A recent study revealed that children in riverine areas were disproportionately unable to attend school due to natural disasters.
Professor emeritus of BRAC University Ainun Nishat presented the findings of the research at a views-exchange event, organised by the Campaign for Popular Education and NETZ Bangladesh in Dhaka on Monday.
The study assessed disaster preparedness in 114 primary schools and surrounding communities located near the Jamuna and Padma rivers in Gaibandha, Rangpur, Nilphamari and Kushtia鈥攔egions prone to annual flooding from October 2023 to July 2024.
It found that natural disasters prevented 29,313 children in Gaibandha, 16,042 in Rangpur, 8,317 in Nilphamari, and 1,611 in Kushtia from attending school.
Key recommendations from the study included increasing disaster awareness among students and communities, improving school infrastructure, and implementing comprehensive relief efforts to mitigate the impacts of natural calamities on education.
At the event, CAMPE executive director Rasheda K Chowdhury stressed the importance of increasing government stipends for primary and secondary schoolchildren to combat dropout rates caused by disasters.
Addressing the event as the chief guest, fisheries and livestock adviser Farida Akhter urged greater collaboration between ministries in addressing climate change impacts and advocated for including relevant ministries in the United Nations climate change conference for better knowledge sharing.
Professor emeritus Manzoor Ahmed of BRAC University emphasised the need for area-specific plans involving both governmental and non-governmental organisations to address climate challenges.
Other speakers, including Sharif Jamil, member secretary of Dhoritri Rokkhay Amra, and Md Syedur Rahman, director for training at the directorate of secondary and higher education, echoed calls for coordinated efforts to protect education and communities from climate change impacts. 聽