April 2020 - BRAC Institute of Governance and Development

The 30 Per Cent Left Out of COVID-19 Big Data Analytics

Posted on 6 April 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

On March 29th 2020, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission announced that Bangladesh will use big data analysis to contain COVID-19 pandemic.

An article in the Daily Star reported that the pandemic will now be tracked through mobile phones. The idea is that all 16.62 crore mobile phone users of Bangladesh will receive an SMS asking them to call a hotline free of charge. The users will respond to this SMS and self-report basic information such as their age, their health condition, whether they have come in contact with anyone travelling from abroad or infected with coronavirus. This information will then be used by a2i under ICT Division to develop a map that will help take stock of the overall situation.

This is surely a commendable step towards containing the pandemic and an opportune moment to utilize technology for public welfare. However, the question is how many people will be able to participate in this initiative? The success of effective big data analysis depends on how comprehensive and representative the data is.

Fortunately for us, mobile usage is very high in Bangladesh. You and I will certainly support this initiative by responding to this SMS. There is a group of mobile phone users, however, who cannot read SMS on their phones. In a recent national rural survey on Digital Literacy, BIGD found that almost 30% of rural mobile phone users cannot read SMS. 46% cannot respond to SMS. This section of the population, at least 30%, will be left out of the mapping data.

For responding to this government initiative, one must be able to at least read the SMS. A quick look at the data give us a profile of this 30% population. First of all, as one would expect, these households are poorer than others. 55% of these households have per capita income under BDT 4000, compared to 50% in the rest of rural households. The average per capita income is significantly lower in these households. The most digitally literate persons in these households are also less educated and have lower rates of literacy. The 30% have a higher proportion engaged in agriculture and self-employment.

The following table shows the percentage of rural population who cannot read SMS. For the self-reporting and mapping purpose, Mymensingh, Rangpur and Sylhet are most likely to have a higher proportion of people not responding to the request for information.

In this context, we need to think about how to get data from this population. One possibility is to call a select group of mobile users directly instead of sending them SMS. NGOs working at the grassroots level can also help in gathering information for this government portal. The 1,00,000 frontline BRAC workers who are going door to door to raise awareness can contribute. With data from all mobile users of Bangladesh, this map can make a huge difference in how quickly we tackle this crisis as a nation.

Mehnaz Rabbani is the Head of Operations & Strategic Engagement and Partnership at BRAC Institute of Governance and Development, BRAC University.

Photo: Man takes a photo with his mobile phone in Dhaka, Bangladesh, by Abir Abdullah for ADB, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Quarantine in Home or Prison? Domestic Violence in the Time of COVID-19 and What it Holds for Bangladesh

Posted on 7 April 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

The curse of the COVID-19 pandemic has inadvertently increased the threat of domestic violence worldwide. As more cities are going under lockdown with stay-at-home orders, support organisations and counselling centres have expressed their fears on the possible rise of violence at home. Increased abuse is a common phenomena during any crisis period – be it political conflicts, financial crisis or disease outbreaks.

The Guardian reported that the Coronavirus is ‘fuelling’ domestic violence. Social distancing could be a nightmare for people facing abuse at home, as it entails that they will be ‘trapped’ with their abusive partners. According to legal advocates and women’s rights activists, violent tendencies among abusers is triggered by isolation and stress. The stress caused by the pandemic is likely to cause more frustration and anger. Abusive partners are likely to justify their atrocity using isolation tactics to escalate their aggression. It is important to mention, that not only women and children are subject to violence; men too can become victims.

Activists worldwide fear that travel restrictions would impede victims from escaping their households, leaving them severely vulnerable. In many cases, it would be impossible for victims to reach out for help by calling the advice centres. Phone conversations cannot be made as calls are likely to be monitored constantly by the perpetrators. Stepping outside the house and going to workplaces, visiting families and neighbours are essential protective measures for victims of domestic abuse; but these have now been put to halt.

Abusive partners can inflict abuse in a multitude of ways in addition to violence – such as by withholding necessary items like hand sanitizers from victims, withdrawing health insurance and sharing misinformation about the pandemic to frighten victims, and in some cases, preventing them from seeking appropriate medical assistance.

Tensions are escalating worldwide. In China, newspapers have reported a significant spike in domestic violence. According to Wen Fei, founder of an anti-domestic violence non-profit in Hubei Province, the number of domestic violence cases reported to the police stations had tripled in February compared to the previous year. In the United States, the national domestic violence hotline received increasing volumes of complaints against abusers, who have been misconstruing the COVID-19 crisis to isolate, manipulate and control victims. Abusers have also prevented their victims from seeking financial and medical assistance. According to activists in Italy, phone calls to their domestic violence hotline dropped sharply, but desperate text messages and emails pleading for help were received. A state drop-in centre at Brazil also noticed a rise in cases of domestic violence after being hit by the pandemic. In Spain, fatalities related to domestic violence have been reported during the lockdown, where an individual murdered his 35-year old wife, a mother of two.

