Confronting Fundamentalism with Education Policy: Analysis of NGO Schools in Bangladesh

Abstract

The escalation of NGO run schools in Bangladesh has emerged as a challenge to the hegemony of the religious fundamentalists groups, who were the traditional patrons of the religious schools or madrassas. Most NGO schools have maturad into thriving alternatives to the country’s weak and ineffective public education system; whereas, historically, it was the madrassas, which filled the void of public education through religious teachings. The NGO-run schools offer separate curricula, which are often rooted in the experiences to the working poor of Bangladesh. These non-formal primary education programs target the poor, especially girls, and offer flexible and shorter hours of offeration, often adjusted to seasonal and regional demands. Iwant to trace the evolution of such NGO-run schools as major contenders in the public exucation system and their role in confronting fundamentalism through their curricula and accessibillity in Bangladesh.