‘Alor Iskul’ brings light to their lives

A year ago, attending school was a distant dream for 10-year-old Alamin Islam.

Due to financial constraints, his father, a worker at the capital's Postagola crematorium, wanted to admit him to a madrasa.

However, hope arrived in the form of "Alor Iskul".

"My father admitted me to class one last month," Alamin shared, excitement evident in his voice.

"The school provided me with books, pens, and paper just after my admission. They also gave me a bag, a school dress, a sweater, and a new shoe," Alamin added.

This Valentine's Day, the school also organised a programme where 106 students, including Alamin, received all the necessary school materials. Of them, 67 are in nursery, 24 in class one, four in class two, four in class three, and five in class five.

Under the initiative of the Shyampur Zone of the Wari Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, "Alor Iskul" started its journey in 2019 to cater to underprivileged children of Dhaka.

"Children of poor families, such as doms, rickshaw pullers, daily workers, and cleaners receive education and school materials for free," said Shamsul Islam, assistant commissioner of Shyampur Zone.

Initially, the school operated with nine students, one teacher, and a single room.

Today, it has four classrooms, a washroom, an office room, and a faculty of five teachers, he said.

Amanur Dewan, a rickshaw puller, shared his struggle to educate his daughter before discovering the school.

"I wanted to educate my daughter and tried to get her to a school in the Faridabad area. But they charged Tk 300 to Tk 350 monthly. So I had to stop it as I was unable to afford the amount," he said.

"Now my daughter receives education for free," he said.

Atikur Rahman, owner of a scrap factory, highlighted their collaboration with the police to support the school financially.

"We provide a subscription fee based on our capacity, ranging from Tk 1,000 to Tk 2,000 per month," he said. "Around 12 to 13 of us donate money for the school. We do it as it's for a good cause."

Iqbal Hossain, deputy commissioner of Wari division police and the chief patron of the initiative, said, "If a single unprivileged child can be enlightened from the school, then we will believe that our efforts came to success."

Monthly, the school collects a subscription fee of Tk 50,000, but AC Shamsul, also the school's committee president, deemed it inadequate.

"We want to offer a healthy breakfast and lunch to our students," he said. Plans are underway to seek aid from the education ministry and enlist the school under the MPO category, he said.

The teachers receive Tk 5,000 per month at the school.

Shayla Akter, an assistant teacher, said, "I don't work here for the money. I am doing this for the underprivileged children."