With the increasing incidences of domestic violence, countries are undertaking different initiatives to combat the crisis. In China, the hashtag #AntiDomesticViolenceDuringEpidemic #疫期反家暴 has been trending in the social media platform Sina Weibo. Upon the realisation that reaching out for help might not always be feasible for victims, counselling centres in Germany have advised citizens to be vigilant and keep an eye out for their neighbours. “If you hear loud shouts or cries in neighbouring apartments, call the police”, advised the Federal Association of Women’s Counselling and Rape Crisis Centers (bff) of Germany. Katrin Göring-Eckardt, parliamentary leader of the Green Party, has asked the government to free up money for safe houses for survivors. In the United Kingdom, Dawn Butler, Women and Equality spokesperson of the Labour party, asked the Prime Minister to implement emergency funding to help people in danger of domestic abuse. Special police powers to evict perpetrators during lockdown have been called, and authorities are asked to waive court fees for protection orders. The Spanish government has ensured that they will not be fining women if they leave the house for filing complaints. In our neighbouring country India, police in the state of Uttar Pradesh have launched a new helpline for domestic violence as cases continue to rise.

It is now important to assess where Bangladesh stands. Violence against women remains an endemic issue in the country. According to Bangladesh Mohila Parishad, 4,622 women became victims of abuse in 2019. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics reported 54.2% of married women facing lifetime physical and sexual intimate partner violence. From January-February 2020, 29 women were murdered by their husbands, according to the Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK). Under the shadow of “sticky” social norms, these cases remain mostly unreported.

The county has legal tools to combat domestic violence. The demand for having a separate bill for domestic violence emerged in the 1990s and women’s rights organizations formed a coalition named Citizen’s Initiative against Domestic Violence (CiDV) in 2007 to initiate the drafting process. After successful advocacy and lobbying, the government adopted the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act in 2010. The national helpline centre has a 24 hour toll-free hotline number – 109. However, the law’s implementation remains difficult with various kinds of resistances arising when translating into action.

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed Bangladesh to the risk of massive economic fallout. Unemployment is spiking overnight and the country lacks necessary health care facilities. With frustrations and anxiety building at the household level, it is now crucial to assess our country’s readiness to learn from the global domestic violence crisis. Processes need to be implemented to ensure that complaints can be made safely and privately, followed up with rapid and effective response from the authority. Cooperation between legal and development agencies, research institutes and the government is needed to effectively respond to this crisis. Hotlines need to be more responsive; service providers more approachable. If such measures are not immediately implemented, the county will fail to counter the potential deluge of violence and abuse in the family.

Pragyna Mahpara is a Research Associate in the Gender and Social Transformation Cluster of BRAC Institute of Governance and Development, BRAC University.

Photo: By Tumisu from Pixabay

Amidst Short Supply of Leadership and Sanitizers, Hearts Find Solace in Community-Driven Small Initiatives

Posted on 9 April 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

While scientists, public health officials, and policymakers continue their struggles to combat the outbreak of a global pandemic, people around the world are losing trust in their leaders. During this global crisis of leadership and adequate public health planning, one thing has continuously been our glimmer of hope, especially in a developing country like Bangladesh. The hope lies within the recent rise of initiatives from small groups of people and from existing entrepreneurs and social ventures.

The most amazing part of these initiatives is that the people are channeling their grief and expressing human solidarity by donating to the most vulnerable community of this country. As of the time I am writing this, Bidyanondo, a small social venture, has been able to secure a donation of over BDT 1,45,61,074, with the aim of distributing food to five lac marginalised people who might lose their income sources during the lockdown of Dhaka city. It was sad that one of their pages was taken down by the Facebook authority because a group of people reported it for some unknown reasons. When it happened for the second time, I lost hope. I lost hope in humanity and in peace; but they did not. These headstrong people continued to advertise their initiatives, along with the hardships they were facing through another page. And people all across the country started to promote it even more than before. Eventually, not only they were successful to bring back their page, but they were also able to secure more donation than their initial goal: a true example of turning negativity into positive branding—make lemonade when lemons are thrown. They have delivered food to the marginalised people and plan to continue doing so. They also have finished making personal protective equipment (PPE) for doctors with the approval from the Health Minister, and will start distributing it soon. They are even careful about deliveries. Their volunteers sign a disclaimer form which takes their consent regarding the risk they might face. The volunteers also have to declare health issues and agree on staying quarantined for 14 days inside of their home. The beautiful pictures of the volunteers maintaining the protective measures give a feeling that can only be felt seeing the first ray of sunshine in the morning. Moreover, they started to disinfect public transport and got a request from the Health Minister’s office to disinfect their offices.

When I came across the initiative of producing four lac PPE by two other ventures with the logistic support of an international corporation, I was wondering how the supply chain management will work here. Before I was done with my train of thoughts, I came across a Facebook post from the founder of another social venture, Kotha. She had posted a Google sheet and urged people, particularly health professionals to fill it up with information that can bridge the gap in information between suppliers of PPE and healthcare professionals. I also found a group of students who collaborated and decided to give groceries worth 100 to 110 BDT per person to the marginalised people each day. They managed to reach out to 150 people in a day, all of which are rickshaw pullers and CNG drivers. There is another initiative from Garments Shanghati that aims to reach the garment workers with food, soap, mask, and sanitizer.

The beauty of community-driven initiatives is that it gives the community control over resources. These creative initiatives, however, are facing difficulties because of their informal nature. In this scenario, our best approach would be giving them logistical and administrative support from the formal sector of the country, be it from government or non-government entities. These initiatives can be our floating boats for the upcoming few weeks, at least till the authority comes up with a concrete plan for the longer-term. The public health sector can join forces with these initiatives, which would make both parties stronger.

We always knew that our resources were limited. I personally believe that it is not the time to dissect what our government could have done, but did not or could not. Yes, this is a matter of frustration and concern too. But did we not go through this kind of frustration before? We did, and during those time we, as a nation, also learned where our limitations lie and where our strengths are; one of our strengths are these beautiful minds who come up with brilliant initiatives during a national crisis. So, instead of ruminating on our failures, I would rather focus on appreciating the initiatives and their success. These community-driven small initiatives can be the saviors for the marginalised people and vulnerable health sector in the coming few weeks, only if the formal sectors keep joining hands. I also feel research institutes and development organisations have their roles in this too. Among them, BRAC Institute of Governance and Development of BRAC University, for instance, is kickstarting a Rapid Research Response to COVID-19 based on digital ethnography to document these initiatives, so that, as a nation, we can learn and be better prepared in future.

Iffat Zahan is a Research Associate in the Research, Policy and Governance team at BRAC Institute of Governance and Development, BRAC University.

Photo 1 : A Bidyanondo volunteer sprays disinfectant to help fight the COVID-19 outbreak. Credit- Bidyanondo
Photo 2 : By Raman Talpada from Pixabay

Bangladeshi Women Playing a Crucial Role in the Fight Against COVID-19

Posted on 11 April 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

With limited health sector capacities, COVID-19 will be fought in Bangladesh’s homes where women play an outsized role.

Less than a month since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a COVID-19 pandemic on March 11th, the global burden of infections has reached 1.3 million and the official death toll nearly 75,000. The number of COVID-19 positive cases and deaths has started to climb in Bangladesh as testing finally expands to hundreds of people. Within Bangladesh, stress levels are high as anxiety rises about the vulnerability of our near and dear ones and the possibility of future economic fallout from a severe global lockdown.

Yet for health systems like Bangladesh’s, there are no high-tech solutions. Our primary line of defense against this global pandemic is to stay home to limit the spread of the disease and to self-isolate if showing symptoms. Globally, most countries of the world have declared national lockdowns with varying degrees of enforcement and success. In Bangladesh reports coming from even remote rural areas suggest that law enforcement has been mobilised extensively to restrict people’s movement and prevent large gatherings. Mosques have restricted the number of people praying together to five at a time. The virus’ primary strength is the speed with which it can spread, and so restricting social interaction to limit contagion is our weapon of choice against it.

The recommendations are to stay home, wash your hands, do not touch your face and wear a mask and shelter in place if sick. The cities of Bangladesh have emptied out as there are few prospects for earning in cities under lockdown. The day after lockdown millions left for their rural homes. There has been some confusion regarding how the formal workforce is affected. It is widely reported that garment workers, mostly women, who are the main formal sector workers adversely affected by cancelled orders and lockdown orders, have been caught in a confused medley of policies. Their predicament is visible and deserves proactive action.

In all of this confusion, the very forces on whom we will have to rely to combat this scourge, have remained invisible and absent from official and policy discourse. The women and girls who are confined to their homes, or to their role as domestic helpers in other people’s homes, are conspicuously absent in policy discourse. Yet, the more that we learn about this virus and how to cope with it given the realities about our health sector capabilities, the more we realise that it is the home which is the locus of action and intervention, and where women and girls are central to our response to the pandemic.

In Bangladesh, as in the rest of the world, women are the primary caregivers of the young, infirm and the elderly. A recent comparative study on children’s nutrition shows that women spend the majority of their time in domestic work and more so than other low and middle income countries. My own work showed that married and unmarried girls spend considerably more time on domestic work, caregiving work in particular, than boys. As the disease strikes this burden of care is likely to increase disproportionately for women and girls.

