Encouraging Education among Higher Secondary Students through Skills Development Programme in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper focuses on the development of skills on entrepreneurial activities among the poor Higher Secondary students alongside  their study so that they can bear their education cost and partially support their family. To reduce the dropout rate of the students, a2i and Higher Secondary Stipend Project (HSSP) under Ministry of Education have jointly initiated skills development through stipend programme with training for the higher secondary students of 10 Upazilas of 5 Districts in Bangladesh on a pilot basis. An impact  study has been done to see the effectiveness of the training programme in reducing the dropout rate of the students and in  developing the entrepreneurial skills of the students to be a part of the supply chain. The study was both qualitative and quantitative  in nature and the data collection was done using two-stage stratified sampling method though interviews and observation. The  training was provided on the area-specific trades like tailoring, beautification, mobile servicing, nursery, poultry farming, computer  and office application, sweet making etc. As a result, the students who received the training are found to be engaged in different  economic activities with no dropout rate from education. They have now become able to bear their educational cost and also to supplement their family income.