Medha Bikash, roughly translated as ‘Promoting Talent’ in English, is a new intervention being undertaken by BRAC. BRAC recognised that there are a good number of high-achieving students emerging from poor backgrounds who are faced with different challenges while studying at college. These students typically attain a grade of at least ninety percent in their Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams and a Grade Point Average of 5.0, however financial pressures often hinder their academic performance and continuation/completion of education. Under the Medha Bikash initiative, these students will receive financial support to pay their college tuition fees and capacity-building assistance through specially designed training modules in English and computer operation in order to relieve some of the difficulties that they would normally experience.

Medha Bikash is working in line with BRAC vision of bringing about positive change in people’s lives through education. With the support provided by the programme, it is expected that these students will be able to successfully complete their college education and pursue higher education, which would not only provide a springboard towards a better livelihood for them but inspire others towards higher education as well.

A survey was conducted to collect names of meritorious students who completed their SSC exam in 2005. Two groups of students were eligible. The first group consisted of students who graduated from government primary schools while the second group was of students who graduated from BRAC primary schools. Eligibility was defined by the following criteria:
· The student’s family income was below Tk 2000 per month
· The student’s family owned less than 50 decimals (half an acre) of land
· Academically, the students needed to have a GPA of 5.0 (for BRAC graduates GPA of 4.5 was acceptable)

Using these criteria, 164 (127 male and 37 female) students were selected for the Medha Bikash programme, of whom 36 (24 male and 12 female) graduated from BRAC primary schools. Of the 36 BRAC primary school graduates, 32 were from Post-Primary Basic and Continuing Education (PACE) supported secondary schools. It is worth noting that 19 of the BRAC school graduates have a GPA of 5.0. Other information is as follows:
· Total number of students selected: 164 from 82 Upazilas of 36 Districts
· Out of 164 students, BRAC graduates: 36 (24 Boys, 12 Girls); BRAC intervened High school students: 32 (22 Boys and 10 Girls)
· They are pursuing studies in 108 Colleges in 66 Upazilas of 30 districts. Of the 108 colleges, 26 are Government Colleges and 82 are Private.

· At the beginning of each academic year, every student under the programme will receive Tk. 2000/- per year for a total of two years, to purchase books and other materials.
· Every student will receive Tk. 150/- per month as tuition fees.
· Every girl student will receive an additional amount of Tk. 750/- for transportation and incidental expenses.
· In order to build up capacity, all of them will be provided with training on English and Computer operation.

Due to increasing requirements in higher education of computer literacy and the ability to communicate in English, two training courses have been designed by PACE to increase the capacity of Medha Bikash studnets in these subjects.

The Information Technology training programme aims to cover the elementary skills that are currently deemed essential to fulfil simple computing tasks. These include basic competency in Microsoft Word and Excel. So far, 61 students have successfully completed the IT course. The remaining studnets will begin the course in August 2006.

The English language course has been designed as a means to help the students grasp the more challenging aspects of English that can be difficult to address in the classroom. With the general standard of English language teaching in most secondary schools being rather poor, especially due to a reliance on memorisation, the English course will be fundamental in helping the students move forward in their language learning. The first phase of the English training will take place during the next vacation period (August) this year.

PACE has been given the responsibility of administering and monitoring the progress of the Medha Bikash intervention. Studnets under the programme will be monitored over the next two years and upon completion of their HSC studies, BRAC will consider facilitating higher studies provided they maintain good academic records.

© 2005 BRAC Bangladesh
75 Mohakhali
Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh