Tea garden schools attract more students

Anisul Islam Noor back from Sreemangal :
The number of school going children from the tea garden workers’ families is on the increase in the district of Sylhet and Moulvibazar. This has become possible because of increased number of school facilities – both at GO and NGO initiatives – and increased awareness for education amongst the parents – tea garden workers – of the wards living and working in the tea garden. Though school-going propensity among the children of tea garden workers has significantly increased in recent years, but scarcity of sanitary latrines and inadequacy of pure drinking water still exist in tea garden areas.
The guardians keep their wards under due attention so that children are enrolled as students in different primary schools in Sreemangal Upazila of Sylhet and Moulvibazar district. As a result, education speed up among the tea labourers’ families but shortage of pure drinking water and sanitary latrine keep them away from healthy living. There was a latrine at Kejurichora area for about 25 families. In front of a tube well, teenage girls and women gathered for fetching drinking water.
BRAC Pre-Primary School in Ramnagar Monipuri Union has 30 students, 4 to 7 years old. Two third of them are the children of tea garden labourers. Rehena Akter is the lone teacher who teaches them drawing, singing and playing games. But these little boys and girls became worried when their parents force them to go to brickfields or to work as household assistants.
Rahul Singh, 5, belongs to a tribal family. He wants to be an officer after completing study. He charmed the guests by singing a Monipuri tribal song. His parents are workers of a tea garden in Sreemongal upazila.
The life style of the tea garden workers has been improving under the joint efforts of the government, the UNICEF, and the BRAC.
The children just passed a month in the BRAC pre-primary school. They have learned how to speak nicely. After one year, they would be admitted in class one at local primary school.
The BRAC started the programme at Sreemongal in 2008 for children of the tea garden workers. There are about 1200 children in 40 tea gardens. Of them 800 represent tea garden workers’ families. Many children of pre-primary school have completed primary education and now they read in class six and seven at local high schools. Renar High school at Kejurichora Union where girls are twice of the number of boys in almost all classes.
Bangladesh Sangbad Sagasta (BSS) arranged a visit on February 12 and 13 to Moulvibazar and Sreemongal under media advocacy programme fourth phase for progress of women and children sanitation and education.