24 March 2009, Dhaka. The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) and BRAC signed an agreement on March 23 under which the Netherlands Development Cooperation programme will provide support to the Institute for Educational Development (IED) at BRAC University.  The Netherlands contribution will be 50.4 crore takas (approximately Euro 5 million) over five years.

The agreement was signed by the Netherlands Ambassador, Ms. Bea ten Tusscher, and by Mr. Fazle H. Abed, Chairperson of BRAC, at a simple ceremony at the Westin hotel.

Under the terms of this agreement, IED will use the Dutch support to implement the Educational Research, Training and Advocacy Program (ERTAP) whose objective is to improve quality, equity and efficiency in the education system.  ERTAP targets primary and secondary education through interlinked activities: design and testing  of teaching, training and learning materials; degree and diploma courses and policy dialogue. The goal is to complement and support government efforts through partnership and collaboration. In her remarks, the Dutch Ambassador acknowledged the remarkable progress of Bangladesh in expanding primary education. She recognized the complementary role of NGO's in achieving universal primary education and emphasized the strategic importance of effective partnering between IED and the Ministry of Education. The Dutch Ambassador also expressed her appreciation for the joint efforts of Government and NGOs to substantially improve the quality of teaching and learning and to reach the excluded, hard-to-reach school-age children. In his remarks the BRAC Chairperson emphasized the importance of the collaboration between IED and the national systems to improve human resources in the education sector in Bangladesh.

The Director of IED Ms. Erum Mariam also conveyed a speech during the ceremony.