In addition to the care responsibilities, the directives about cleanliness and hygiene are also likely to intensify the workloads of women and girls who are the ones implementing instructions on wiping down high touch surfaces, washing clothes, maintaining general hygiene as well as the creative management of dwindling resources to put food on the table as provisions dry up.

Gender disparity in care responsibility may not be something that can be addressed easily in the short run. However, there are associated concerns with regard to stress levels and potential fallout in terms of domestic violence that do need urgent attention. A recent report from UN Women warns of the possibility of increased violence against those who are at the frontlines of care particularly, as household members cope with the stress of illness and potential loss of lives and livelihoods.

As far as we can tell, behavioral change campaigns ignore the role of girls and women and their frontline status in the war against this virus. It is unclear how these messages are received in homes all around the world. A message from UN Women highlights the vulnerability of women and girls as potentially having to bear the brunt of stress in terms of increased domestic violence. However, there is also a need to recognise their key role in the implementation of the barrage of directives about cleanliness which are propagated through the airways, through broadcast channels and nationwide text messaging.

The role of primary caregivers at home is central to current strategies of combating contagion and containing spread. WHO emphasises testing to be able to isolate those who are infected. That puts women and girls on the frontlines. There is evidence that severity of illness is linked to viral load which is why healthcare workers have been infected in high numbers. As primary caregivers in the home, women and girls are therefore at higher risk too, and so they should be the focus of Covid-19 testing as well. In communities and households, girls and women recognise that being on the front line of care makes them both vulnerable to Covid-19 but also well positioned to help stop the spread. It is high time we recognise this essential reality and engage women and girls in meaningful ways to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sajeda Amin, a senior sociologist and demographer, leads the Population Council‘s work on livelihoods for adolescent girls.

Does women’s time in domestic work and agriculture affect women’s and children’s dietary diversity? Evidence from Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, Ghana, and Mozambique

Looking beyond universal primary education: Gender differences in time use among children in rural Bangladesh

Covid-19: Women front and centre

* The article was originally written for Netra News*

Photo 1: By Adrien Taylor on Unsplash

Photo 2: Zakir Hossain Chowdhury/Alamy Stock Photo
Taken from Netra News: April 2nd 2020, Dhaka, Bangladesh — A mother with her child waits for rickshaw during countrywide lockdown as a preventive measure against the Covid-19.

COVID-19 Lockdown Speeding up the Entry Into the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Posted on 13 April 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Bangladesh, like many other countries, to enforce an extended country-wide lockdown to ensure social distancing and scale down the potential spread of the virus among the people. This long shutdown of the country made organisations in Bangladesh and around the world realize that the traditional office culture of face-to-face coordination and communication is not a viable model to run an office during this pandemic. Soon enough, most of these organisations, even if resentfully, closed the physical office infrastructure and started working remotely.

This is a novel experience for the world, especially for a developing country like Bangladesh. It is almost as if we have teleported to another universe where everything runs on a digital system and the traditional way of life is out of fashion. Moreover, with borders and airports closed people are staying at home much more than they have ever had. But they are neither idle nor isolated. From their own homes, people are assigning and performing remote office work, running business and operations, and maintaining intensive social contacts through virtual media. Schools and universities have also switched to virtual learning methods. This lockdown is also positively influencing people’s attitude towards online shopping, as more and more people are buying their everyday essentials from various online retailers. Managers and leaders of big to small industries and organizations, some of whom were often reluctant to use digital platforms, are learning and adopting digital tools and technologies to manage and oversee remote work and maximize productivity.

This opportunity of continuing office and economic activities during this period of lockdown and social distancing has been made possible by the existing advance technology and functioning telecommunication infrastructures. People today are realizing that a significant part of the office and economic activities can be done from anywhere with more flexibility, and sitting behind the office desk, direct communication, and physical meetings are not as necessary to do things decently as they were thought. Moreover, going to schools and universities physically to gain knowledge is perhaps also not mandatory. This digital style of working during the lockdown may be considered as a forced entry into the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). The 4IR is characterised by a range of new technologies that fuse the physical, digital and biological worlds, changing society as we know it. The 4IR could unwrap endless possibilities for billions of creative and capable people connected by digital devices. By digitising business and economic operations for all these people, 4IR has the potential to accelerate our economic growth. This global crisis is driving the world to take that leapfrog what many traditional-minded business leaders and directors were unwilling to do until now. This unintentional, unprepared, and forced entry into the framework of 4IR and temporary acceptance of the digital process of remote work may have a long term impact on the office work culture and economic activities in the post-coronavirus world.

