Children of at least 90 chars on the basin of Teesta and Dharla rivers in five upazilas in Lalmonirhat district are more prone to work and earn a living for their families rather than going to school and pursue education.
Because of abject poverty and a lack of awareness raising programmes, the parents deprive their children from going to school and engage them in agriculture and cattle rearing.
An inadequate number of schools and poor communication system adds to the situation by hampering childrens’ access to education living on the chars.
Though there are 55 government and registered primary schools in these char areas, attendance remains extremely poor in these schools round the year.
Although a few guardians send their children to schools, they drop out after a while because of poverty.
Children aged between 8 - 15 usually do not go to school but engage in working on farmlands, as per direction of their parents.
Sahidul Islam, executive director of Gono Prochar Kalyan Sangstha (GPKS), a Dhaka-based NGO, said the male members of the poor families in chars usually go to capital and other districts in search of work leaving their children at home.
Meanwhile, the female guardians face untold problems over maintaining the family expense, as a result, they send their children out of home to work, he said.
They are ignorant about the importance of education because of lack of grooming, he added.
Mostafizur Rahma Kazal, a primary school teacher in Milonbazar char on the Teesta river basin said: “I personally go door to door in the area to persuade the parents to send their children to schools but most of them do not agree showing poverty as a cause.”
A guardian in Bowalmari char in Dharla river basin Barek Miah said he, and other guardians on the chars were not willing to send their children to schools as they knew that ultimately they would not be able to continue to bear the education expenditure of their children.
Officials of District Primary Education office in Lalmonirhat said at least 9000 children in the chars were enlisted in 55 primary schools this year but only 1500 to 2000 of them were regular in attending classes while the rest became irregular as they got engaged agriculture.
Acknowledging the poor communication system and lack of awareness campaigns in chars, District Primary Education Officer Nabez Uddin said they had not received any order to conduct motivational trainings in the char areas to raise awareness among the guardians on sending their children to schools.
