“Less is Not Enough” Dilemma of Alternative Primary Schooling Opportunities in Dhaka, Bangladesh Sayaka Uchikawa Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy under the Executive Committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2013 © 2013 Sayaka Uchikawa All rights reserved ABSTRACT “Less is Not Enough” Dilemma of Alternative Primary Schooling Opportunities in Dhaka, Bangladesh Sayaka Uchikawa This dissertation focuses on low-income rural-urban migrant children and their families in Bangladesh, living in a severe poverty-stricken environment in the capital city, Dhaka. Specifically, it deals with the dilemma of so-called non-formal primary education (NFPE) programs aimed at providing alternative schooling opportunities to children who do not attend regular school in the city. It describes how such programs do not necessarily help children integrate into the country’s formal school system, but instead continuously prepares them for the subordinate segment of the society. The study particularly addresses the state-sponsored Basic Education for Hard-to-Reach Urban Working Children (BEHTRUWC) project, and examines its three elements: 1) exclusive membership and the making of “working children,” 2) distinction from formal schools and meaning of schooling, and, 3) an implementation model that reflects Bangladeshi social structure. First, the study looks at how the BEHTRUWC project labels its participating children as “working children” (not particularly as students), and provides them with only limited coverage of primary schooling. As a result, children become “working children,” not only learning the concept, but also acquiring customs to “act out” as working children. Second, the study problematizes the unique goals and subjects taught at the BEHTRUWC project that ultimately draws clear distinction between its children and formal school students. The children and their parents also realize that their experience in the project would not assure the same level of education as formal schools, or provide them with more skilled and better-paid employment opportunities in the future. Finally, the study examines how the basic pattern of interpersonal relationships so common in Bangladesh is reflected in the daily practices of the BEHTRUWC project. The project’s learning centers remain similar to any other places in Dhaka where children feel morally obligated to teachers and others, and thus, through the project, the children gradually recognize their assumed existing position in relation to other people in society. Through shedding light on the relationships, negotiations, and struggles of the people involved in the BEHTRUWC project, this study explores how these different elements of the project generate the unintended consequence for low-income migrant children in Dhaka. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 Problem Statement ...................................................................................................................... 3 Intellectual Roots and Conceptual Framework ........................................................................... 8 Schooling as a “Magical Box”? ........................................................................................... 11 Critiques toward NFPE Programs ....................................................................................... 13 Definition of Children in Bangladesh: Choosing Not to Go to School Yet .......................... 19 Rethinking “What is Going On” in NFPE Program Learning Centers ............................... 22 Outline of the Dissertation ........................................................................................................ 24 CHAPTER II. THE CONTEXT: LOW-INCOME RURAL-URBAN MIGRANTS IN BANGLADESH ........................................................................................................................... 26 Overview: The Country and Its Brief History .......................................................................... 27 The British Colonial State ..................................................................................................... 29 Partition and Pakistan Period .............................................................................................. 32 Post-colonial Bangladesh ..................................................................................................... 34 Meaning of being Gorib (Poor) ................................................................................................ 37 Perceived Characteristics of Gorib ...................................................................................... 40 Rural-Urban (Internal) Migration ............................................................................................. 42 Nature of Interpersonal Relationships .................................................................................. 46 Destination Dhaka: Urban Poverty and Economic Activities ................................................... 52 Living Arrangements ............................................................................................................. 55 Job Opportunities and Economic Activities in Dhaka .............................................................. 56 Women in Labor .................................................................................................................... 64 i Summary: Low-Income Migrant Children in Dhaka ................................................................ 66 CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODS .................................................................................... 69 Access to the Children: Entering into the Field ........................................................................ 70 Sample and Selection: The Sites ............................................................................................... 71 Joar Sahara ........................................................................................................................... 74 Data Collection Methods and Analysis ..................................................................................... 77 Language and Interpreter .......................................................................................................... 79 Limitations of the Research ...................................................................................................... 80 CHAPTER IV. AN OVERVIEW OF NON-FORMAL PRIMARY EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN BANGLADESH ...................................................................................................................... 82 Organization of the NFPE Enterprise in Bangladesh ............................................................... 82 Management Structure: Different Types of NFPE Program Providers ............................... 85 Some Common Features ........................................................................................................... 90 Summary: NFPE Programs in Bangladesh ............................................................................... 98 CHAPTER V. THE MAKING OF WORKING CHILDREN .................................................... 101 Unique Objectives and Exclusive Membership ...................................................................... 101 Dhaka’s “Working Children” ................................................................................................. 106 In Joar Sahara: the Ten Children ....................................................................................... 107 Other Types of Work ........................................................................................................... 122 In Relation to Parents’ Work .............................................................................................. 128 Entering the BEHTRUWC Project ......................................................................................... 131 Learning the Implication of “Working Children” .............................................................. 133 Learning to Act as “Working Children” ............................................................................ 135 ii Conclusion: Becoming “Working Children” .......................................................................... 136 CHAPTER VI. “LESS IS NOT ENOUGH”: MEANING OF SCHOOLING ........................... 139 Formal School Systems in Bangladesh: Levels and Types of Institutions ............................. 140 The BEHTRUWC Project: Distance from the “Mainstream” Formal Schooling .................. 143 Limited Coverage of the Curriculum .................................................................................. 143 Ties to Formal “Normal” Schools? .................................................................................... 146 Meaning of Schooling: Situating the BEHTRUWC Project ................................................... 149 Formal Schooling in Joar Sahara ....................................................................................... 150 Schooling Choices and Decisions in Joar Sahara .............................................................. 153 Not Attending School: In-between Family and Friends ..................................................... 155 Schooling for the Family and Future .................................................................................. 158 Conclusion: