Where Will These Infants Go? Quazi Mostain Billah Many of our new ideas come from our experience. To solve new problems we often approach them ingeniously. I think Nasima, a social activist and this is not her actual name, did the same when she saw a particular schooling problem among some slum children of Chittagong. She has worked with various social organizations and from her experience in social work she knows how important education is for people, both old and young. Her concern for the education of slum children has touched me, and I have begun to share her anxieties for the future of a bunch of children who may have to discontinue their school after only a year of formal schooling. But, first, we need to know how she got involved with the group of children she cannot brush off her mind. During her visits to a few slums, she found that very few of the children went to school. Theoretically, we know well the reasons why such children do not go to school. There is not enough money; the parents are not interested in the education of the children, etc are some of the observations that are put forward to account for this problem. But Nasirnas searching mind was not contented with these ready explanations and she began to look carefully into the matter and talked to some of the parents having school-level children. She was told that the children did not go to school because they did not qualify for admission into free government primary schools. There was no question of their trying for admission into private schools or sending them to any preparatory school simply for want of money. This was revelation for me as I had thought that that one just walked into a free primary school and got admitted. I had never thought that children seeking admission into free primary school needed to get through any kind of qualifying test. Nasima realized that here was an area that needed attention in order to shepherd the slum children to school. But ones realization of the problem does not imply that one has found a solution to it. Nasima felt that she needed to start some kind of pre-schooling for these children, but the obvious problem was money. One cant just sit under a tree or find a quiet corner by the roadside and begin educating children. She approached an NGO called UTSA (Unite Theatre for Social Action), 2111, Tahera Bhobon, Akborsha R/A, Pahartali, Chittagong working in the same area for support.. UTSA agreed with her finding and was eager to back her plan of beginning some kind of pre-schooling for the slum children of that particular area, but it itself had no stable source of earning to fund its own programs. However, UTSA and Nasima got together and worked out a plan of beginning a kind of very low-cost pre¬schooling program. Nasima knew some women who would be interested in teaching these infants and UTSA promised that it would donate some of the money it earned holding theatre shows on social awareness building programs on leprosy, AIDS, Dengue, Disaster management, Labor law and rights, Sanitation, Gender balance, Good Governence, Adolosent-Childreen-Women rights, Disability Sensitization etc After selecting teachers and having some assurance for fund, she proceeded to find space for holding classes. Renting places would mean putting in more money, which was most scarce here. Thinking ingeniously, they converted some of the living spaces of the teachers into class- rooms. When I visited one such school, I saw that the drawing room of a two-roomed tin shed rented house was being used as a class- room. There were problems in finding books and other supports, but they were slowly solved. The Executive Secretary of UTSA always found some ways of finding solutions to the problems that the pre-schooling faced. Now. After a year of running the pre-schooling program Nasima and UTSA have a new problem on their hands. They wonder where will these children go next? It is obvious that some of them will be taken by the local primary schools, but not all of them though they are keen to continue their education. There are some private schools, but they charge fees, and the parents cannot afford them. So, what will happen to the schooling of these children? Will they be forced to discontinue their school and swell the vast number of school drop- outs? Some of the parents appealed to Nasima and UTSA to upgrade the school to the next level but where is the money to pay for the expenses to run such programs? As it is, some of the teachers worked for as little as Tk. 300.00 a month, but one cant expect to find qualified teachers for such a meager sum. Dejectedly, Nasima sat as she discussed the problems facing their pre-schooling program. One of UTSA workers who had cooperated in the pre-schooling program said that he felt sad thinking that all they had achieved through a years work may ultimately prove as wastage. He was happy to see the positive impact that a years schooling had on the children. Apart from acquiring some rudimentary skills in reading, writing and basic calculation, the children had begun to show significant behavioral changes. For example, they all had learnt the value of discipline and tried to practice it both at home and school. But wont that training go in vain as there will be no further reinforcement? he asked. I wish I had an answer to his question. But, no I did not have an answer. Helplessly, I echoed the question that troubled Nasima and UTSA workers: where will these infants go? Professor Quazi Mostain Billah Dept. of English Chittagong University Mobile: 011-708822 Email: utsabd@gmail
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 15:34:20 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015