‘At the lunch time I feel very hungry and I don’t want to study. After playing, I just drink water to fill up my stomach asthere is nothing to eat for launch.’ Through these words Prapti Sarker, a student of class four of Khagaura Kandapara Govt. Primary School expressed her hardship.  

Liza Sarker, another student of class three of this same school also expressed her misery. She has two brothers and two sisters. Her father is the only earning member of the family. As they don’t own any land, they live in a shanty. At this time of the year, his father Prabir Sarker earns through fishing in the wetlands (haor). The day he gets fish in the net their family members get meals and if he doesn’t, they have to starve.

The head teacher of the school Binod Chandra Sarker said, ‘All the students of this school have come from a poor family. So, there is low attendance rate in the school. At this certain period of the year, students of the under-privileged families are forced to earn. They collect leafy vegetables, cow dung and catch fish. As they have nothing to eat, we can’t stop them to do so. 

He said, ‘The presence of the students doesn’t continue that starts in January, when new books are distributed. Particularly, in the monsoon season the student’s presence rate becomes very low.’

According to the annual child survey, there are more than 200 students in Khagaura village of Rafinagar Union, Dirai Upazila who are studying in two primary schools of the village.

There is no earning source except farming and fishing in the wetlands (haor area). Even if fishing is not possible for a reason, earning people of the village remain unemployed for six months of the year.

There are 184 school going children in the catchment area of Noyahati, Poshchimhati, Majherhati, Pukurpar, Borohati and Thakurahati. Among them 173 children read in Khagaura Kandapara Govt. Primary School.

Tithi, Ashesh, Rudra and Shankar are the students of this same school who said that they come to school at 11:30 am and go out after 2 pm as they become hungry. And after reaching home, they take meal if they get any, otherwise they have to starve.

Jolly Rani Talukdar a school teacher said, ‘These small children arrive at school at 11 am and attend the classes till 4pm. As children are not served any meal at the Tiffin hour, when it becomes 3 pm they start to ask to leave the school. As a result many days they return home without attending classes due to humanitarian reasons. Even 100 percent stipend is not working to keep the students in the classes.  If ‘mid day meal project’ or ‘school feeding project’ are arranged for the schools in the remote wetlands area, it will help to develop the quality of the students and their education.’

District Assistant Education Officer Muhammad Sazzad said that 198,930 students of 1,425 schools 11 upazilas of the district are being provided stipends upto tk300. In addition, the Mid Day Mill program is going on in 11 schools of Dharmapasha upazila. High protein biscuits are provided to 40,755 students under the school feeding program. If government arrange mid day meal project or school feeding project in the wetlands area, the students will get benefit from here.