Due to the disaster, 78% of the students in Bangladesh are affected
Students in different parts of Bangladesh are lagging behind in education due to the disaster caused by climate change. A recent UNICEF report says that climate change is affecting the education of 78% of the country’s 15-24-year-old students.
Last month, UNICEF published a study titled ‘Rising to the Challenge Youth Perspective on Climate Change and Education in Bangladesh’. This report was prepared based on a survey conducted on 5 thousand 586 students aged 15 to 24 years in Bangladesh.
Of them, 51 percent were between 15 and 19 years of age and 49 percent were between 20 and 24 years of age. Of the survey, 60 percent participants are rural and 40 percent urban residents.
UNICEF report says many students are struggling with their studies because of climate change. 78% of the respondents reported experiencing negative effects and 23% reported not being able to attend school regularly. In 18% of cases, students are unable to continue their education due to attendance issues and family circumstances.
In addition, various infrastructure facilities of educational institutions collapse, absenteeism of teachers and other problems arise. According to UNICEF, students are dropping out due to these reasons.
A student mentioned that his area experiences frequent floods every year because of climate change. The playgrounds of many local educational institutions were submerged.
At some point various educational institutions, including schools and colleges, also sink. It is still not possible to have classes there. Most of the students become irregular in school and college. Many are forced to stop studying. The poor become homeless.
Climate change is causing increased losses for students in rural areas, according to Rasheda K. Chowdhury, the Executive Director of the Mass Literacy Campaign and a former advisor to the caretaker government. Their books are even floating. In 2007, the academic calendar was created to fit the local situation, but it was never implemented.
In order to prevent students from dropping out, it is important to take additional measures based on the specific situation of each region, in addition to following a calendar. And the local situation should be taken into account in determining the policy.
According to the survey, 70 percent of the country’s teenagers are concerned about climate change. Of which 45 percent reported very high levels of anxiety. They expressed concern about their future.
Like many youngsters, Roshan Jadid Rafi, a recent high school student, expresses concern about climate change. At the same time, the issue of health damage is also worrying.
In June last year, the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS) of the Ministry of Education said that in 2019, natural disasters destroyed 492 primary schools, 1,477 junior secondary schools, 13,600 secondary schools, 968 school and colleges, 2,487 colleges and 6,977 madrasas is at a loss.
Due to natural disasters caused by climate change, the rate of irregular attendance in educational institutions is increasing. School attendance is irregular for various reasons.
These include families moving, loss of educational materials, inability to pay school fees, helping parents with housework, decrease in earnings, lack of interest in future studies, insecurity at school, and communication barriers. The presence of teachers is also disrupted in various ways due to natural calamities.
Experts said that education is also causing serious damage to health. According to them, due to climate change, some areas will have more water, some areas will have less water. Agriculture is suffering. Animals are also affected by it. There is food insufficiency.
People are taking refuge in cyclone shelters during disasters. Water-borne diseases are on the rise due to too many people crowded together in small spaces. Various infectious diseases, including skin diseases and diarrhea, are spreading. The sewage system is not being maintained properly.
The government’s Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) consultant reported that students’ mental health is severely affected. Mushtaq Hossain.
Climate change is a significant global issue, according to climate expert Dr Ainun Nishat. He stated that the most significant consequence of climate change is a shortage of food. This crisis is obvious.
Natural disasters are increasing day by day. School children are suffering. Climate change cannot be prevented overnight. But we can set some right by adopting environmentally friendly policies. Appropriate steps should be taken so that school children are not harmed.
Basically, the survey was conducted on 10 speakers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka. A staggering number of 25,826 individuals took part in the event. In August and September last year, they gave information to UNICEF on the use of information and technology.
