20 students graduate from US Embassy Dhaka’s English access programme

Twenty students from Sylhet have successfully completed the rigorous US-funded two-year access programme, strengthening their English language, critical thinking, and leadership skills, and other marketable soft skills.

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller congratulated the newest graduates of the microscholarship programme during a virtual ceremony on Monday, reads a press release.  

Ambassador Miller praised the 10 young women and 10 young men from local madrasas and public schools for their hard work in completing the course during the pandemic and encouraged them to continue their studies to prepare for the future.  

"Bangladesh just marked its Golden Jubilee – the day when it declared its intention and ability to chart its own path.  There's no better time to recognise the power of young minds – like yours – to design the next 50 years.  You can take your new skills and use them as leaders who will shape the future of Bangladesh," he said.  

The microscholarship programme is for 13-17-year-olds from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and helps them become more competitive for higher education and employment opportunities.  

Currently, 76 students are participating in access programmes in Rajshahi and Chattogram.  Two hundred additional students will start the program in 2021.  Since the program began in 2004, 1,260 Bangladeshi students have successfully completed it.  Today's graduating class joins 95,000 other access programme alumni in more than 85 countries around the world.   

Empowerment and Human Development Society, the Embassy's implementing partner for this access program, played an integral role in helping convert the interactive in-person course and materials to an online program.  

For more information about English language programme, visit: https://bd.usembassy.gov/education-culture/english-language-programs/.  

Empowerment and Human Development Society (EHDS) partnered with the Embassy to deliver this Access program.  EHDS is a Sylhet-based non-profit organization founded in 2009 by alumni of US government exchange programmes, and is focused on promoting girls' education, leadership development of women and girls, and English instruction.  

As a trusted partner of US Embassy Dhaka since 2010, EHDS has been awarded several grants to support community development and educational programmes in Sylhet.