There may be some tentative vital managerial and behavioural adaptation of this crisis period. Employers should realize the effectiveness of working from home and organisations may opt to adopt the concept of remote working. Organisations can start running their operations on digital platforms and perform many business activities like negotiations and business meetings through video conferencing and telecommunicating rather than traditional direct physical meetings and travels, saving both time and cost. Women may enjoy considerable benefits if the virtual work environment becomes a reality as it will enable them to work while fulfilling family responsibilities; this may also uncover new employment opportunities for them. The work and family life balance shall be easier for both female and male professionals.

The scarcity of facility-based health services during this pandemic has increased dependency on telemedicine and virtual medical services. The realization of the utility of online medical services will expand its scope in the coming days. Many diagnostic and pathological tests in future shall be made out through remote terminals at reduced prices. There is a possibility of a revolutionary change in education systems. It may get more flexible and convenient if the use of digital processes can scale down the requirement to go to educational institutes for instructions. If ready-made garments (RMG) industries can also utilize digital platforms to sell their products during this lockdown, the loss in profit they are currently experiencing may turn into thriving business opportunities.

It is hard to predict when this pandemic will end, but it is almost certain that the utilization of technology will get more prominent after this pandemic and dependence on telecommunication and virtual platforms may become standard. It is now expected that the introduction of the 4IR may become a reality after this COVID-19 pandemic.

Sayada Jannatun Naim is a Senior Officer – Training and Communication and the Assistant Director of Executive Development Centre (EDC) of BRAC Institute of Governance and Development, BRAC University.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

As Outcomes Are Uncertain, Pick No-Regret Policies

Posted on 22 April 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

There is enormous uncertainty about how COVID-19 will affect health outcomes, as well as its impact on the economy and the poor. “Following the science” is great advice, but when the evidence base is thin, it only helps so much. Such uncertainty makes policymaking hard. Some decisions that seem sensible now will prove to be wrong, highly costly, or ineffective later on.

With so much uncertainty, it helps to focus on decisions that no one will regret later on, that are right whether the crisis is short or long, the recession deep or shallow. These are “no-regret policies.” In a short note, I discuss no-regret policies for developing countries and international agencies in three areas: health, vaccine development, and economic rescue.

While much discussion seems to focus on the number of ventilators or hospital beds, even if there is no proven treatment, no one will regret investing in the reach and quality of community healthcare and the protection of health workers, irrespective of whether a choice was made for a long-term lockdown or not. Community healthcare workers will be key to making sure that the collateral health damage from the measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 are kept to an absolute minimum. This will ensure that vaccinations, antiretrovirals, supplementary feeding, maternal health, bed net distribution, malaria treatment, and other crucial interventions that save lives every day will be kept up. These workers will be essential to shield the most vulnerable in high-population density areas, including through information and targeted support. As diagnostic tests are simply not available in sufficient supply, they can help with tracking the spread and control the disease, as Hans Rosling’s spreadsheet did with Ebola.

It is clear that the exit from this crisis will have to involve the large-scale deployment of a vaccine, even if it takes months if not years to get there. So when international agencies or governments look for sensible investments, funding research and development, including through efforts like the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), makes sense. Crucially, it is also worth spending public money now to de-risk the required large-scale manufacturing, even though vaccine candidates have not yet proven efficacy nor licensing. Even if we end up having to destroy the vaccines that are not effective, that cost is nothing compared to the crazy costs of this crisis, running in the tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars per month globally. Such spending is still good value for money, as it boost the chances to have the required vast numbers of doses of a working vaccine earlier than usual. And no one will regret making sure that organisations like GAVI get the resources to help countries to build up the capacity to deliver vaccines.

When it comes to the economy, there are calls for vast spending everywhere, even in countries where fiscal resources are tight. The poor and vulnerable, often informal sector workers in urban and rural economies, are heard the least, yet they are the ones who could use these resources most. Without assistance they are at risk of having to sell all their assets just to survive—which would increase poverty figures not just temporarily but permanently, as they then cannot help themselves to get out of poverty again once there is a recovery, burdening state and society later on. Putting resources into all possible existing safety nets is a wise decision that no one will regret. Working with mobile phone operators to spread cash in geographies not covered by social protection schemes also makes sense.

As for other spending across the economy, I would be much more cautious: lots of large-scale support, such as tax relief, bailouts, or formal sector firm support will be hard to reverse. I dread to think how many previously inefficient loss-making utilities or national airlines will be bailed out, locking the state into unsustainable spending even after the recovery. Much wiser would be investing in as much data as possible now, so we can gradually learn more and more in the coming weeks and months, enabling us focus on the areas that can help with later recovery.

The best advice to give in situations of huge uncertainty is to focus on the data. Lifting up the veil of uncertainty is the key for better policymaking. When data does become available, decision-making will have to be highly adaptive. Now is a good moment to listen to John Maynard Keynes’ advice: “when the facts change, I change my mind”—rather than giving in to the temptation to be locked into grand plans that seem right at first. These are hard times for policymakers and politicians. In the absence of clear data, they should prioritize policies that will help mitigate the crisis regardless of what comes next. With public trust in short supply, politicians will need to be authoritative communicators, explaining in a clear narrative why decisions are taken—and may be reversed.

