Underprivileged Children's Educational Programme

Underprivileged Children's Educational Programme traces its origin to a relief effort of Lindsay Allen Cheiney, a New Zealander, who came after the 1970 Bhola cyclone.[5][6] It had 60 students in the beginning.[7] With funding from the Government of Denmark Cheiney was able develop a three-year program for the education of children from low-income groups in South Western Bangladesh.[5] The program established a technical school in Dhaka in 1983 later expanded in Chittagong and Khulna.[5] The Underprivileged Children's Educational Programme registered nationally in 1990.[5] It owns a technical school in Mirpur.[8]

By 2010, 37 thousand children are enrolled in schools of the Underprivileged Children's Educational Programme.[5] From 1979 to 2010, 171,016 children benefitted from the Underprivileged Children's Educational Programme.[5] By 2012, enrollment had increased to 45 thousand children.[7] It receives funding from Save the Children (Denmark-Sweden), Danish International Development Agency, Department for International Development, and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.[5] In 2016, 99 percent of the students of Underprivileged Children's Educational Programme received GPA-5 in SSC national exams, the highest possible grade.[9]

In 2022, it launched a joint program with Standard Chartered Bangladesh for skilling training for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh.[10] It also has a partnership with Social Islami Bank to provide training to underprivileged children.[11]