RAJSHAHI, Nov 17: Despite various facilities offered by the government to promote education for girl students of rural areas, a large number of girls of Rajshahi metropolitan areas are being deprived of their education facilities because of absence of such facilities.
It is learnt, the government has given the girls many facilities including sub-stipend free tuition fees, food for education and free education facilities for propagation of female education in rural areas across the country.
Girl students belonged to poor section of people, mainly, the children of poor farmers, farm hands and day labourers of rural areas living under union councils and upazilas, were availing those facilities.
But, the daughters and sons of extreme poverty stricken people living in city slums are not getting such facilities. As a result, most of their sons and daughters remained illiterate or poorly literate, some not even passing the primary education.
According to sources, there having no scope for employment in Rajshahi city corporation areas and there having no industrial bases, the poor class of people living in the city has either to work as day-labourers or as rickshaw and van pullers or as driver of battery-driven three wheelers.
Most of the low income groups of people living at the city peripheries have no ability to send their children to schools by paying full admission and tuition fees.
Specially, thousands of girl students at the secondary levels are staying idle at their houses without attending to their schools.
Sources said, only at the primary and secondary stage of education, the students of the city areas are facilitated with free books and free studentship but poor guardians of the primary and secondary level girl-students have been suffering most for not being able to manage other cost of study. As a result, thousands of female students living at the city areas of Rajshahi are being deprived of secondary education opportunity and they are getting drop out of their education programme.
It is learnt, the educational institutions of the city had been offering scholarships for the some secondary level girl students but the amount is very poor.
Concerned sources said, there are more than 25,000 girl students reading in 47 government primary schools, 13 registered primary schools and a number of madrasahs and the kinder garden schools.
It is learnt, only the poor section of people of the city send their children to the government primary schools of the city because there is always an idea among people that no good education is offered at the government primary schools rather quality education at the pre-primary and primary levels is only offered at the costly, private schools and kindergartens.
And it is also reality that comparatively well off people of the city sends their children to the kindergarten or to the government high schools which also offer primary educations.
Due to tough contest and coaching based admission tests, the students of poor guardians failed to admit their children in those posh schools.
According to sources, more than 15 per cent girl students of the city schools abandoned their study in the primary stage while in the secondary stage most of the poor guardians failed to provide admission fees, tuition fees, examination fees for their girls. Even, they failed to purchase books and school dresses for them.
The low income group guardians of the girl students of city schools have pleaded to the government to introduce free tuition and an increased rate of sub-stipend for their children.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