Stefan Dercon is Belgian economist and a Professor of Economic Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and the Economics Department at the University of Oxford. He is also the Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies.

*This blogpost was originally written for Center for Global Development*

Photo by Macau Photo Agency on Unsplash

Rethinking UGC’s Directive to Stop Online Tests: Going Back or Moving Forward?

Posted on 24 April 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

Following the trajectory of global structures of inequality, the death and mayhem the pandemic has brought in its wake has locked down humans in their countries, cities, and homes. As the novel Coronavirus has spread rapidly, governments all over the world have closed schools and universities and led millions of students into online learning systems. These new shifts in our familiar education techniques and approaches have certainly caused a degree of difficulty, but they have also initiated new educational innovation. While academic institutions, and education professionals across the world have prompted innovative teaching strategies and methods, the University Grants Commission (UGC) in Bangladesh has allowed online teaching but held the private universities back from continuing their online evaluation procedure.

On 4 April the University Grants Commission (UGC) asked all private universities to halt examinations and their evaluation until further notice amid the coronavirus pandemic. The direction came less than two weeks after the commission urged universities on March 23 to continue classes online. The incredible inconsistency in the commission’s positions has exposed the crisis of leadership and adequate strategic planning in our education sector. However, we agree with the commission’s concern, which is expressed in a press release “Some private universities have taken decision to give grade without semester final, evaluating students and admitting students without any test which is not right morally” (New Age, 9 April). There is no doubt that we should condemn such unethical actions. Moreover, we also would like to make sure that we do not compromise on standards of learning and evaluating. But then to ensure these standards shouldn’t we go online not only for the classes but also for examinations and evaluation? Why do we need to cancel online examinations/tests, when we know that they are imperative for ensuring fair evaluation? Maybe the answer lies in the fact that the commission does not consider online format of examination as a reliable evaluation method. This is evident in the UGC chairman professor Kazi Shahidullah’s statement “How they would monitor students during tests … when everything is locked up” (New Age, 9 April). His frustration in this prevailing situation is understandable, but hopelessness is not. We cannot afford to let hopelessness overwhelm us.

Moving toward online teaching has never been easy for us. But teaching is not meant to be easy, rather challenging and innovative. Main step for ensuring a reasonable learning and teaching process at the moment of crisis is to establish a relationship between faculties and students based on trust and caring, which is mostly absent from our academic world. We do not know our students, what they like, what their strengths or vulnerabilities, what resources they have and what support they need. On the other hand, students are not aware of the limitations and capabilities of their faculties and universities. Therefore, many of us have started work with our students to develop workable teaching and learning plans.

We have noticed that most of the private universities in Bangladesh cannot afford proper distance learning apps, tools, programs, or software, and many faculties even do not have strong network bandwidth in their homes to arrange large video conferences for classes of 30-40 students. On the other hand, not all students may have personal computers or laptops, but they all have smartphones and limited internet connections (at least that is the case for my students). By using our limited resources, we have tried constantly to figure out what works and what does not. When hangouts, messenger, skype did not work, we chose you-tube live. When we noticed that you-tube live was consuming more data and students were having difficulty watching live lectures, we started preparing PowerPoint presentations, adding our recorded lecture in every slide and sharing that with our students through email. For continuing class discussion, we created a group in a messaging app, so that students can share their concerns, and questions with their teachers and classmates while reading slides and listening to lectures.

Similarly, we have come up with different methods for evaluating students. But, without assessing the effectiveness of different evaluation techniques, the UGC has denounced all evaluation procedures. The UGC chairman claimed that the main problem for taking online exams is the lack of a proper monitoring system during tests. His assumption indicates that he considers supervised written exams (in English) with structured questions in a controlled setting as the only reliable exam method. However, while the written exam is the most prevalent method, its effectiveness in assessing students’ expertise over the learning-content needs to be questioned. This exam method favors students who are good in memorizing study contents and fast in writing, over students who are slow writers and have difficulty with memory. However, assessment for the purpose of grading, can also be made based on students’ online presentation, team works, viva and/or assignments, all of which are considered as very common and reliable evaluation methods in top notch universities across the world. For the class presentation, students can shoot and send over their 3-4 minutes video presentations to the class and faculty so that they can watch the presentation and ask questions and give feedback. Introvert students can prepare their audio presentation if they do not want to be seen by their peers. In the absence of any proper educational tool or app, group or teamwork can simply be ensured if every student gives feedback to their group member’s assignment or presentation through email or messaging app. While students are independently working on their assignment, we can call and quietly work with those who need extra support. All of these can be done only with smartphones and limited internet connection. Students do not need to have a computer or laptop and internet connection with strong bandwidth. Those who do not have a proper typing device can write in a Microsoft doc file by using their smartphone. If typing on a smartphone seems difficult, students can write by their hand, take a photo of their papers and send it to the instructor. Few of us have already applied these methods successfully. There are tons of other options too that we can try.

