What an average boarding school looks like in Dhaka
The Matrichhaya boarding school promises to raise ‘disciplined’ children, and despite its numerous shortcomings in terms of how children and kept and taught, many helpless parents are still drawn to it
If you think Welton Academy from 'Dead Poets Society' or New Era High School from 'Taare Zameen Par' are what all boarding schools look like, be prepared to be disappointed.
Nonetheless, for Maya, a resident of Narayanganj and mother of a 17-year-old boy, one unimpressive looking boarding school in Dhaka - Matrichhaya - was a blessing; despite its closed environment and unhygienic interiors.
When her husband migrated to Malaysia, it became difficult for her to raise their son alone. "I couldn't control Rafi anymore. This is the age when a boy needs his father. He was getting influenced by the bad boys," she said. So she decided to put him in a boarding school in the capital.
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In 2021, Maya tried out three boarding schools, including Shahid Cadet Boarding School. She finally settled on Matrichhaya for Rafi, a school claiming to specialise in handling 'inattentive students'.
"The other schools were badly mismanaged; my son was forced to smoke one night by one of his roommates. So, I brought him here," Maya said.
The day I met her at the Matrichhaya school office, she was waiting with two bags full of food for her son. "Lunch hour will start at 2pm. Wait till then," Abdur Rahman, the accounts staff told her.
"Travelling from Narayanganj to Rampura is tough. Still, I visit every other week with food that he likes. They don't let me meet him though. I watch him on CCTV monitors," said the mother.
Still, she feels this is a good place for her son. "Two of my cousins also studied here. They were out of control when my aunt brought them. Now those two brothers of mine are happily settled with jobs. I want the same for my son too," she said.
According to Abdur Rahman, Matrichhya was established in 1990 in Moghbazar. During the pandemic in 2020, the school shifted to Aftabnagar in Rampura, calling it their 'own campus'. Until 1999, it was a school for both resident and non-resident students. In 1999, the founder Abdus Samad decided to turn it into a fully residential school.
"If residential and non-residential students study together, it makes it difficult for the boarding students to concentrate. Moreover, we observed that while non-boarding students were being disciplined for three to five hours of school every day, we could not monitor them for the remaining 17 to 20 hours. So, the non-residential section was closed and we established it as a full time residential school," Abdus Samad said.
Currently, Matrichhya has 120 students and doesn't take in more than 10 to 15 students in each class, Abdur Rahman said. Although the school is for students from grade one to 12, in reality, most of the boys are in grades seven to nine.
A five-storey corner building
As I was ushered upstairs, I got a sense of what disciplining meant. On every floor, there was a collapsible gate that needed to be unlocked. Children stay, eat and study in this building. There is no separate dining area for them. At 1pm, when they are done with school, they go to their rooms, freshen up and return to the second floor to the same classrooms, where they have their lunch on the benches.
Although Matrichaya advertises that they teach using animation, the rooms had nothing but a few benches. The school authorities claim they teach students in accordance with the government's curriculum. Children appear for the SSC exam as students of another school.
"Our students appear for SSC exams from Khilgaon Government School and the pass rate is 100%", Abdur Rahman claimed.
On their website, Matrichhaya mentioned they have a library of 500 books. In reality, there were three wooden almirahs in the office room, one with a broken door. Two of those almirahs had files and folders, while the other one had hundreds of copies of only one book.
Besides, I couldn't find any computer lab or science lab anywhere, as they claimed to have.
One of the classrooms had a cooking corner and a dirty sink with sticky floors and walls. "During the pandemic, we had rented this flat to some bachelors. That's when we built that corner," Abdur Rahman said as an explanation.
Abdus Samad claimed that in the afternoon, children are taken outside to play, but only if they behave well.
"They have to pray five times a day and study for at least 12 hours. We allow the parents to take them home for a day or two, only if they promise to bring him back. We suggest they not visit them often, otherwise it gets tough for them to adjust here," he said.
Maya shared an instance when her son didn't want to return to school, once she brought him home. "I couldn't force him either. So, the school called me and they came to take him back. Rafi doesn't like to stay there, but I tell him it's for his own good."
How 'inattentive or disobedient' students are disciplined
A typical day starts with 120 students waking up at 5am. The guard teacher makes sure that everyone is prepared for Fazr prayers. After prayers, they make their beds, clean the rooms, shower, have breakfast and partake in Quran lessons.
