolment in primary and secondary education is little bit higher than the boys. Despite of such encouraging scenario, there is a dark side behind this. Due to prejudice, mistaken education from family and society, lack of security, gender biased curriculum, dropout rate of girls is higher and their retention rate is low. Though there are facilities with free education till secondary education, lack of social motivation, mistaken education and increasing rate of violence against in different form, refrain them from education and encourage them in child marriage. Marriage is considered as the alternative to education, which ultimately leads to violence against women due to unpaid dowry. The article will analyse the issues of some social problem with special emphasis on mistaken family education. Curricula and textbooks are gender biased and classroom environment are more gender biased. Bangladesh Open University has all the freedom, access and opportunity to overcome the problems with their unlimited innovations to refrain the girls from education. Some textbooks of BOU will be reviewed from gender perspective and will put some alternative approaches. The article will emphasis on the uniform gender code, gender sensitivity and gender balance in among all the Open and Distance Learning Institution of the developing countries. // Paper ID: 244
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    Quality Assurance in Secondary Education Programe of Bangladesh Open University: Present Status and Challenges
    (2004-07) Akhter, Zobaida
    PCF3 // In the present day in national and international perspectives, quality is the top of most agendas. Quality of education has significant impact and invaluable contribution to the area of development. Recently, the SSC & HSC program of BOU have earned recognition of equivalency with the formal education sector, which has naturally raised the question of quality assurance of these programs By applying the quantitative method, the study has assessed the present status of the quality of SSC & HSC program of BOU and also put some recommendations to meet the challenges for further development.
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    Skill for Empowerment: Break the Cage: Challenges for Open and Distance Learning
    (2013-11) Akhter, Zobaida
    Bangladesh has made some great strides in promoting gender equality in the education sector by managing to close the gender gap in gross and net enrolment ratios in primary and secondary education. However, this success has not been replicated in achieving gender parity at the levels of technical skills development and in particular the TVET sector. In fact, the TVET sector is characterized by gender inequalities and stereotyping, reinforcing gender division of labour in occupational segregation in the labour market which is a constraint for women to enter into new, non-traditional and higher income professions. Girls and boys are channelled into different paths, usually resulting in different outcomes and in particular different earnings. The social mindset of families and girls’/women’s own views need to be changed, to remove gender disparities in access to opportunities at receiving training in diversified skills so that the life status of both women and men is enhanced.. In Bangladesh, TVET and employment programmes have been gaining increased attention from policymakers and other stakeholders. At the same time, women are becoming an increasingly important concern in TVET through different project. It is the right of women to participate in education and training on an equal basis with men and it has become part of the internationally-endorsed Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)1. At present, it has been experienced that in TVET system, women are still unrepresented from all respect. However, it has been difficult to focus attention on equal opportunity efforts specifically within TVET. Open and Distance learning could minimize and balance the gap. Bangladesh open university could raise a big question in this international platform to get the best approach to determine the issue with a acceptable solution. // Paper ID: 246
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    Unlocking the potentials: conceptual framework for the education of the indigenous people through open and distance learning
    (2010-11) Akhter, Zobaida
    The constitution of Bangladesh guarantees equal rights for men and women, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, caste and religion and strives to promote social and economic equality. Access to information is the basic rights of the people of any country. We know that knowledge is power and knowledge imparted through education is more powerful... In our country people are devoid of their basic rights and they are considered as disadvantaged group, based on their needs, culture, environment and economic status. Promoting open and distance learning is a crying needs especially in the context of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a country where approximately forty-five ethnic minority groups live alongside... They have lesser opportunities in education and skill development than their mainstream counterparts, illiteracy is high. Indigenous peoples mainly live in isolated areas, outside the mainstream of national economies and development support. The areas they inhabit are even more likely to lack of basic infrastructure such as roads, markets, schools and health facilities, than the other areas of population. This paper attempts to develop a conceptual framework for the education of the indigenous people of Bangladesh through Open and distance Learning.
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    When Schools Shut: Child Marriage Start: Impact of Covid-19 on Education of Girl Child in Bangladesh
    (2022-09) Akhter, Zobaida
    PCF10 Sub-theme: Promoting Equity and Inclusion // More than 15.5 percent of Bangladeshi girls had been forced into wedlock below the age of 15 whereas the marriage age in Bangladesh during a pandemic. With the recent reopening of Bangladeshi schools, authorities have been alarmed by the number of girls not attending classes. In Khulna district, North of Bangladesh recorded more than 3,000 child marriages in this district. The paper will assess and estimate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the education of young girls. Some case studies will be conducted in the child marriage-prone district of Khulna. Technology is not the only solution to all problems, it needs infrastructure, access to the internet or mobile, and economic solvency to provide necessary things. Since the majority of schools have moved instruction online because of the pandemic, it is now important to give girls the tools to participate in distance learning techniques. Because thousands of girl brides in southern Bangladesh whose classroom seats have remained empty after reopening of school. // Paper ID 3114
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    Working Status of SSC and HSC Students of BOU: Impact on Poverty Alleviation
    (2008) Akhter, Zobaida
    In the present day, from national and international perspectives, quality is at the top of most agendas. Similarly improving quality of education is probably the most important task facing any educational institution. Quality of education has significant impact and invaluable contribution to the area of human development. Students, therefore, have the right to receive an education of good quality and quality of education is associated with different academic and institutional factors. As societies evolve from the post industrial era to the information of age, distance education in the developing country has got the central importance and subject to study. The Open School of Bangladesh Open University (BOU) is presently imparting two educational programs, namely Secondary School certificate and Higher Secondary School Certificate programs. These programs are basically providing an excellent opportunity of continuing education to those, who were either dropped out from basic education program, both in formal and non-formal education sectors or were unable to avail further educational opportunities due to various reasons. About 5 years ago two programs have earned recognition of equivalency to those of formal education sector, which has naturally raised a question of quality assurance of BOU programs. The Open School, one of the faculty of BOU is providing two vital programs, SSC and HSC, for last couple of years to the students of secondary and higher secondary level who had not the privilege to complete it through the national system. Through these programs Open School is supplementing the initiative of the govt. to achieve the goal of EFA and MDG. In this context a study has been conducted with the following objectives. • Asses the present status of the SSC and HSC graduates of the Open School in the job market; • Assess the socio- economic benefits of the programs on their personal life; • Assess the role of the programs in poverty alleviation from the society; • Identify the role of the SSC and HSC programs of BOU in achieving the MDG by the government. // Paper ID 117