Mathematics — a word that strikes fear into the hearts of children and adults alike. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see children have an innate response of fear and loathing to mathematics, which ultimately leads to failing grades in the subject.

However, in our story, one determined father remained adamant. He is Toru Kumon, a high school teacher who, upon being concerned about his child's education, developed the Kumon Method back in 1958. The same method is now recognised all over the world and has been implemented in more than 50 countries.

Kumon based his new and radical method of teaching mathematics on self-learning and self-intellect. With the concerted efforts from BRAC and Kumon, BRAC Kumon Ltd has since been offering this method of self-learning to children aged 4 to 14 in Bangladesh.

However, prior to their official operations, BRAC conducted a pre-pilot programme in 2014 as a research to test the effectiveness of Kumon Method with respect to the Bangladeshi curriculum. The research was initially done by University of Tokyo in collaboration with BRAC Education Program (BEP) and JICA.

Out of the 179 schools operated by BEP, 34 schools were selected (17 controlled groups and 17 uncontrolled groups) and 1000 children were taken into the programme. This led to 8 months of extensive research being done to test the usability and benefits of Kumon method in Bangladesh.

With positive results from the research, BRAC Kumon started their maiden voyage in Bangladesh in September 2017. The very first Kumon Centre was inaugurated in Dhanmondi, with a subsequent centre opening in Uttara on the month of October. Both the centres provide international standard education to students and offer the Kumon Math Program to children aged 4 to 14. Although, in very rare cases, even younger children have been admitted to Kumon on the basis of merit. In addition to Math, BRAC Kumon plans to offer the Kumon English Program as well from July 2019.

The instructors and management team of Kumon are of the highest calibre and have received extensive training from Kumon Institutes in Japan and India. As a result, more than 300 students have availed the Kumon method in Bangladesh which is nothing short of an indication of Kumon's success story.

To allow working parents to be kept in the loop, Kumon operates from Saturday till Wednesday from 11 AM to 6 PM. The instructors initially test the student's capabilities and allocate different level of worksheets as needed. The worksheet materials are designed by Kumon themselves to ensure that students solve problems "just at the right level" and can continue to do so at their own capabilities, without any undue pressure.

In celebration of one year of Kumon, BRAC Kumon Ltd will be hosting their One Year Celebration and Advanced Student Honour Roll (ASHR) Certificate on December 8, 2018, at BRAC CDM in Savar. The chief guest of the programme will be Sir Fazle Hasan Abed KCMG, Founder and Chairperson of BRAC. The ceremony will celebrate BRAC Kumon's one year and will include the award giving ceremony of ASHR students. ASHR includes those students who have gained the capability to move beyond their grade level at school through the persistent practice of mathematics.

In this year, ASHR certificates will be awarded in three different categories: Bronze, Silver, and Gold –awarded to students who have moved ahead of school grade by 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years respectively.

KUMON'S FUTURE PLAN

Due to the effectiveness and huge response of the method, BRAC Kumon aims to have 32 more centres in Dhaka by 2023. Furthermore, it is in the goodwill of the company to introduce the method in BRAC Primary schools to allow underprivileged students to avail and prosper from the method that started as the infallible love of a father for his child.