Tests or assignments can be stressful as the commission claimed. However, canceling online exams is not an acceptable way to reduce students’ anxiety over coursework and grades. Rather, it can create more confusion, fear, and hopelessness. For students coming from middle class backgrounds the real fear is session jam which can make them fall behind and increase their education expenses for an extra semester. Therefore, rather than cancelling we need to continue the online evaluation process in the best possible way so that we can mitigate the pressure on students. In addition to this, to ensure students’ emotional well being all private universities should have online counseling and phone therapy services for students who are susceptible to feeling anxious in unusual situations. Students also should be able to reach their faculties whom they can trust in the moment of emotional distress.

I admit that this is not the best thing we can do. More importantly, here I have presented some online teaching and learning methods, which were convenient for me and my students, but may not be viable options for all other universities. The pandemic has cast a bright light on deep inequality in our education system. Going online is not possible for the millions of students and hundreds of thousand teachers to whom the internet, computers, laptops are luxuries. Considering public universities’ scarcity of resources, it can be said that online education may not be a possible option for them unless the government and the commission takes proper initiatives regarding this matter. Even some private universities may not have the capabilities, skills or management system to even experiment with e-learning. That is the exact reason why we should not look for a uniform teaching or grading policy. Every university has different capability, every department has a different teaching approach and every class has students with different strengths and vulnerabilities. Therefore, universities should consult with their program coordinators, faculties, and students and the UGC should discuss with the universities before taking any decision. Whatever decision the commission takes on the online evaluation procedure should include several feasible options so that depending on the resources, competence, expertise each university can choose their own method.

Online education is a new teaching approach and of course has several limitations. But, isn’t the aim of the commission is implementing effective strategic plans regarding higher education? If so, then rather than just discarding new possibilities the commission needs to build coalitions with diverse stakeholders – including governments, public-private universities, education professionals, librarians, technology providers, and telecom network operators -to create cost-effective, interactive, competent, and scientific learning platforms in this unprecedented time. We should not just focus on solving problems faced by private universities. All the public universities were bound to close their academic procedure for the lack of resources. There are hundreds of thousands less affluent students and faculty members in public universities who cannot go online because of the cost of digital devices and data plans. The commission should form coalitions with the ministry of education and ministry of information and communication technology to decrease the access cost while increasing the quality of access. Only then we will be able to reduce the gap in education quality and the socioeconomic inequality between students.

Online education is not a substitute for face-to-face teaching yet. Technology cannot create the magic that happens in a classroom. We are eagerly looking forward to social interaction with our students. But we need to face the crisis. It is easy to remain stuck in a rut and avoid risks that could lead to live-changing experiences. But we have to take risks to initiate change. Our new experiment will reshape our institutions, the idea of education, and what learning looks like in the moment of crisis. Although it is too early to decide whether these changes would make things better or worse in the long run, we should not refrain ourselves from taking much needed actions. We have a choice to make. We can be the slaves of our old habits, ideas, and actions or we can be adventurous, willing to experiment new methods, implement new ideas, create new teaching and learning environments. Let us not allow the limits of our knowledge shape our imagination. Let our imagination create new knowledge.

Photo credit:”Young Men in Park – Old City – Dhaka – Bangladesh” by Adam Jones under CC BY-SA 2.0 license

Fear Of Uncertainty: An Unexpected Common Ground

Posted on 29 April 2020 | by BIGDAdmin | Leave a Comment

Young researchers from the GAGE program realise they are in the same boat as their adolescent peers from the urban slums of Dhaka—but they are not facing the same storm.

“If people are stuck in their home then they won’t be able to eat properly. Even missing a month’s work is a huge deal for us poor people. People like us have to go outside and work hard to earn money, right? If this continues, we’ll just have to starve to death” (Female, age 19)

Over the last two months, the pandemic has spread into Bangladesh and morphed to the community transmission stage, with the number of cases rising at an alarming rate. COVID-19 spares no-one; it does not heed the socially constructed bindings that separate us by gender, status, age, education or wealth. However, even at the hands of this nondiscriminatory disease, the least privileged are the ones suffering the most.

As researchers, we have the privilege of working from home, living our lives as routinely as possible. We’re worried about the world and our loved ones, some facing the mental health issues that come with being stuck at home. However, people without a stable income or formal employment are at an unfair disadvantage that is far worse. For these vulnerable populations, they have to deal with tension and stress on a day-to-day basis. While we bemoan our boredom and ‘Instagram’ our work-from-home struggles, the working-class population can’t ‘afford’ to be bored or take their mental health into consideration.

