Background

Bangladeshi's comprise one of the largest ethnic groups in the United Kingdom, yet
they are portrayed in the media as a community suffering from poverty, high levels of
unemployment and poor educational attainment.

They are stereotyped as a community failing to grasp the opportunities available
through the educational system to progress into the mainstream of British society.

All stereotypes contain a hint of truth and this is no exception, however an analysis
of why Bangladeshi's have not fared well gives plenty of scope for optimism.

Bangladeshi's are one of the most recent immigrant groups to settle in the UK.
The first generation of Bangladeshi's arrived into the UK during the economic
boom of the early 1960's. However, this group consisted almost exclusively of
young men. Their spouse's and children joined them much later - during the
early 1980's.

Many of these families were transplanted from rural communities in Bangladesh
with poor provision of educational resources into hostile British inner cities.

Arriving with little or no command in English, where family members lack literacy
even in their native Bangla, it is not surprising that basic schooling presented an
insurmountable struggle. This was not helped by a lack of successful role models.
As a result, many Bangladeshi parents and children did not see the route to success
as pursuing higher education and ultimately a professional career.

The past few years have seen a profound change in the fortunes of Bangladeshi's
in the educational system. Suddenly it is no longer difficult to site examples of young
Bangladeshi's progressing through secondary education into Universities.

The numbers graduating from Universities and entering professional careers are
growing year by year. The first generation of Bangladeshi's to see Britain as their
home are now establishing themselves into mainstream of British society.

Young Bangladeshi's are achieving in all fields but the oldstereotypes still remain.

The Rochdale Bangladeshi Professional Network was formed in the summer of
2001 after a series of discussions by a group of successful Bangladeshi graduates.

The group based their discussions around issues affecting the whole community.
The group unanimously agreed to take positive action towards improving the quality
of life of Bangladeshi people. They were united by a common objective of establishing
Bangladeshi's as active players in the mainstream of British society.

Here in Britain, we live in a multicultural society, a society built upon mutual respect
for different traditions. The cultural diversity that can be seen throughout Britain and
in particularly Rochdale is to be encouraged and enhanced.