At around 10am, school begins, which runs for three hours, till 1pm. After that, the students go upstairs to freshen up and finish Zuhr prayers. Then they come down again to their classrooms for lunch.
At 2:30pm, they have to start coaching classes in the same rooms. "If anyone is unable to finish their lessons, he has to stay there until he learns it," Abdur Rahman said.
"After Asr prayers and afternoon snacks, the 'good boys' are allowed to get out of the building for a while, to walk with a teacher, while the rest remain inside until they learn to behave and get into a discipline," he continued.
In the evening, after Maghrib prayers, they return to the classrooms and sit for a three-hour long study session.
After that, they are called for the Isha prayers and dinner. All of them must get to bed at 10pm to get up at 5am the next day.
During the day, if anyone breaks the rules or utters any slang, which is common here, he is kept in detention in the office room. "Once in a while some of us were also beaten, but it wasn't a big deal," said one of the former students.
Dirty beds on stained floors
The floors were covered by a dirty, blue plastic sheet. They were sticky too. The once mint green walls had gray oil patches on them. The children slept on old hospital beds that had faded beyond recognition. Every floor has three to four bedrooms, with 15 to 18 children in each of them. There are two bathrooms for every 15 children. The school said "we teach cleanliness to the children", but that's not what the bedrooms said.
"We cannot afford beef. Chicken is served once a week, that too, not regularly. Fish is a common item here", said Abdur Rahman. But they didn't let me talk to the children.
Each floor has a guide teacher to monitor the students; it is the same teacher that teaches them during school hours.
What about the library, the labs, the playground and the cleanliness that they promised? Are they monitored by any authority?
We contacted the Gulshan thana education office, as Matrichhaya falls under their jurisdiction. The Thana Education Officer Sadeya Afruze Khan said that no government authority monitors the school because "we only inspect the government schools and institutions. If they need anything, they can contact the nearest government school."
Do they have any registration number? Yes, they are registered under Dhaka Board, their EIIN is 130880. With that, they can apply for NCTB books through the nearby government school, she said.
Why parents choose boarding schools
Before Abdur Rahman and another teacher took me to the classrooms on the second floor, and the hostel rooms on the third, fourth and fifth floors - I had a discussion with the principal, Abdus Samad.
In hennaed beard, Abdus Samad sat in front of me for two hours, explaining how the "Almighty" had made him establish this school.
"Raising a child is harder than building a city in the middle of a desert. Children need proper guidance, continuous monitoring and a disciplined environment, until they grow up to be responsible human beings. And parents who cannot afford to ensure this, generally send their children to boarding schools", he opined.
Samad advised the parents they shouldn't send their kids to a boarding school if they are capable of teaching them and taking care of them. If they can't, "don't let the children run on their own, they can turn into anything," he said with a warning note in his voice.
"Residential schooling is not a foreign concept here in the Indian subcontinent. Ancient India had Vedic Gurukula, a type of education system with shishya ('students' or 'disciples') living near or with the guru or the educator, in the same house, for a period of time, where they learn and get educated by their guru. In fact, Hindu Lord Rama was also sent to the Ashram or Gurukula of Maharshi Vashisht, one of the most prominent sages of ancient India."
"And even the Madrassas. Students reside under the Lillah Boarding System (a mode of voluntary charity given in the name of Allah. Lillah isn't typically given to a person, but rather to an institution such as a mosque, hospital, or an orphanage) where food and education is free. Children from poor Muslim families are sent there to study and get free food," he said.
The admission fee at Matrichhaya from class one to four is Tk20,000 and the session charge is Tk20,000. Monthly fee is Tk14,000, which includes a residence fee of Tk3,500, food cost of Tk4,500 and an education fee of Tk6,000.
Other annual fees include an examination fee of Tk1,500 and an additional Tk1,500 for the month of Ramadan. There is also a monthly cost of Tk500 for reading Arabic and Tk400 for washing machine service.
If you calculate, a student of class three has to pay Tk1,88,000 annually.
"What we charge is absolutely reasonable; not much at all, if you consider other schools. We don't have any other source of income or subsidy. You might not get scientists from us, but one thing that I can promise is they will not turn into drug addicts," Abdus Samad concluded.
