BSS, Dhaka :
The dropout rate at primary level education in haor areas of the country is higher than that of any other parts of the country.
The Education Watch-2013 titled ‘State of pre-primary education in Bangladesh’ revealed that nearly 1.5 million children aged five are out-of-school students in pre-primary education, the number will be 3.8 million, if the children of four years of age are added.
Sunamganj in Sylhet division is one of the districts where the dropout rate is rising alarmingly in haor areas.
The poor communication, poverty and insufficient school infrastructure are mainly responsible for the drop-out rate, said education activists, officials and local people.
According to a survey conducted in 2010, 39.8 per cent students in haor area face transportation difficulty during the dry season while 66.8 percent suffer from transportation problem in the wet season.
Acting education officer of Salla upazila in Sunamganj district Md Abdul Awal Mia said lack of awareness among the people in the upazila is largely responsible for school drop-out.
The parents, who are mostly illiterate and poor, prefer not to send their children to school as they are to work for earning a livelihood for the family.
There are 103 government primary schools in Salla upazila, he said and termed it adequate.
Besides, BRAC is running 123 primary schools in the upazila to promote education in haor areas, said Dhijendra Chakrabarty, a field level official of its education programme.
Most of the people are farmers and fishermen by profession in Salla upazila, Dhijendra said adding they engage their children in different works.
