Overweight students not enrolled at Mohammadpur Preparatory School

Some requirements for admission in playgroup at the Mohammadpur Preparatory School and College in the city have created controversy.

Educationists and guardians termed the requirements set for the playgroup entrants of 2022 as ‘discriminatory’ and ‘objectionable’. The requirements include age, height, weight, milk teeth and physical and mental health.

The school authorities in the admission circular wrote in bold letters that the students who fail to meet the requirements set by the institution would not be able to get admitted even if they are selected through lottery.

The school authorities published a circular for the admission of the 2022 playgroup. Prothom Alo learnt about the requirements set by the circular from some guardians. Later, a copy of the circular was collected from the school.

There are three preconditions set as ‘qualifications of the students’. These requirements are:

The students should be 4 to 5 years old on 1 January 2020. The height of the students must be between three feet to three feet and eight inches and weight should be between 13 to 21 kilograms.

Three more prerequisites include the students must have all 20 milk teeth and they have to be physically and mentally sound. Any students with contagious diseases would not be considered for admission.

Former advisor to a caretaker government and educationist Rasheda K Chowdhury said setting such requirements is unfortunate while the government is emphasizing bringing all children to schools. Such requirements are contradictory to the government’s ‘education for all' policy.

She said even a child with disability should get a chance to enroll at school let alone anyone left out for weight.

Rasheda K Chowdhury told Prothom Alo that the rules set by the school authorities during its beginning in 1976 would no longer be valid.

She said the government should set specific guidelines for private educational institutions.

The school authorities hold the lottery for admission at playgroup on 22 October. The other procedures of the admission are going on now. The school authorities said a total of 580 children (400 boys and 180 girls) would be enrolled in Bangla and English mediums this year.

Asked about the requirements, Mohammadpur Preperatory School and College’s principal Belayet Hossain told Prothom Alo that those requirements were in place since the school’s founding in 1976. These are being followed since the beginning as no changes were made.

He said the school authorities did not feel to change these requirements as except a few members of the guardians' committee, none raised any objection about these.

“Our goal is to ensure a good environment for the pupils. Overweight students are usually naughtier and comparatively younger students can’t cope with them. It’s easier to manage others (those who are slimmer).”

On milk teeth, the principal reasons that some guardians try to get their children admitted in play group by showing a decreased age. As a result, younger students cannot cope with older ones.

The principal said the requirements of milk teeth were set to ensure that no older students can get enrolled.

Asked if they mean physically or mentally challenged students would not be admitted by saying that students would need to be ‘mentally and physically fit’, the principal said, “Yes, exactly. Students with disabilities cannot keep pace with normal students. Guardians spend a lot of money on their children’s education here. Students with disabilities lag behind. We don’t have teachers required to give extra care to students with disabilities. Still, some students with disabilities are studying at our school.”

Belayet Hossain also said he thinks that schools for students with disabilities are a better option for disabled students.

Shahjadpur Model Primary School’s headteacher Fahima Akter said there are no requirements for admission in government schools except the age requirement.

She said the age requirement for pre-primary school admission is 5. There are no requirements for weight or milk teeth. Also, there are no restrictions to enroll students with disabilities

Fahima said a mentally challenged student reads in second grade at her school.

Ibrahim General Hospital’s deputy chief nutrition officer Farzana Anzin thinks such requirements are against the mental development of children.

She said guardians send their children to school for mental development and it will create mental pressure on children and their guardians if they face such obstacles at the beginning of school.

Farzana Tanzin said calorie intake has increased while the chance to burn calories has decreased for lack of open fields. As a result, many children may gain weight.

She said setting a restriction on weight means that overweight or underweight students would not be allowed any room in the school.

She also said milk teeth generally fall out after the age of 6 but those teeth may fall out even at 5 years if a child is overweight.

This correspondent talked with some guardians at two branches of the school. They termed these requirements as ‘unacceptable’, ‘objectionable’ and ‘discriminatory’.

A guardian said a physician examined her daughter before admission. She fulfilled all requirements and was able to get admitted easily.

But she thinks these requirements should be annulled as children can gain overweight due to food habits and lack of open space in the city.