Children take the brunt of pandemic with forced work or marriage

Bangladesh, home to tens of millions of poor people, has been quite successful over the last few decades in bringing children to school through various initiatives, including distribution of free textbooks and stipends ; but the achievement is on the verge of being lost due to the coronavirus pandemic, reports bdnews24.com.

Many children have left the cities due to their parents losing income. Some have been forced to quit their studies and get married, work in factories or become automotive helpers as a result of economic hardships.

Many others have lost interest in their studies because of the long shutdown of educational institutes.

There are currently no statistics available on the estimated dropout rates. But Rasheda K Choudhury, executive director of Campaign for Popular Education, fears the overall figure may rise to 40 per cent when the schools reopen.

Shilpi Akhtar is one of the students who will not return to schools. The family of the 12-year-old girl married her off due to financial troubles.

"I wanted our daughter to become a doctor or lawyer. But we are poor. After her father lost his job, we were left with no other options but to marry her off," Shilpi's mother Hajera Begum told the news agency.

Emon, a 14-year-old boy residing at a slum in Dhaka's Mirpur, had been a student of a community school with free education for non-locals.

He had to join an embroidery factory after his mother lost the job of a housemaid and his father was sacked by a shop.

"I have to work 12 straight hours. When will I study?" asked Emon.

The father of teenager Surovi Akter in Gazipur is a rickshaw-puller while her mother is a farm labourer.

As her parents' income shrank during the pandemic, she had to take a job at a readymade garment factory to help her family while waiting for the HSC exams.

"I need to work for food," she said.

Surovi hailed the government decision to scrap the exams and evaluate the students on the results of their previous tests.

"I will at least have a certificate now. Otherwise I would not return to college. I may resume study if I get help," she said.