During the pandemic, for preventive measures all activities had to go online. During this time UCEP introduced their e-Study model to ensure that their students have access to quality education regardless of the global circumstances. Unfortunately, a huge portion of their student base did not have access to internet to continue their studies. This entire population was to face a study gap for the unforeseeable future due to the uncertainly of the pandemic. This could potentially cause students to discontinue their studies causing their future to be ambivalent.
From 2021, Banglalink partnered with the (UCEP) Bangladesh to support its innovative education model of the e-Study group. Banglalink proposed to provide free data service to their students to ensure they do not have to compromise with their future and can continue to grow and upskill.
5,000 UCEP students and numerous teachers of the organization from all 8 districts of benefitted from this initiative. Students in the program were selected based on their income capacity. This enabled UCEP Schools to continue their academic activities amid the lockdowns.
I did not miss any of my classes last year, or the year before. Online classes are not the same, but it helped me sit for final exams and graduate. I also met my friends and teachers every online class, so I was not lonely.” – Ayon Deb, Class V, UCEP General School, Gazipur
Additional Findings from Research
20 students and their parents, 2 teachers, the administration from UCEP and the team from Banglalink participated in the research.
Parents enrolled in the schools and participating in the program do not have
enough income to afford regular classes
- 100% of the student/parent respondents could not have afforded the classes
otherwise - 80% of the students responded they would not have done classes during the
lockdowns - 40% of parents responded that they were considering not coming back to
school after the pandemic - Teachers reported 90% of attendance on online classes vs. 75% on usual offline
classes
