Tele-Mentoring via Calls/SMS for Rural Parental Learning Support

Project Background

Since March 2020 COVID closures, rural Bangladeshi children depend on parents for learning, but online teaching fails due to poor IT; TV reaches 43.9% households, radio 0.6%, while 94.2% have basic mobiles.
Parental involvement boosts outcomes but lacks guidance and varies by household, widening inequality. Drawing on nudge evidence, this project delivers structured tele-mentoring (SMS/calls) to primary pupils/parents on feature phones, reducing gaps and building home education.

Project Scope & Reach

Five southwestern upazilas with school disruptions/low digital access; rural primary children/families with basic mobiles but no online platforms; low TV/radio areas where mobiles enable regular contact.

Key research partners

Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability (CDES), Monash University; Khulna Univ.; Univ. of Newcastle; local IVR partner; GDRI as field research partner.

Funding & Support

Laerdal Foundation (proposed) for IVR/call-center/fieldwork/staff; in-kind from CDES/Monash for backing/admin/contingency.

Roles of GDRI

Field Implementation and Community Engagement: Identify/recruit primary children/parents in villages; coordinate with leaders, educators, IVR provider for enrolment/participation.
Data Collection and Monitoring: Conduct baseline/endline surveys/outcome measures (e.g., engagement, learning); monitor IVR/SMS/call usage.
Data Management and Dissemination: Clean/securely store data, share datasets; contribute to analysis, co-author reports/briefs/presentations on tele-mentoring for education.