Aiming to improve children’s performance, a school in Chapainawabganj has been encouraging mothers to attend classes with their children.

Teachers of Shankarbati Polladanga Government Primary School said that the method is working.

The mothers sit with their children in the classrooms once a week for about an hour to help kids with difficult tasks. 

There are eight teachers in the school against 333 students.

After several third graders performed poorly in the quarterly exams last year, the teachers held a meeting to find ways to improve the children’s grades.

They came up with the idea of having mothers in the classroom as an experiment, said Head Teacher Monowara Khatun.

They also hold class tests on Thursdays, and give the results to the mothers on Saturdays. With the help of a teacher, the mothers then help the children solve the tasks that appeared on Thursday’s exam. 

Those students performed better in the final exams last year, added the head teacher.

The focus is mainly on maths, Bangla and English, Monowara said.

There are 74 students in grade III. Of them, 26 are weak in different subjects. Thanks to the mother-teacher coordination, they will eventually do better in the final exams, the teachers believe.

Rahid Ali’s mother, Rima Begum who has been attending classes with her son, said the boy has better concentration now.

Rini Begum, another mother from Poladanga area, said her son’s absenteeism has been reduced recently.

Head Teacher Monowara said most of the students are from poor families and the mothers do not have much education. “But their presence and engagement help a lot.”

Tasemuddin, assistant upazila education officer, said, “We are proud of this school for taking this step. It has been possible because of the inventiveness of teachers.”