The national closing ceremony of the Shikhbo Shobai (Everyone Will Learn) project was held on December 11, 2025, at the Bangladesh–China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka.
The event shared lessons from the project and highlighted its work in promoting inclusive education for children with disabilities.
Md. Saidur Rahman Khan, Director General of the Department of Social Services, attended as Chief Guest. Abu Noor Md. Shamsuzzaman, Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education, chaired the ceremony. Representatives from the Jatiyo Protibondhi Unnayan Foundation, DPE, British High Commission, UN agencies, development partners, civil society groups and organisations of persons with disabilities were present.
"Inclusive education is not just a policy commitment- it is a responsibility.Today, we witnessed the journey towards inclusion and heard voices from the ground showing the Shikhbo Shobai project's success in engaging stakeholders, from policy to practice. DSS, DPE, and other ministries must continue to ensure education for children with severe disabilities. I hope this project's lessons will shape the upcoming PEDP and strategic plans, transforming insights into actions," stated the chief guest, Md. Saidur Rahman Khan, DG - DSS, during his remarks.
"Every child, regardless of ability, deserves equal access to education. Our inclusive education efforts began with PEDP-2 and emphasised the importance of bringing students into schools. We are now implementing PEDP-4 with a dedicated inclusive education cell and have made significant progress, but we still have a long way to go.To achievenational and international commitments, DPE is continuously working in collaboration with various actors, such as Sightsavers, UNICEF, and FCDO," stated the Chair of today's event, Abu Noor Md. Shamsuzzaman, DG, DPE.
Martin Dawson, Development Counsellor & Deputy Development Director of British High Commission, Dhaka, said that "Education forms opportunity. In Bangladesh, school-aged children with disabilities mostly do not attend school, symbolising thousands of dreams on hold. This project set out to change that reality – and we are committed to supporting it."
Amrita Rejina Rozario, the Country Director of Sightsavers Bangladesh, stated during her remarks that "it has demonstrated that when communities, schools, and policymakers work together, barriers to education can be overcome. Home to School is a journey towards guaranteeing education, which the Shikhbo Shobai project achieved with the support of DPE. To sustain this progress, these learnings need to be embedded into policy and strategy, such as PEDP, so that no child is left behind."
Hamish Higginson,Global Technical Lead of Inclusive Education, Sightsavers,stated, 'This project strengthened capacity among education stakeholders, enabling teachers to innovate, boosting OPDs' capacity, and fostering community trust in education, encouraging children to attend school.'
The Shikhbo Shobai project began in April 2022. It was led by Sightsavers with ADD International and Sense International, in collaboration with the Directorate of Primary Education. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office funds the work. The project has introduced inclusive practices in government primary schools in three upazilas in Narsingdi and Sirajganj. The model combines home-based learning, school readiness and OPD participation to ensure access to quality education for children with disabilities.
