RTI partnering with USAID and Government of Bangladesh to ensure quality primary education for all children, including those with disabilities

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — RTI International, a nonprofit research and international development institute, is partnering with the Government of Bangladesh to ensure all children, including those with disabilities, have access to quality primary education. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Shobai Miley Shikhi (“Everyone Learns Together”) Activity is a five-year program working to improve learning outcomes for primary-school-aged children with disabilities in Bangladesh public schools.

Shobai Miley Shikhi will strengthen existing education reforms while introducing innovations to enhance inclusive school environments and instruction; increase the ability of parents, caregivers, and communities to support inclusive education; and strengthen government capacity to plan, deliver, and manage quality inclusive education programs.

Embodying the “nothing about us without us” principle — meaning that persons with disabilities are included in the decision making about the program—the Activity will be collaboratively implemented by the Directorate of Primary Education, local Organizations of Persons with Disabilities, Save the Children, Inclusive Development Partners, the Center for Disability in Development (CDD) and the National Grassroots Disability Organization (NGDO).

“We are excited to work with the Government of Bangladesh on this new project to make the Bangladesh education system more inclusive and responsive to the needs of children with disabilities,” said Dr. Jordene Hale, the project’s Chief of Party. Working together with local partners, we will also build an integrated and collaborative research agenda that provides the relevant and timely information needed to inform inclusive education policy and practice. The planned research agenda will help fill critical gaps in understanding what interventions are effective and scalable in improving learning outcomes for children with disabilities."