Five schools established in Natore in memory of Abinta Kabir, who was killed by militants during the Holey Artisan attack in 2016, are closed for 16 months.
Already, sixty per cent students of the 150 students have left while the remaining 40 per cent are languishing in desolation.
The implementing agency of the project claims that the foundation authority has stopped funding, whereas the foundation claims that the schools were shut down since conditions agreed before were not adhered to.
An NGO called PKSS began the operation at Singra with funding from the Abinta Kabir Foundation on Jan 1, 2017.
The main aim was to provide education to children from insolvent families. Five teachers were appointed along with one project officer, one monitoring officer and an accountant.
To encourage education among students from underprivileged families, necessary equipment was supplied but within one year the schools shut down.
A mother says: “My daughter Mina loved to go to school but now is confined at home; she is depressed.”
Several other families could not get their children admitted to another school due to lack of money.
Gallery curator of Abinta Kabir Foundation, Sultan Mohammad Mainuddin, commented: “The schools were closed since there were discrepancies between the agreement and their actual operation.”
However, we still have a school in Dhaka, where lunch is also served by the foundation, Sultan claimed.
We do not have enough manpower to establish schools in Natore or any other place of the country, he added.