For the children of our tea estates, education remains a distant dream

Iti Gour grew up surrounded by the scent of tea leaves — a fragrance steeped in labour, resilience, and unending struggle — and now, this girl from a tea estate has earned a place at the University of Dhaka.

At first, Iti's name appeared only on the waiting list for Jahangirnagar University. She didn't give up. Soon after, she secured admission to the Department of Business Administration at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST). Yet, deep in her heart lived a quiet, persistent dream — to study at the University of Dhaka, the country's most prestigious institution.

When the Dhaka University admission results were announced, Iti earned a place in the Department of Finance. She chose her dream over everything else — stepping into a future that once seemed impossibly distant from the tea gardens of Moulvibazar.

Iti's mother, Sumitra Gour, was a tea garden worker who passed away two years ago after a prolonged period of illness. Her father, Shankar Gour, is now bedridden and unable to work. Yet, despite their hardships, this family never stopped dreaming.

Iti began her education at Boromchal Primary Missionary School — located in Moulvibazar's Kualura upazila, where her brilliance was first noticed. She later attended Boromchal High School, earning a GPA of 4.67 in her SSC exams, and then scored 4.83 in HSC from Yusuf Gani College. From there began a new chapter — a series of university entrance exams, where she proved her merit again and again.

When the news of Iti's admission to Dhaka University reached Boromchal tea estate, joy swept through the community like a fresh monsoon breeze. People celebrated as if her success belonged to them all — because, in a way, it did. From the same fields where generations have plucked tea leaves for survival, one young woman had reached the capital of dreams.

But Iti's story is not hers alone. It is the story of every neglected family in the tea gardens — families who fight daily battles against poverty, discrimination, and despair, holding onto the fragile hope that education can change their fate.

The grim reality of education 

According to the country's labour laws, every tea estate with at least 25 school-aged children is required to set up a school. 

Yet, across 167 tea gardens in Bangladesh, there are only nine primary schools (some estimates say 12–14). There are just three secondary schools — and not a single college. 

Even these few are barely functioning. In some, a lone teacher handles every class from grade one to five. Lessons follow no structured curriculum. No one comes to check whether children are actually learning. 

Although the government has made primary education compulsory nationwide, various surveys indicate that around 50,000 children living in tea worker communities are deprived of primary education. 

This cycle of deprivation profoundly affects education. Though every large plantation has a primary school, these schools are often far from workers' homes, requiring children to walk 10–12 kilometres each day on muddy paths. Secondary schools and colleges are scarce or inaccessible, and the cost of transport, tuition, supplies, and uniforms makes further education unaffordable for most families. 

Some plantations offer limited scholarships or boarding options for a few children, but the vast majority are left behind. Poverty forces children into early employment, leaving education secondary to survival. Children often observe and imitate adult behaviour, reinforcing a culture where work is prioritised over learning. Peer influence further discourages schooling, as most children grow up in communities where formal education is rare.

Food insecurity, a lack of housing, and the failure to ensure a decent standard of living are forcing children of tea workers to abandon school and join their parents in the tea gardens. At an age when they should be happily walking to school with bags on their shoulders, these children instead rise at dawn to head to the plantations with baskets, driven by the need to survive.

In Malnichhara Tea Estate in Sylhet, Sushanta (not his real name) spends eight long hours each day plucking tea leaves under the scorching sun. At the end of his toil, he earns only Tk176 — barely enough to keep his family fed, let alone dream beyond survival.

Sushanta has two little daughters, Laxmi and Shementi, who study at a nearby government primary school. But their father doesn't know how long he can keep them there. His voice trembled as he spoke of his miseries. 

"Even the basic things required for education cost a lot of money — books, notebooks, uniforms, and a measly amount for tiffin every day. With what I earn, I can't even feed the family properly. How long can I keep them in school?"

The experiences of other children illustrate these challenges clearly. 

Arun, a 13-year-old Santal boy, recalled, "Most of the time I stay at home and help my mother. School is far away, and we cannot afford the bus or CNG fare which often cost Tk80-100 daily. Many of my friends dropped out when they turned ten or eleven to earn some money." 

Similarly, Lita, a teenage girl, shared, "I wanted to continue studying, but my parents said it was better for me to help at home. Girls do not get priority for education here."

The struggle of girls 

Gender inequality compounds these challenges. Women make up over three-quarters of the workforce, and girls are frequently expected to contribute to family income rather than pursue education. 

Even when girls like Iti break through these barriers, they remain rare. Sonya, a young girl, recalled, "I was lucky that a teacher helped me get a scholarship. I stay at the school dormitory now. My friends could not, though — they had to work on the plantations."

Systemic neglect and inequality

According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), in Habiganj, nearly one in three children from tea worker families are engaged in labour. The numbers are slightly lower in Moulvibazar and Sylhet, but the story is the same — childhood cut short by necessity.

If we go by the numbers, 29.8% of children from tea worker families in Habiganj are engaged in labour. In Moulvibazar, the figure is 15.6%, and in Sylhet, 19.3%.

When asked about these issues, G.M. Shibli, chairman of the Bangladesh Tea Association's Sylhet Chapter, claimed that, to his knowledge, all but a handful of tea estates have primary schools. "High schools and colleges are the government's responsibility," he said. "Technically, even the primary schools should be established by the government, though we are the ones who set them up. As far as I know, nearly every estate has such a primary school. And child labour is no longer an issue — most children now go to school."

Only Tk1.5 a day for education 

Under the tea estate owners' welfare quota, each child of a tea worker receives just Tk45 a month for their education — an average of Tk1.5 per day. With such meagre support, pursuing education becomes nearly impossible; parents struggle even to buy pens and notebooks.

In recent years, tea workers' interest in their children's education has grown, but the lack of a proper learning environment and financial hardship prevent most from sending their children to school. They demand that the daily allocation for education under the owners' welfare quota be increased, saying the current Tk 1.5 a day is barely enough for basic school supplies.

Sumona, a 13-year-old girl working alongside her mother in a tea garden in Sreemangal, is one of many such cases. Her mother said, "The money they give for schooling isn't enough to buy even pens or notebooks. We can't afford admission or exam fees either. Of course, we want our children to study, but we simply can't afford it. So I had no choice but to bring her here (to the garden). With her help, my daily earnings are a bit better now — she can pick 25 to 30 kilos of leaves."

Regarding the monthly allowance, Shibli said, "Things related to the tea estates are often portrayed negatively. That amount is actually a stipend, and there are also scholarships provided through the schools. When someone goes to high school, there's an agreement between the labour union and the estate owners. Besides, tea workers earn about Tk500 a day, and a three-member family receives around 42 kilograms of rice in rations each month. These positive aspects never get mentioned anywhere."

According to the Bangladesh Tea Workers' Union, the rate of primary school attendance among tea workers' children varies between 35% and 59% depending on the garden. Around 40% manage to move on to secondary level, while about 21% reach higher secondary. The statistics also reveal that the number of female students is 15–18% lower than that of male students. 

The same old story

The tea garden owners and authorities have historically exercised absolute control over workers, determining wages, living conditions, access to resources, and even the future prospects of children. By restricting education, tea garden authorities ensure that successive generations remain dependent and easily exploitable.

Yet, the story is not only one of deprivation. Some children and families attempt to break this vicious cycle, but most of them embrace defeat in the face of hardships. 

The question remains — how many more Itis are waiting in the shadows of these tea gardens — unseen and unheard?