60,000 children deprived of pry edn in Faridpur district
Friday, 5 December 2008
Our correspondent
FARIDPUR, Dec 4: About 60,000 children from the chars and rural areas of Bhanga, Nagarkanda, Sadarpur, Madhu-khali, Alfadanga, Boalmari and Sadar upazilas of Faridpur district have been deprived of the universal right to primary education because of poverty, ignorance, shortage of schools and lack of communication facilities.
The number of the school going children aged between 6 to 10 years in 79 unions of the eight upazilas of the district is about 2,30,000 while the number of the dropouts is 60,000, sources said.
A majority of people of these areas are unemployed and there are few programmes for poverty alleviation. About 25,000 of the poor children in Faridpur work in agriculture and in birhi factories.
According to Union Parishad members, the guardians of those children cannot afford to send their wards to school. They cite child marriage, divorce and unplanned family life as the reasons for it. According to the local primary education office source, there are no schools in 50 per cent of the villages because they are situated in remote char areas, far from the upazila headquarters.
FARIDPUR, Dec 4: About 60,000 children from the chars and rural areas of Bhanga, Nagarkanda, Sadarpur, Madhu-khali, Alfadanga, Boalmari and Sadar upazilas of Faridpur district have been deprived of the universal right to primary education because of poverty, ignorance, shortage of schools and lack of communication facilities.
The number of the school going children aged between 6 to 10 years in 79 unions of the eight upazilas of the district is about 2,30,000 while the number of the dropouts is 60,000, sources said.
A majority of people of these areas are unemployed and there are few programmes for poverty alleviation. About 25,000 of the poor children in Faridpur work in agriculture and in birhi factories.
According to Union Parishad members, the guardians of those children cannot afford to send their wards to school. They cite child marriage, divorce and unplanned family life as the reasons for it. According to the local primary education office source, there are no schools in 50 per cent of the villages because they are situated in remote char areas, far from the upazila headquarters.