In the narrow alleyways of the slums in Dhaka, basic utilities are rare. If some houses are lucky enough to have access to electricity, gas or water, the services are rarely uninterrupted. The idea of social distancing is almost laughable in these settlements, where families of six or eight are packed into single rooms. With several households sharing a common bathroom and kitchen, quarantine and isolation is an alien concept.

During the pandemic, adolescents in the GAGE programme are experiencing a different reality compared to their privileged peers. These adolescents are having to grow up far too soon, fast-forwarding through a critical phase of development. The impact of COVID-19 on their education and mental health is of great concern.

Our local team of researchers embarked on a journey to tackle this issue, focusing on adolescents facing the COVID-19 pandemic, located in low-income settlements in three areas of Dhaka – Rupnagar, Gazipur Sadar, and Mohammadpur. We had a list of 31 contacts from a baseline study conducted in 2018, from which we reconnected with 16 adolescents. This research was different for us, given the circumstances. However, we made the best out of the situation by utilising digital tools to coordinate remote working, using services such as Google Sheets, WhatsApp and Google Hangouts.

We thought we wouldn’t have much time during our phone interviews with each of the adolescents – leaving only a narrow window in which they could open up. However, to our surprise, most of the respondents were quite eager to talk, as they already had a rapport with the researchers from the previous baseline study. One challenge we did face during the interviews was finding a separate space devoid of external interruptions and noise, as ‘private space’ is not a “choice” but a luxury that most of the respondents could not afford. However, we tried to make the interviews as accommodating for the respondents as possible, keeping the questions simple and short.

The older adolescents we communicated with were quite well-spoken and aware of the COVID-19 pandemic. They knew that it was an infectious disease, and that they needed to maintain hygienic practices to prevent it. In contrast, the younger ones did not seem to understand the situation at all and were just following their parents’ instructions. One female adolescent (age 16) expressed her annoyance about not being able to go to school, “I don’t like staying at home all day because I can’t talk with any of my friends. My neighbours are boys, so I cannot interact with them either since it is not accepted in our house. If I was attending school or coaching classes now, I would have fun and hangout with my friends. But the lockdown has made everything boring.”

Nearly all the respondents expressed their frustration and anxiety about the situation, worried about how their families would stay afloat in this economic crisis. Being stuck at home for so long, not meeting their friends, is taking a toll on their mental health. They were also stressed about their families’ health, and felt quite helpless. A 15 year old boy told us, for example, how anxious he feels about his family members leaving the house. He said, “Every time my brothers come back from the bazaar, I panic. What if they catch the disease and it spreads to the family? They maintain hygiene, but they go out frequently and don’t always wash their hands every time. My mom and I keep telling them, but they say nothing will happen. I feel annoyed during these times, because they aren’t taking it seriously.”

Most of the respondents’ families were completely dependent on the income earned by their parents or siblings, which had come to a halt. Three of the adolescents in our sample had started to work after dropping out of school, but were compelled to stop due to the lockdown. This means that buying groceries, paying rent and getting by in the upcoming months is going to be very difficult. Although the government has been distributing aid, most of the respondents stated that help was yet to reach their households. One of them even shared concerns about corruption, referring to cases of local government representatives distributing relief only to their relatives.

Most of the respondents were getting information related to COVID-19 from the TV and through local “miking”, with few relying on online sources like Facebook and YouTube. Some of the adolescents stated that they did not have access to the internet at all, and not everyone in their class had a phone. Previously, school or extra classes were their only form of interaction with peers. In fact, none of the respondents were happy about schools being closed or exams being postponed. They are stressed about not being able to study, falling behind in their work, and performing poorly in their exams.

Most of the underprivileged adolescents had not been given any work at home and were trying to study by themselves. However, they all stated that they could not concentrate due to the pandemic, with thoughts of people dying and worries about the future. Moreover, most of the school-going adolescents do not have any support or guidance from their teachers. None of their family members are educated enough to help them with their studies, although their families are quite supportive.

Although we were offering a Tk.100 phone top-up to respondents as gratitude for giving us their time, we realised that simply getting the chance to open up about their anxieties was a much needed release for them. This was when we felt like the researchers and respondents were in the same boat, but fighting different storms. Perhaps, the acknowledgement that on some level, we shared the same hopelessness, despair, and fear in the face of a global disaster is what made the rapport building easy.

We are facing unprecedented times due to this pandemic. Researchers worldwide are conducting remote research, acquiring real time insights on the impact of the virus. As we continue our fight against COVID-19, we must always keep in mind the vulnerable adolescents who continue to bear the brunt of the crisis.

*This blogpost was originally written for the GAGE Programme*

Photo credit: “Mitaly” by Ricci Coughlan/DFID under CC BY-NC 2.0 license