A report by Prothom Alo's Tangail correspondent titled “10,000 students did not return to school” is not only disturbing but also paints a grim picture of the post-corona socioeconomic reality. Before the closure of educational institutions during the prevalence of corona, the number of secondary level students in Tangail district was 376,657. After the opening of the educational institution, 366,221 students attended class. That means 10,436 students are missing.
If more than 10,000 students drop out at the secondary level in one district alone, it is not difficult to estimate the number across the country. Child marriage was identified as the only reason for girls to drop out. This time the issue of boys dropping out due to economic reasons has come to the fore.
Among the absent students in Tangail district, 60 per cent girl students have dropped out due to child marriage. On the other hand, the boys have been forced to go to work due to poverty. The reason for dropping out of remaining 10 per cent students’ could not be known.
To find out the situation of child marriage in the country during the corona situation, the non-governmental organisation Manusher Jonno Foundation conducted a survey, 'Rapid Analysis of Child Marriage Situation During Coving-19 in Bangladesh'. In the seven months from April to October 2020, 13,886 underage girls have been married in 84 upazilas of 21 districts. The highest number of child marriages was recorded in Barguna district at 1,512.
Then there are 1,272 in Kurigram, 1,222 in Nilphamari and 1,041 in Lakshmipur. Around 35 per cent (only 4,866) of these marriages have been registered. In the report published in Prothom Alo on 30 September, the data revealed 7,677 child marriages in 9 districts of the country in the last one and a half years. The districts are Khulna, Tangail, Netrokona, Kurigram, Satkhira, Brahmanbaria, Chapainawabganj, Barguna and Jamalpur.
The problem of students dropping out during the corona period, whether the government policy makers admit it or not, is deep rooted. The Ministry of Education should take the matter seriously and take necessary steps to solve it. Education goals will be disrupted if students who have dropped out at the secondary level are not brought back to the classroom. Bringing back students who have dropped out is difficult, but not impossible.
In Bangladesh, there are numerous incidents where girls pursue higher education ever after she gets married at an early age. In that case, the cooperation of the family members is needed as well as the stipends from the government.
Those girls who will continue their studies even after marriage, will have to be given a fixed amount of scholarships. The initiative taken by the teachers of Bathuli Laili Begum High School in Tangail to go from house to house and bring girls to school may be followed in other schools as well.
Similar stipend programmes should be taken for drop out male students. The amount they provide to the family every month, should be granted as loan or scholarship to the family concerned.