Integrated General and Vocational Education

UCEP currently operates 48 integrated general & vocational schools (feeder schools) in urban slums of which 15 are in Dhaka, 05 in Gazipur, 09 in Chittagong, 06 in Khulna, 05 in Rajshahi, 04 in Sylhet and 04 in Barisal. UCEP feeder schools follow the curriculum and textbooks prescribed by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) incorporating basic elements of technical education and provide basic education up to Grade VIII. The prime objective of the IGVE curriculum is to prepare the students to follow a high quality of technical education.  A total of 30,695 students,  50% are girls attend the UCEP-Non-formal basic education.

The service of UCEP is meant for the poor working children living in urban slums. The major categories of such children are domestic servants, hawkers, factory workers, shop-assistants, rag pickers, porters and day laborers. A specific needs assessment of each individual child to the school is conducted during the pre-admission period through home working place visits and interviews with the children and their families/employers.

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UCEP Schools adhere to the following strategies making them unique by design :

Working While Learning

The Children continue to work and earn while they attend school. UCEP schools operate 3 shifts a day, each of 3 hours duration having 4 lessons per day. This allows a child to choose a shift of his/her convenience in consultation with his/ her parents employer/guardian; so that economic loss for the children attending school is not regarded by their family as a prohibitive one.

Shortened  School Year

UCEP runs two academic sessions in a calendar year, each of six months, having 120 schooling days per session. In practical term, this means, a child can complete 2 grades in a given year enabling him/her to complete grade VIII in 4½ years, including six months' of pre-technical schooling after completing Grade-VIII.

Abridged Curriculum

The UCEP schools basically follow the NCTB curriculum both at primary and lower secondary level. However, the curriculum has been abridged in a careful manner so that it remains comparable with that of national mainstream curriculum. The curriculum consists of bangla (mother tongue), english, mathematics, vocational, social environment and hygiene.

Schools in Catchment Areas

UCEP schools are located in the vicinity of the areas where they work and/or live so that it is convenient for them to attend school during the most suitable shift-hours. Students live within 2 km periphery of the schools

Linkage with the Community

Every UCEP school-teacher is indeed a social worker motivating the target group, raising social awareness in the community and deriving community support. This finally results in high attendance and low dropout rates.

Access and Equity

Every child (girls above the age of 10 and boys above 11) with diverse abilities and backgrounds have access to UCEP schools. Priority is given to the girl child since the rate of literacy and women’s participation at the work places show that the women are lagging far behind men.

School Environment

UCEP Schools are safe with spacious well-built classrooms, separate toilets for girls and 30 students class size. Each school has a welcoming, healthy, and clean environment and a steady supply of clean, safe drinking water. All children protect from harms, violence and abuses.

Learning Environment

A child-friendly learning environment is created inside the classrooms by providing congenial learning environment (sufficient lights, ventilation, fans) and gender-fair and non-discrimination.

Teaching-learning process

A classroom-based approach requiring completion of all educational work at the school and not expecting homework from the children is another innovational feature of the curriculum.

All lessons are taken preparing lesson plans & using appropriate teaching aids. Children are grouped with diversified ability for ensuring their participation in every lesson and the effective use of time. Children with learning difficulties have opportunities to review lessons.

Social work supports

UCEP teachers are trained in social work based on the specific needs of the target group. Social work starts during the pre-admission period in order to ensure the adjustment of the children to the school environment. Throughout the school program, UCEP teachers maintain close contact with the families and employers of the students and with the community through regular visits and meetings. As a measure to prevent student's tendency to dropout and keeping the attendance rate high dropouts, UCEP teachers conduct home visits and follow up  when a student  remain absent for two-three consecutive days.

S.S.C. Program

UCEP starts SSC programs in 2005 under Bangladesh Open University to enabling its students to continue further education.

Children's Council

Children councils are functioning in all schools. The executive committee members of the councils are elected through democratic process to ensure child participation in the education process, school and classroom management. It gives opportunities to demonstrate their capacity to plan, organize and implement activities, to access information and to express their needs.

Children's Library

Children’s library exits in each school to encourage the students to read books and gain knowledge.

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