Even after 71 years of language movement, most of the educational institutions in Bhola do not have Shaheed Minars on their campuses.
According to local sources, 1,512 educational institutions in seven upazilas of the district do not have Shaheed Minars.
Sources at the office of the district primary education officer and teachers said that the Shaheed Minars could not be constructed in these institutions due to various reasons, including no allocation of funds for them being there.
Every year, the teachers and students of these institutions celebrate International Mother Language Day and Martyrs' Day on February 21 by constructing makeshift Shaheed Minars with banana plants, bamboo and white paper.
As a result, students are not able to know the significance of the language movement and are not able to show respect to the language martyrs. In some institutions, language day is not observed. Students in these institutions do not know about the language movement and the day.
According to the office of the district primary education officer, the number of educational institutions in seven upazilas of the district is 1,617. Among these, there are 45 colleges, 271 secondary and junior secondary schools, 254 madrasas and 1,047 primary schools. Of these, there are 105 schools with Shaheed Minars, including 20 in Sadar upazila, 12 in Daulatkhan, 14 in Borhanuddin, nine in Tazumuddin, 17 in Lalmohan, 24 in Charfashan and nine in Manpura. The remaining 1,512 educational institutions do not have a Shaheed Minar.
Some teachers and students of these educational institutions said that due to the absence of Shaheed Minars, the students of these institutions are deprived of the opportunity of showing respect to the language movement and liberation war. Again, many students from remote areas do not know about the language movement and Martyrs' Day.
Togbi Char Chifli Government Primary School in Sadar upazila, consisting of 250 students, does not have a Shaheed Minar. Some students of the school said that on February 21, they participate in a cultural program in the school. But since there is no Shaheed Minar on the school premises, flowers are not placed to show respect for the language martyrs. They also do not know the language martyrs well.
Nirmul Krishna, assistant teacher of the school, said that a Shaheed Minar could not be built in the school premises due to lack of space. This image is not only limited to Togbi Char Chifli Government Primary School rather there is no Shaheed Minar in many government primary schools of the district.
Md Ibrahim, head teacher of Machuma Khanam Secondary Girls' School, a traditional women's educational institution of the district, said: “Our institution has been making an important contribution to spread education in this region for 53 years. However, till date Shaheed Minar has not been constructed in the institution. It is disappointing for us.”
He said: “The school does not have any funds of its own, from which we will build a Shaheed Minar. Every year, we honour language martyrs by placing flowers at Bhola Central Shaheed Minar. I appeal to the authorities to construct a Shaheed Minar here.”
When asked about these issues, District Primary Education Officer Md Aminul Islam said: “The heads of those institutions which do not have Shaheed Minar have been told to build Shaheed Minar on their own initiative and with the help of local people. Those who cannot afford to build them should honour the martyrs in the vicinity where there are Shaheed Minars.”
Noting that recently built institutions have been asked to construct Shaheed Minars, the education officer said: “There is no government fund for the construction of Shaheed Minars in old institutions. However, to give proper status to the language martyrs, construction of Shaheed Minars is necessary in every educational institution.”
