Schoolhouse on verge of collapse

A large portion including the playground of a high school in Kurigram Sadar upazila have went into the Brahmaputra river due to severe erosion, while the lone schoolhouse is on the verge of collapse.

Char Bhagabatipur High School, located at remote Bhagabatipur village along the Brahmaputra river, was established by Kurigram district administration, aiming to reduce the number of dropouts in the char areas.

The newly established school started its journey with 130 students in January this year.

But, fearing further erosion and possible collapse of the schoolhouse, the school authorities suspended all academic activities and started shifting the belongings to a safer place.

Local people said after passing primary level most of the students of the village could not continue their studies further as there was no high school previously.

Students, who have a desire to get higher education, have to walk miles of sandy char land in order to study at a high school on the mainland, they said.

One of the guardians Saidul Islam said, "If the high school wasn't established here, my daughter's education would have been stopped after passing primary level." 

But unfortunately the schoolhouse was gradually going into the Brahmaputra river due to severe erosion for the last two week.

Children's education will be badly hampered if the school is not reconstructed elsewhere immediately, he lamented. 

Raju Ahmed, an assistant teacher at Char Bhagabatipur High School, said the school authorities have removed the infrastructure and other belongings of the school and kept those on the land of local UP member Shah Alam.

Journalist Yusuf Alamgir, also a lifetime member of the school managing committee, said the school will be re-established at a safer place soon resume its academic activities within the next week.

Kurigram Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Rasedul Hasan, also president of the school managing committee, said it required at least Tk 7 to Tk 8 lakh to reconstruct the schoolhouse in another place.

The previous schoolhouse was on the verge of collapse as high tide continued to hit the institution directly due to emerging chars on the upstream of the Brahmaputra river, the UNO said.