In Rangamati, Khagrachari, and Bandarban, 570 solar-powered classrooms have been installed under the Ecosystems Restoration and Resilient Development in the CHT (ERRD-CHT) Project, led by UNDP in partnership with the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, supported by the Embassy of Canda and implemented by Hill district Councils. By harnessing solar energy, the project ensures lessons can continue despite unreliable electricity and reduces dependence on the grid. Not only general schools, but also madrasas, orphanages, and schools for children with disabilities will benefit from this initiative.

Powered entirely by solar energy, the system is both eco-friendly and sustainable. Education specialists believe the initiative will not only lower dropout rates and boost classroom attendance but also spark students’ enthusiasm for learning. Above all, it will help bridge the gap giving children from remote and underserved communities equal access to modern education.

For twelve-year-old Moyna, a student of standard six, the experience is a revelation. “Before, I could only read the names of birds in books,” she says. “Now I can see them moving in the sky.”

Teachers are noticing a profound difference. Geography lessons once confined to static maps now come alive on screens, with rivers, mountains, and borders unfolding in vivid detail. “Students remember more, ask more questions, and stay engaged longer,” one teacher explained. “It has completely changed the atmosphere of the classroom and now students hardly miss attending school.”

Parents see the impact as well. For families in the hills, education is the single bridge to opportunity. “My daughter comes home telling me about planets and computers,” said Rokeya Begum, a mother in Bandarban. “It makes me believe her future will be brighter than mine.”

In the first phase, 40 educational institutions across 10 upazilas of the district have received the equipment. Eventually, a total of 141 institutions will be covered.

In classrooms once limited to chalk and paper, multimedia screens are opening new worlds for the children of the hills. Each lesson sparks questions, experiments, and conversations that never happened before. For Moyna and her classmates, learning has become an adventure. They are no longer passive recipients of knowledge but explorers, eager to see, touch, and understand the world around them.