September 12, 2021 was a day of joy for children in Bangladesh: after 18 months of Corona-related lockdown, schools were allowed to reopen. But along with the joy, there was also great concern.

For the long closure hit the education sector hard. Above all, it has further disadvantaged children from families living in poverty: Because they have neither TV nor Internet, they have not been able to participate in the digital distance learning that the Bangladeshi government has mandated as a stopgap measure. In addition, they had to work at home to keep the family afloat. Many girls and boys were married off well before their 18th birthday. The pandemic has made it clear that when it comes to education, it's not just schools that are needed, but dedicated teachers and social workers who provide targeted support for the children.

Bonna Akhter knows what life without school feels like. Her parents work as day laborers. She herself takes care of the household and cooks. "I want to go to school," she says. But in her village of Shonakhuli, located in a remote river area, there is no state educational institution. This is where NETZ comes in to fulfill the right to education for all children - especially with village schools set up specifically in these regions. In addition to the other types of schools supported by NETZ, village schools offer education across the board. They are flexible and accept children of different ages. In this way, school dropouts can also be brought back to school. The teachers maintain close contact with the parents in order to provide targeted support for the girls and boys.

NETZ regularly evaluates which regions urgently need a school. The settlement where nine-year-old Bonna lives is one example. The doctor in the village says: "The children are in a very difficult situation in this border region with India. Every year the area is flooded. The parents often work away from home, and the children have to do a lot at home." If there was a school, everyone would benefit greatly, the doctor explains. "Since the children are the future."

A main goal of NETZ projects is quality education. Means to achieve this, in addition to school social work, are the training and further education of teachers* and child-friendly equipment in schools. In order to strengthen education, classes at NETZ-supported village and Anandalok schools were maintained on site during the Corona lockdowns to the extent possible: Students* were taught in small groups outdoors, and neighbors* offered their terraces and courtyards for this purpose.

NETZ supports three types of schools

1. model schools for learning with joy: Anandalok schools go from preschool to fifth grade and offer classes for 180 children. Village communities take responsibility for the schools.

2. closing the gap: Village schools provide opportunities for 30 girls and boys each in particularly underdeveloped areas.

3. reaching out: NETZ improves the quality of public elementary schoolwith integrated preschools. Social workers provide targeted support for children from disadvantaged families.

What we plan to do in 2022

We want to provide inclusive education for more than 73,700 children at a total of 515 schools - around 26,000 children are to be newly enrolled.be newly enrolled in school. By working with a new local education partner, we plan to expand our project work to other regions of the country.