Challenges

Bangladesh is the most populous country with around160 million inhabitants. Over 50% of the population is younger than 24 years old. Different studies show that unemployment rate is 3.6% whereas underemployment rate is 36% in Bangladesh. Besides, a large number of children and adolescent work for pay, many in hazardous condition. In Bangladesh more than 50% children drop out before completing grade five. 7.4 million children workers, 93% of them work in informal sector and 1.3 million children work in hazardous condition.  

Toward a Solution

EYE program work to empower adolescents and youth in Bangladesh building their skills and capabilities, whilst also working with businesses and employers to help youth and adolescents to transition to decent work and become active citizens.

The target group of EYE programme are-

1. SUSTAIN- Slum children
2. Child Domestic Workers (CDW)
3. CSR and Child Labor
4. Work 2 Learn- Garment Industry
5. Rural Children and Youth
6. Street Based Working Children
7. Working Children with disability
8. Sea- Beach Working Children

Currently the program reaches 190,000 adolescent and youth in 11 city corporations and 17 districts of Bangladesh including 90 Upazilas through partnership with 22 national organizations and 50 corporation along with Government of Bangladesh.

EYE programme goal is to empower child and youth laborers in rural and urban areas economically, socially, politically to build better future. The objectives of the EYE programme is to:

• Get child laborers out of hazardous work and into basic education relevant to their present and future life situation.
• Economically empower youth through access to technical, vocational skill development, apprenticeship and entrepreneurship training leading to decent work.
• Equip and empower children and youth in their working place and society.
• Empower them as active citizen so that they can take part in decisions that affect their life.

EYE programme module includes:

• Accelerated Basic Education
• Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
• Child and Youth Clubs
• Apprenticeship and Entrepreneurship Training
• Private Sector Engagement
• Joint Programme Development and Monitoring

The program saw 94% of the participants complete their grade 5 education and around 80% of those who completed the skills training went on to secure decent work within a year of graduating. EYE program has:

• Reached and transformed 383,803 (195,039 girls, 188,764 boys) vulnerable adolescents and youth aged 10-24 years in urban and rural Bangladesh.
• Developed 18 trade specific vocational training curriculum.
• 94% enrolled children and adolescents passed grade 5 examinations. 75-80% of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) graduates secured a decent job within 12 months of completing their training; a year after graduating from the programme.
• Moreover under World Bank support, EYE program provided Technical Assistance (TA) to the government to design and implement accelerated education for urban slum children and adolescents (USCE) and Pre-vocational training (PVT) through mobile vocational training setup to reach rural adolescents and youth.

The program ensures that beneficiaries are able to support the venture on their own after its completion. Emphasis has been placed on the property of beneficiaries as it stays a main component of sustainability. Interventions on systems development, policies, structural change of appropriate organizations, involvement of appropriate private sector workers, reinforcement of youth community clubs and other local organizations, community ownership through creative methods will guarantee venture sustainability. The plan includes several processes to promote the transition of information, the efficacy of which will contribute to sustainability.