Education hit the hardest as floods worsen in Sylhet, northern districts

Educational institutions are bearing the brunt of the recent flooding in north-eastern and northern districts of the country caused by heavy rain and hilly waters from upstream of India.

Hundreds of schools have been closed due to flooding, disrupting academic activities in Sylhet, Kurigram, and Gaibandha districts. Thousands of people remain marooned as the flood situation worsens daily due to the swelling of rivers.

In Sylhet, academic activities stopped at about 500 educational institutions of mostly primary and secondary levels as the third wave of flooding hit the district this year, reports UNB.

Moreover, the unprecedented flooding caused damage to roads, agriculture, and fisheries.

Some school buildings have been submerged while others are used as shelter centres. As a result, classes have been suspended since the Eid holidays.

Secondary schools nationwide started classes on 26 June instead of 2 July to bridge the learning gap. However, many secondary schools in Sylhet have not resumed classes post-Eid. The same situation exists in primary schools.

Although primary schools were supposed to reopen on 3 July after the Eid holidays, this has not been possible due to the flooding in Sylhet.

According to sources, 398 primary schools and 78 secondary schools in the district are currently closed due to flooding. Several colleges are also closed.

The District Primary Education Office said out of 1,477 primary schools in the district, 398 are currently closed.

District Primary Education Officer Sakhawat Ershed said that 167 of these 398 primary schools are being used as shelters and the rest are submerged.

District Education Officer Abu Sayeed Md Abdul Wadud said, "Due to the flooding, 78 secondary schools in the district have halted classes. The most affected areas are Osmaninagar, Balaganj and Fenchuganj upazilas, where the Kushiyara basin's floodwaters have not receded."

He also said that the longtime suspension of classes is causing severe harm to students' education. Once the water recedes, efforts will be made to compensate for the lost time through additional classes.

In Kurigram, academic activities at 37 government primary schools in six out of nine upazilas of the district have been suspended due to the floods, reports UNB.

Moreover, over sixty thousand people have been marooned, and 2,300 hectares of croplands have been damaged as the rivers are swelling, worsening the situation in the district.

As the water continues to rise, new areas are being flooded daily. Ferry movement between Chilmari and Rowmari upazilas has also remained suspended due to flooding.

On Thursday morning, the Water Development Board reported that the Brahmaputra River's water level has risen by 78cm above the danger level at the Chilmari point, 72cm at the Nunkhawa point, and 80cm at the Hatia point.

However, the water levels of the Teesta River at Kaunia Point, the Dudhkumar River at Pateshwari Point, and the Dharla River at Shimulbari Point are flowing below the danger level.

Matiur Rahman, a resident of Porar Char in Jatrapur union of the Sadar upazila, said, "Every house in our char is submerged. Some people are using boats, while others have built platforms to stay on higher ground. Every family here is suffering greatly."

In Gaibandha, as many as 80 schools located in four upazilas have been closed due to the flood in the region, reports BSS.

Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) office sources said the Brahmaputra River was flowing 87 cm over the danger level at Fulchharighat point of the district at 9am on Friday.

As a result, the chars located on the eastern side of the mighty river and the river basins on the western side under four upazilas—Sundarganj, Sadar, Fulchhari, and Saghata—have been flooded.

Most of the closed schools in the upazilas are under waist-deep water. Of them, 70 are primary schools, and the rest are secondary schools.

District Education Officer Rokshana Begum and District Primary Education Officer Md Shahidul Islam said they fear the number of closed schools might increase because the district administration has prepared 181 schools as permanent and temporary flood shelter centres.