Asif Ahmed

Teach For Bangladesh (TFB) is registered as a qualified 501(c)3 non-profit organization in the United States, and is working to bring high-quality education and systems change for the most marginalized students in Bangladesh. All US-based contributions to TFB are tax-deductible. 

What is the reality for students in Bangladesh?

Although Bangladesh has made great strides in improving access to schooling for children across the country, going to school has not translated in actual learning for the vast majority of children who live in economic and social disadvantage. For example, according to a 2018 report from the World Bank:

• 35% of third-graders had such poor reading skills they could not even be tested.  
• Among those who were tested, 43% were unable to answer single Bangla reading question correctly.  
• 75% of fifth-graders students did not meet the minimum threshold for learning in mathematics.
• Children can expect to get around 11 years of schooling, but due to the poor quality of education, this translates to less than 6.5 years of actual learning.

What Teach For Bangladesh is doing to address the learning crisis?

We envision a future in which all children in Bangladesh have a fair shot at a life that is determined not by their parents’ socioeconomic status, but by their ability to dream and learn. To make this vision a reality, we need to not only change the reality in classrooms for today’s learners, but also to transform leadership capacity across the education system. 

Our flagship program – the Teach For Bangladesh Fellowship – enlists young Bangladeshi graduates to work first as full-time teachers in under-served schools for two years, and then continue to drive innovation and change more broadly through their long-term leadership in education and beyond. 

What is the reach and impact of TFB's work?

TFB is currently... 

• Supporting 150 TFB Fellows, who are teaching in
• 54 under-resourced primary schools across 
• Dhaka and Chattogram, the two largest cities in Bangladesh, directly impacting
• 7,500+ disadvantaged children daily. We are also supporting
• 80 alumni (to grow to 120 in January) who have completed the program and are now working as leaders inside and outside the education system.

Since 2014, over 9,000 people have applied to become teachers through our Fellowship program, and over 275 have been admitted after a rigorous selection process. 

The typical schooling experience in Bangladesh can be quite traumatic with reports of more than 90% of children experiencing some form of corporal punishment. In stark contrast, 86% of children in TFB classrooms reported: “My teacher fostered an encouraging and supportive relationship with me.” (Teach For All Tripod Survey, 2017)

Within just two years of intervention from Teach For Bangladesh, the percent of students scoring an A+ on standardized national tests (the highest possible score) went from 5% to 38%.

How much are we trying to raise?

Through this campaign, our goal is to raise $100,000 by 31 December, 2019. 

How will we use your gift?

All contributions will help us ensure that students receive a high-quality, passionate, and inspiring teachers in the new year. Individual contributions made during our end-of-year campaign will be spent towards the cost of: 

• Initial training of new Fellows
• Ongoing classroom-based support and monitoring
• Fellow stipends 

Other costs including recruitment and administrative costs will be covered by one of our foundation supporters.  

Beyond donating, here are ways you can help:

• Share this campaign on social media and tag friends to encourage them to participate. You can use the hashtag #teachforbangladesh
• Add Teach For Bangladesh to your Amazon Smile account. If you do this, every time you make a purchase through Amazon Smile, Amazon will make a contribution to TFB. 
• See if your current employer will match your donation.
• Consider making the next birthday in your family an occasion to raise funds for Teach For Bangladesh. Reach out to us to learn more about how to do this: [email protected]

Teach For Bangladesh is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, which means that charitable donations by individuals and companies are tax-deductible in the United States.