Online school in Bandarban

A virtual school has been set up in a remote and hilly village of Bandarban aiming at enlightening the children with English medium education.

The Bandarban Online School is located on the top of a hill at the union, bordered by Dathbhanga Para, Kana Para, Dulujhiri Para and Meghla Para villages.

Mobile phone operator GrameenPhone in partnership with JAGOO Foundation and Agni System has established an online school in Bandarban.

The mechanism behind the online school is that the classroom is connected to a teacher in Dhaka via internet-based video conferencing technology. The classes are run in the physical presence of facilitators in online school while another teacher assists through WEBEX system from JAAGO's Teaching Centre in Dhaka.

The online teachers deliver the lecture followed by an interactive session with the students for every class. The facilitators at the receiving end assists the children during class work and help to maintain a disciplined classroom environment.

Sukhananda Tanchangya, local teaching assistant of the school said, nearly 40 children aged 4-6 years are reading in the school of which maximum is from Tanchangya and Boam ethnicities while few children belong to Marma ethnicity.

The programme contains interactive whiteboard, slide-sharing and video-sharing features and combines a sketch-board to acquaint the students with alphabets through just a stroke from its virtual tutor.

The first online school started in August 2011. Today, there are 360 students in 5 schools located in Gazipur, Gaibandha, Rajshahi, Madaripur and Bandarban.