LAXMIPUR, Dec 24: Primary education, free and compulsory for all, has remained elusive for thousands of poor children as there are no primary schools in 138 villages under five upazilas of the district.
Despite parents being eager to educate their children, they cannot do so because there are no primary schools nearby.
No school has been set up at those villages due to negligence of the authorities concerned coupled with unawareness of the district education office in this regard, locals alleged.
As per the rules, a village must have 2000 people to have a government primary school established there. Unfortunately, at least 138 villages do not have any primary school despite having such requirement fulfilled.
When contacted Ramgati Upazila Assistant Education Officer Mujibur Rahman said there are five villages here in the upazila, that do not have any school are Sabuj Village, Dakkhin Tum Char, Main Uddin Somaj, Purba Teliar Char and Paschim Teliar Char. He has sent a list of these villages to the authorities concerned to set up schools.
Acting Primary Education Officer of Kamalnagar Upazila ATM Ehsanul Haque said there are no primary schools 13 villages in Kamalnagar upazila despite fulfilling the requirement of 2000 people in each of the villages to have a school set up. He has made a list of these villages that are-Char Pagla Taslim Para, Char Kadira Asrayan, Ismail Para, Dakhhin Char Falkon, Paschim Char Falkon Siddique Master Para, Dakhhin Purba Char Basu, Char Thika Molla Para, Dakhhin Paschim Char Pagla, Kadir Panditer Hat, Dalhhin Char Martin Mawlana Para, Purba Falkan river bank village, Uttar Char Jangalia Master Para and Rasulpur.
Similarly, Acting Primary Education Officer of Raypur Upazila Fatima Ferdous, Assistant Education Officer of Ramganj Md Mainul Islam and Assistant Education Officer of Sadar upazila Humayun Kabir confirmed that they have made lists of villages without schools under their respective upazilas.
According to district education office sources, the government has taken a project to build 1,500 schools in areas across the country where there is no school. In this connection, they are making upazila-wise lists of villages having no schools and sending to the higher authorities to set up primary schools at the villages.
District Primary Education Officer Abdul Aziz said there are no primary schools in 138 villages in the five upazilas of the district. The villages, where there are no schools within two kilometre area despite having 2000 people at each of the villages, will have a government primary school established there gradually, if locals are interested to offer land for the purpose.
They set up primary schools at 13 villages in 2015, he added.
