UNDP - United Nations Development Programme

Purpose

The project aims to address barriers that hinder the demand for and access to education for girls, adolescent girls and women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region in south-eastern Bangladesh. The CHT is a multi-ethnic, conflict-affected region where poverty and cultural norms severely restrict access to basic education and employment for girls and women from both indigenous and settler populations. The project addresses the barriers through support to 300 pre-primary and primary schools, serving approximately 20,000 students, and through skills training. Activities are designed to provide inclusive, gender- and environmentally-responsive education at the pre-primary and primary levels; and increase access to gender-sensitive, demand-driven technical and vocational education and training for adolescent girls and women, including those with disabilities. The project aims to improve the retention rates for approximately 12,000 girls and adolescent girls; strengthen the knowledge and skill levels of approximately 900 teachers; and enhance employment opportunities for approximately 1,000 adolescent girls and women.