The mass educational programme of the IRDP/DANIDA Project, Noakhali, Bangladesh: a success story so far
Rasmussen, P.E.
International Journal of Educational Development 5(1): 27-39
1985
ISSN/ISBN: 0738-0593 DOI: 10.1016/0738-0593(85)90038-0Document Number: 205651
The education component of the Integrated Rural Development Project (IRDP) in Noakhali, Bangladesh, which is financed by Denmark, has since its inception in 1978 developed into the largest single education programme outside the formal education system of the country. However, the very success of the programme poses a peculiar dilemma: it has become too large and too unusual for the Bangladesh government to accommodate within the existing structures, althoiugh they want to keep it. On the other hand, DANIDA (the Danish International Development Agency) is increasingly concerned with the future of the programme. Eventually, a change of responsibility in terms of finance and implementation will be a necessity, but, DANIDA wants to ensure that the programme continues. The original integrated rural development project, planned for a 5-year duration, has been redesigned and replanned to cover a larger part of the whole district in future. However, education is no longer a part of the official rural development strategy of Bangladesh. The education component has therefore been excluded from the new Noakhali Project. The most promising attempt at solving this precarious situation is a large scale expansion of the education programme covering the same areas as the planned Noakhali Project II but now with an independent status. This article outlines the history, the basic idea, and the structure of the programme and gives a brief account of the results attained so far. These results are evaluated with reference to their significance in achieving the desired objectives and on the basis of self reliance and lasting development effects. The main emphasis of this article, however, is on the primary education element of the programme.
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