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GSS and it's Quality Education Programme |
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Education is the most effective instrument for building people's capacity. Primary education of quality helps children equip themselves with the tools of learning. The essential tools include the ability to read fluently with comprehension, write to express oneself, tackle mathematical problems especially in real life situation and life skills including IT. Education of quality influences almost every indicator of advancement in science, technology and lifestyle. For most countries in the development world this, at least in theory is seen as the development priority.
 And yet in Bangladesh only a small percentage of children on completion of their primary cycle are able to read, write and tackle numeracy with any confidence. It is reassuring that the national Programmememe, PEDP II, has shifted its focus from access, equity, drop-out and inclusiveness to quality of teaching learning. The results of the project, however, are yet to be seen.
The GSS Quality Education Programme is a proven model in active teaching learning aimed at holistic development of the child at a most competitive cost. It has been widely acknowledged as one of the best models in the developing world. UNICEF Nepal has adopted the key elements of the GSS model in its out of school children's project and Maldives has started implementing the GSS model of teaching learning in its mainstream schools.
GSS is also a comprehensive model. The core activities cover almost every area of ECD and Primary teaching learning including curriculum, material development, classroom organisation and management, teaching learning, assessment, supervision and monitoring of individual learner performance.
 GSS follows the government curriculum, but builds on it by making it more relevant, enriching the content of the materials used and linking them more closely to learning achievement. The learner - teacher ratio in the 700 full primary schools of GSS is 30: 1. All teachers are trained with hands on experience in active teaching learning. The vast majority (89%) of them are women with HSC. Every child in the community, including every girl child, and children with varying abilities and social background including those with special needs, attend the school. Drop-out is less than 7% and achievement measured in terms of mastery is over 80%. The whole community is actively engaged in the activities of the school. The unit cost is under $25 per learner year.
GSS provides a unique opportunity for building capacity of other stakeholders and providers of primary education and influencing the quality of teaching learning and in particular learner achievement in the mainstream schools.
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