At a time when education has become a commodity making its affordability mostly a clinching factor, there are rare exceptions to this rule. Two contemporaries -one Bangla and the other English -have carried pictorial stories of two indomitable souls devoted to education. Both have chosen the hard way to pursue their dreams. Their dreams are similar and their struggles are similar too. One has left home for the capital in order to earn some money for his own and other family members' survival.
Now employed as a night guard of a bank, courtesy of a private security agency, Ahsan Habib is a teenage boy. He is a candidate for the Higher Secondary Certificate examination scheduled to start in the first week of next month. He has hardly any spare time for preparation for the examination. So he had to be innovative. He carries his books and exercise books to the duty spot at Bangla Motor where he studies under the streetlight. Sitting at a tiny table, he continues studies under insufficient light. With 14 hours' duty, he barely has time for snapping four hours' sleep each day. His is a sacrifice unrivalled too. He earns Tk 7,000 but sends home Tk 5,000 to make do with just Tk 2,000. Salute to his austerity and filial bond.
The other one -a young man named Nasiruddin, aged 24 from Jhalakathi is an honours graduate in English and now pursuing an MA degree. But unlike his classmates, he is compelled to shun classes in order to finance his study as well as his family. His old an infirm father has no means to maintain the family. So the English graduate who earlier could manage his educational expenses from his earning by tuition found no other alternative but rickshaw pulling. This arduous means of livelihood has saved the family from starvation. Yet Nasiruddin nurtures a dream of earning an MA degree when none of his six siblings even went to primary school.
This young man with a light burning in his breast studies in the morning and at about 10 am he sets out with his rickshaw and carries on with the arduous task till afternoon. Thus he has no time to attend classes but he maintains regular visits to the college library for borrowing and returning books.
Unwavering determination, perseverance and courage to face life in the face of overwhelming odds have led the teenage security guard and the rickshaw-pulling honours graduate towards their goals. Although Habib from Satkhira could not pass the HSC exam in his first attempt, this time he should overcome the hurdle. Theirs is a mission so inspiring and so elevating that it should be recognised and rewarded. Sure enough, society needs such self-made persons who do not capitulate to poverty and the hostile environment in which they are born and brought up.
Maybe, theirs are not the only stories of such unquenchable thirst for studies. A chance meeting with a boy from Karimganj under Kishoreganj revealed that he has come to Dhaka to pursue studies at a college located in Kalshi. His father was reluctant to bear his educational expenses, so he too was forced to leave for the capital in order to continue his studies. He is now looking for some means of income to meet his expenses of living and study.
Charities and non-government organisations have various welfare programmes. Cannot they take up some specific programmes to help such eager students out of their plight? It is not difficult to identify such needy but avid students. Their respective educational institutions can provide genuine information on the basis of which action can be taken to mitigate their miseries.
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