Rural Talent Advancement Program Activities

RTAP activities are designed to improve the over all education environment of the project area . It is planning to achieve it by not only providing scholarships to select meritorious students but also by implementing various curricular and extra-curricular activities for all the students of Delduar. The following outlines the various activities of RTAP program.

Medha (Merit) Test

Each year selected students from all the schools of Delduar upozilla appear in a merit test, devised carefully to evaluate the academic and intellectual aptitude of the students. From the outcome of this merit test, each year 50 talented students are being screened out. Each year SpaandanB US executive committee members prepare two question sets based on the grade 6 and grade 8 educational curriculum of Bangladesh Board of Education. The question papers cover analytical and quantitative Mathematics, Algebra, Geometry, Science, English and general knowledge. Students, pre-selected based on academic results and school teachers recommendation, from all 27 schools of Delduar Upozilla take part in the exam. SpaandanB Bangladesh Office and Rights and Sights for Children co-ordinate the overall examination process. Selected teachers from all the schools participate as invigilators. This test has created lots of excitement among the students of Delduar and created a competitive educational environment.

MedhaTest-2010-class6 | MedhaTest-2010-class8

MedhaTest-2009-class6 | MedhaTest-2009-class8

MedhaTest-2008-class6 | MedhaTest-2008-class8

MedhaTest-2007-class6 | MedhaTest-2007-class8

MedhaTest-2006-class6 | MedhaTest-2006-class8

MedhaTest-2005-class6 | MedhaTest-2005-class8

MedhaTest-2004-class6 | MedhaTest-2004-class8

Scholarships

RTAP program provides scholarships to 50 students each year, selected through the Medha test. Each year, 25 stduents are selected from grade six and 25 from grade eight. Each selected student from grade six gets Taka 400 per month for two years and each selected student from grade eight gets Taka 700 per month for two years. So, potentially a student from grade six can get the scholarship for four consecutive years if he/she gets reselected through the Medha test in grade 8. The scholarship is disbursed to the student directly on a quarterly basis. SpaandanB does not impose any restriction as to how this support should be spent by the student.

RTAP-2010-AwardList

RTAP-2009-AwardList | RTAP-2008-AwardList

RTAP-2007-AwardList | RTAP-2006-AwardList

RTAP-2005-AwardList | RTAP-2004-AwardList

 

Computer Program

Computer literacy is part of the education curriculum in the Secondary School Certificate program in Bangladesh, but many schools in the rural area lack computer laboratories. Computer literacy literally can transform a student's life and can open up a new world of information. It can profoundly impact teachers, students and their parents as well. Taking that into consideration, SpaandanB has been equipping schools at Delduar with computers. As part of the program, each year one or two schools are selected and they are provided with 4 new computers, printers and associated operating software. During the setup of the laboratory, SpaandanB arranges a short introduction program to prepare the students and teachers about the usage. Each school makes sure that there are qualified teachers to make use of the computers.

Library Program

Library is an instrumental part of a students curricular and extra curricular development. It introduces a world of information to the students and enriches the creativity and imagination power. With this in mind, SpaandanB has been carrying out library program in Delduar upozilla, as part of the RTAP. Every year two schools are being selected for the library program. Each school is being equipped with about 500 books. The book list has been carefully crafted with the help of Bishwa Shahitto Kendra and includes fiction, non-fiction, encyclopedia, thesaurus etc. Partial support for library furniture is provided on select cases. Participating schools ensure the availability of librarian who daily holds library hour and maintains book transaction records. SpaandanB provides an honorarium to the librarian for first year of installation. This is to make sure that the library is properly used and students get the habit of checking out books regularly.

Model Test and Coaching

To better prepare the students for Secondary School Certificate examination, SpaandanB arranges model test program in Delduar schools. This event is open to all S.S.C candidates. Question sets according to the style of the actual examination is set by experienced teachers of various schools of Dhaka city. Subjects covered by this model test are usually General Math, English, Chemistry, Social Science and Physics. Multiple examination centers are set for this purpose and select teachers work as invigilators. The main idea is to expose the students to the actual test taking environment and evaluate the preparedness of the students on various subjects before the main exam.

Debate Club & Extempore Speech

One of the most important part of school education is to teach the students the skill of critical thinking. Nothing accomplishes it better than by participating in school debate competition. Participation in debate is highly correlated with better academic achievement. With due importance, SpaandanB has established a debate club in Delduar upozilla as part of RTAP program where instructors teach debate skills to the participating students. Every year, an inter-school debate competition is being arranged where many schools of Delduar Upozilla participate. This not only benefits the participating students but also create a competitive environment which is conducive to better education.

Besides debating, on various occasions SpaandanB arranges extempore speech competition among the students. This enriches the presence of mind of the students and develop public speaking skill.

Essay Competition

Knowledge possession is best achieved by essay writing. Barely listening to a lecture or reading a book does not internalize the knowledge. Essay writing is one of the most important skill of a student which helps build analytical and critical thinking skills and directly improve academic performance. To improve this vital skill, SpaandanB arranges essay competition among the schools of Delduar Upozilla as part of the RTAP program. On various occasions like Independence day or International Language day, SpaandanB announces multiple relevant essay topics in advance to all the participating schools for preparation. Students are brought under a venue where they write the essay on a chosen topic within a time limit. A panel of teachers evaluates the essays and the best writers get awarded.

Student, Teacher and Parent Interaction Program

In the rural environment, a student rarely gets exposed to an environment which can stimulate his/her thinking process. A simple opportunity to meet an accomplished individual, or exchange views with a fellow student from the city can deeply motivate the rural student. It can help the student identify a role model and can instigate a driving towards achieving excellence. Through RTAP program, SpaandanB tries to accomplish this by arranging meetings of the local students with various brilliant students from city area. Arrangements are made to bring over renowned academicians who offer discussion session with the students. To improve the teaching quality and thinking perspective, workshops are arranged where local teachers get to know about the modern ways of teaching. In many of these occasions, students guardians are invited and views are exchanged. SpaandanB believes students, teachers and parents are the three vital elements behind a healthy education environment.

These interaction programs are also used as a platform to learn about the shortcomings of the RTAP program and areas of improvement are identified.

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