Reopen schools in slums: speakers
Speakers at a discussion yesterday urged the government to take necessary steps for reopening schools in the capital's slum areas where a large number of children were enrolled.
Besides, they urged the government to take steps for the overall improvement in the livelihood of the city's over 40 lakh slum-dwellers, saying they were greatly affected by the pandemic.
Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba), Bangladesh Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge (Barcik), and Coalition for the Urban Poor jointly organised the discussion on "Covid-19's Impact on Students among the City's Low-income Group Slum-dwellers and what needs to be done" at Poba auditorium in the capital.
Discussants said many privately-owned and NGO-run schools in slum areas were closed amid the pandemic. As a result, children were deprived of their right to accessing formal education while there are concerns that many of them might have dropped out.
They said steps have to be taken so that children can return to schools, maintaining health guidelines. Besides, awareness campaign has to be run among guardians and midday meals should be provided to children at schools once those reopen.
Poba Chairman Abu Naser Khan said many slum-dwellers' children dropped out from schools due to closure amid the pandemic.
"It will be tough to get them back to school again," he said, adding, everyone should come forward to make sure that such children have access to education again.
Delivering the closing remarks, Naser said there should be a change in the existing living condition of urban slum-dwellers in the next 10 years to improve their livelihood.
Abdus Sobhan, general secretary of Poba, said absence from school for about a year might have created psychological changes in children's minds.
He suggested that the government creates a proper database on the situation of students and schools during the pandemic. Besides, he urged the government to declare separate stimulus package for the education sector.
Drop-out from schools might cause rise in child labour and child marriage in slum areas, said Zahangir Alam, coordinator of Barcik. There should be effort that each child resumes study once the schools are reopened, he said.
Khandaker Rebecca Saniat, executive director of Coalition for the Urban Poor, among others, addressed the discussion.
Comments