Thanks to you, our supporters, 2006 has been a very successful year. VAB is established as a full-fledged NGO, has increased the number of schools in both the Scholarship and Modernization Programs, has expanded the College Scholarship Program, has initiated experimental tutoring and pre-school programs, organized an intensive teachers training program, held a Headmasters Seminar and a Volunteer-Intern Training Program.  With a four-person staff, led by Dr. James Das, we have made significant progress.  The VAB now has its own bank account, a light and airy office, a ground phone, 88.02.833.1641 and Internet service at vabbng@gmail.com.  And, most important VAB has solidified and expanded its programs.

With inclusion of 9 new schools in 2006, the total number of VAB Scholarship Schools has increased to 24, 3 female and 21 co-education schools.  480 poor and meritorious students in classes VIII, IX and X received VAB Scholarships (20 each from 24 Schools).  Each scholarship includes all the necessary textbooks, exercise books, stationeries, examination fees, tuition fees and school uniform allowance for the VAB students. Cost: $15,214.

Headmasters from both new and old VAB schools participated in a 2-day VAB Headmaster Seminar.  The Seminar was to: (a) Establish on-going professional relationships among all VAB Head Masters, (b) Invite Head Masters to share their successes and problems and identify activities a school might initiate to overcome problems, (c) Assess the impact of VAB programs in schools, identifying activities that VAB might revise or add to further assist the schools, and d) Explore the role of a headmaster as an educator, administrator and community leader. After overcoming initial shyness, Head Masters enthusiastically shared their experience and ideas.  Cost is included in the Teachers Training program below.

Teacher Training (or retraining) is critical for improving the quality of rural secular education.  A VAB Teacher Training Program is conducted annually. In 2006, VAB provided 3-day training sessions to 115 teachers at the VAB office. Teachers of Grade IX and X, Math and English, the subjects students have the most trouble with, were given content-curriculum training. Teachers also were trained using new interactive teaching methods. The peer trainers used discussion methods and illustrated how to have students think out problems rather than memorize--new concepts for many teachers. For teachers of Grades VI-VIII, General Science was included along with Math and English. As usual Prof. Shamsul Huq Molla, Chairman of VAB Advisory Board, and Principal Hamida Ali, member of VAB Advisory Board, took responsibility for recruiting the trainers and organizing the training.  As always, the teachers were quite excited about the training and demanded more as soon as possible. Ms. Nazmeen Huq, Professor of English, Dhaka University, is preparing an evaluation of the training program.  Cost: $4,908.

VAB College Scholarships are offered as rewards to VAB high school students for outstanding performance on the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam. The VAB Scholarships provide admission fees, all necessary textbooks, tuition fees, college exam fees and for registration fees to sit for centrally administered college final examination or Higher Secondary Certificate Examinations (HSC). In 2005-2006, VAB for the first time awarded full scholarships to 39 VAB students who achieved (A+, A and A-) on the national SSC exam. In July 2006, a midterm performance review recommended 31 of the 39 students to continue into a second-year program; eight students dropped for a variety of reasons including only one student who failed to pass the first year final examination. 

In 2006, a total number of 86 VAB students sat for SSC examinations from 15 schools. 56 achieved A level (A+, A, A-) performance. All 56 students received first–year VAB college scholarships. With VAB assistance, all the students have been admitted to colleges, most of them in their local areas. Two students were admitted to colleges in Dhaka. One donor supports four additional scholarships from one non-VAB high school. First phase funds have been distributed to all scholarship holders. First- and second-year students total 91.  Cost: $ 10,291.

In 2006 VAB initiated a Tutoring Program for the SSC Examination. The pilot program is oriented to mid- and poor-ranking VAB schools as a means to improve the performance of all students who qualify to take the Secondary School Certificate Exam and thereby improve the rankings of the schools.  VAB will provide financial assistance to six pilot schools for tutors of English and Mathematics (the major SSC exam hurdles) to tutor the candidates for three months before starting the SSC final examinations.  Classes will start from the 15^th December 2006.  Cost: $1,552.

