In Bangladesh, monsoon rains leave the majority of the Haor wetlands completely submerged for six to seven months of the year. Thus, government primary school provision is very limited in the area. Parents are naturally reluctant to send their children, especially girls, to primary schools in distant locations. Even for those few families who do enroll their children in distant schools, flooding makes their attendance irregular. As a result of these difficult conditions, primary enrolment and literacy rates in this region lag far behind the national average. This project has provided boat schools that function as both classrooms and school buses, following a circuit through the area to collect children from their homes and then return them after school.
The project aims to ensure the basic right to education for the marginalized children in water-logged areas, especially in Haor. The boat schools create the opportunity for underprivileged children to be integrated within mainstream education. The teaching-learning activities allow them to learn reading, writing, and numeracy. They develop an awareness of nature, health, nutrition, and personal hygiene, helping them lead better lives. Boat schools are an efficient means of ensuring access to education for the widely scattered out-of-school children in this seasonally water-logged region.
