In 2013, we saw children living and working on the streets of Bangladesh who were largely excluded from education. Enrolling a child was not enough. Poverty, mobility, hunger, family pressure and the need to earn meant many could not stay in school long enough to build a different future.
Mojar School began with 13 children and a simple question: how can we create an education pathway that a street-connected child can enter, remain in and continue through formal education?
We developed the Street to SSC model to bridge the gap between outreach and long-term educational progression. Instead of treating access to education as a one-time enrolment, the model supports children through learning, nutrition, regular attendance, family engagement, life skills and future planning.
Our goal is not simply to bring children into a classroom. It is to help them stay connected to education long enough to complete major milestones such as the SSC examination and move towards higher education, employment and a self-reliant life.
Street to SSC works as a continuous education pathway rather than a one-time classroom intervention. We identify street-connected and underserved children, build trust with them and their families, understand why they are excluded from education, and connect them to the right learning pathway. Children who are not ready to enter formal school can begin through flexible learning points and gradually transition into curriculum-based formal education.
Once enrolled, our focus shifts from access to retention. Free education is combined with nutrition, attendance monitoring, parental engagement, life skills, future planning and individual follow-up. Teachers and programme teams regularly track attendance and learning progress. When a child becomes irregular or faces a risk of dropping out, the team follows up with the child and family and works to address the barrier.
Today, Mojar School serves around 2,300 children through 23 learning points and branches. The model operates through formal schools, street-focused learning points and partnership-supported education centres.
Our first SSC cohort demonstrates the pathway in practice. After years of continued education and retention support, students reached Bangladesh’s national SSC examination in 2026, with 92% of students from our Maniknagar branch passing. Students from this journey are now entering college.
Street to SSC has grown from an initiative with just 13 children in 2013 into an education network serving around 2,300 street-connected and underserved children through 23 learning points and branches in Bangladesh. Rather than expanding through one fixed format, the model has adapted to different contexts through formal schools, flexible street-based learning points and partnership-supported education centres, while keeping one goal: bringing excluded children into education and supporting them to stay, learn and progress.
The strongest evidence of this journey came in 2026, when Mojar School students participated in the national SSC examination for the first time. At our Maniknagar branch, 92% of students passed. Students from this journey are now progressing to college, showing that the model can take children beyond initial access to long-term educational milestones.
In September 2026, the journey received external recognition when Mojar School became Champion in the Project of the Year – Social Impact – Medium category at the Bangladesh Project Management Awards 2026 by the PMI Bangladesh Chapter for “From Street to SSC.”
Over the next 2–3 years, we aim to reach more excluded children, strengthen retention and post-SSC pathways to college and employment, document our methods, and develop a practical framework that other organisations and communities can adapt to their own contexts.
Our innovation has changed significantly since 2013 because we learned that access alone does not solve educational exclusion. We began with informal learning for 13 children. As children progressed, we realised that short-term classes could not deliver the long-term change we wanted, so we gradually built a pathway connecting flexible learning with curriculum-based formal education.
We then added the supports that disadvantaged children need to remain in education: nutrition, structured attendance monitoring, parental engagement, life skills, individual follow-up and future planning. Instead of measuring success only by enrolment, we increasingly focused on retention and educational progression.
As our first learners grew older, the model also had to grow with them. We expanded from primary learning into secondary education and SSC preparation. In 2026, our first students reached the SSC examination, with 92% of Maniknagar examinees passing. We are now extending the pathway again by supporting students moving into college and towards employment and self-reliance.
We have also developed residential support for children who need a safer and more stable environment. Each addition responds to the same lesson from 13 years of implementation: a vulnerable child needs continuity, not a temporary intervention.
Start by identifying children who are excluded from education or at high risk of dropping out, and understand the specific barriers they face, such as poverty, hunger, mobility, family pressure or the need to earn. Build trust with the children, families and local community before starting the education pathway. Create a flexible entry point where children can begin learning at their current level and gradually prepare them for transition into curriculum-based formal education.
Education alone is not enough. Combine learning with regular attendance monitoring, nutrition support, parental engagement, life skills, individual follow-up and future planning. Assign teachers or team members to track each child’s progress and respond quickly when attendance falls or dropout risks appear. Engage parents or guardians regularly so that they become part of the child’s educational journey.
Start with a manageable number of children, document their progress and strengthen the model based on what you learn. Build partnerships with schools, communities, volunteers, donors and local organisations to make the pathway sustainable. Success should be measured not only by enrolment, but by retention, learning progression and milestones such as completing secondary education.
Mojar School can share its experience from implementing this pathway since 2013 and support organisations interested in adapting the Street to SSC model to their own context.
