Schools on boats

Refusing to bow down to the forces of nature, twenty two boats turned into schools, libraries and computer labs are moving across the Chalan Beel region, a large wetland in Bangladesh, illuminating the lives of many impoverished children with the light of education. The floating schools, as they are popularly called, are run by a non-profit organisation and provide basic agricultural training to underprivileged children and computer courses to people in Pabna, Natore and Sirajganj. We commend this courageous and benevolent initiative that is changing lives in some of the remotest places of the country. 

The floating schools are special because they are the only ones operating during the rainy season in this region as many others are forced to close due to heavy flooding caused by the swelling up and overflowing of rivers. The boats are outfitted with solar panels that power computers, lights and other equipment. But they offer more than education. The organisation also runs floating clinics that have doctors and paramedics.  

Founded in 2002, the schools have been functioning mainly on private donation, although free books are given to the students by the education ministry. The government should do more to help the 22 floating schools but for which education would have remained a distant dream for thousands of school-age children. More importantly, making sure that all schools are resilient against natural disasters should be a priority for any disaster risk reduction preparedness and planning.