As a reward for performance and to assist Scholarship Schools to improve the quality of education, VAB selects Scholarship Schools to be part of the School Modernization Program.  By 2005, 10 schools were included and two more schools were added in 2006, bringing the total to 12. Under the Modernization Program, schools are provided with computers and necessary accessories; books for (sometimes non-existent) libraries; science equipment and supplies for poorly equipped laboratories; and sports and cultural equipment. Cost: $6,397.

A pilot VAB one-year Pre-school Program is operating in Sirajgonj with full support from a targeted donor. The project is aimed at children who mostly live in slums and who have not attended pre-school for lack of funds, facilities or family environment. The school has been under operation for three years, where besides education and play, a nutritious snack is also provided. The results seem promising as most students graduate after one year and get admission to Grade II at local primary schools. VAB intends to develop additional pre-school projects.  Cost: $ 2,586.

Twenty trained and motivated volunteer-interns are a key to VAB’s well-operated and monitored programs. The interns are college seniors, graduate students or graduates recruited from Dhaka universities and colleges. VAB provides them with a real-life experience in rural Bangladesh, which is a “foreign” world to many of them.  The Intern Training consists of one day visiting a school and two days of learning practical research methods, interviewing techniques and accounting procedures.  For a year, they monitor one or two schools and document the education progress of scholarship holders and of the school generally and distribute equipment and funds. The interns are excited and motivated to make the program work and translate their excitement to teachers and students.  Cost: $ 487.

The Computer Literacy Program operated by the VAB-New Jersey Chapter, has made great strides since its inception in 2005.  43 Computer Literacy Centers are established in a third of Bangladesh districts.  97 teachers have been trained and over 5,000 students have graduated.  With the support of Microsoft Foundation and Bank of Asia, the CLP is expanding their model to train underprivileged for the job market.

Three additional activities are proposed for 2007:

 

1) VAB School Profile for Institutional Donors: A research and evaluation proposal has been developed under the guidance of Peter von Christierson to prepare a historical profile on each VAB School as a means to adequately present the VAB program to prospective institutional donors for support. The Dhaka office is seeking researchers for this project.

 

2) Remedial Tutoring from Grade VI: It is a reality that students entering Grade VI, after completion of Primary schools, suffer from severe academic deficiencies, which persist through grade X, causing dropouts and high failures at the national SSC exam. To remedy, VAB will initiate a diagnostic work to identify key academic deficiencies of students at Grade VI and develop an effective tutorial program to remedy them in two or three schools on an experimental basis.

 

3) Pilot Vocational Training: The demand throughout Bangladesh for skilled artisans is enormous.  With VAB support several VAB schools are quite interested in offering vocational courses to prepare students with marketable skills.  VAB plans to initiate several pilot programs to determine effective curriculums, teaching methods and cost of equipment.   Funds are needed to make this idea a reality.

 

The Bottom Line:  In 2006, VAB expended $55,470 for the Bangladesh operation, which includes the program, management and staff to carry out the program.  The program cost was 75% of the total.  Because of Dhaka’s use of volunteer-interns, VAB is able to accomplish a great deal at minimal cost. In 2006, VAB received $ 57,925 from 146 donors and overhead was only $980, less than 2% of its receipts. Donors are 80 Expatriates (55%) contributing $40,905 (71%) and 66 Non-Bangladeshis (45%), contributing $ 17,020 (29 %). Donors from New York State are 69 (47%), contributing $30,540 (53%) and outside in 27 States are 77 (53%), contributing $27,385(47%). Average donor gave $397.

 

VAB’s budget for 2007 is $65,000 and our receipt for 2006 is short by about $7000. Hence, we are asking you to support or increase your support to this critical program.  As illustrated above, VAB has the vision and the capacity to accomplish more.  We have plans to approach foundations and corporations for additional support to grow the program.  But right now VAB needs your help.  Please give generously to the entire program or, in conversation with VAB, select particular activities that you want to support. Visit the VAB web site at www.vabonline.org for information concerning VAB history and organization. For further info: contact: arahman10@aol.com, 914 591-8635, or P.O. Box 234, Irvington, NY  10533.