Khulna schools see thin presence

Although most schools in Khulna city and nine other upazilas are open, attendance across these institutions has only been 30 to 35 percent so far.

Samridhi Swasty, a seventh-grader at Khulna Government Girls' High School, said, "I want to return to school but my parents are reluctant to send me. Staying at home has been so boring as I haven't been allowed to go out in fear of violence."

"Yesterday, one of my teachers informed me that only 11 out of 67 students were present in the class and also advised me to stay home for a few more days," she added.

Samridhi's mother, Doly Kundu said in this situation, security is more important than school.

"I do not want to send my only daughter outside," Doly said.

Swagato Mondal, a Class VI student at Rangpur Kalibati Secondary School in Dumuria upazila, is facing a similar situation.

Even after schools reopened, his father Swapan Kumar Mondal did not send him back to school.

Like Samridhi and Swagato, hundreds of other students are staying at home, in fear of unrest or attacks in their localities.

Harichand Biswas, headteacher of Rangpur Kalibati Secondary School, said around 12 out of 38 students from the tenth-grade were present on Monday. Overall, 65 out of 212 students were present while the number was 51 on Sunday.

Most classrooms in the Metro Police Line School were vacant. Only 16 students from Class X were present.

Sk Jashim Uddin, assistant headteacher at Shahid Titumir High School in Khulna city, said only 56 out of 148 primary level students were present on Monday. The high school, which has 403 students, saw a 31 percent attendance. The number was 20 percent the previous day.

"Many students of Class IX and X were engaged in traffic control and other social activities. We requested them to attend classes, but they did not respond," added the teacher.

According to the District Primary Office (DPO), there are 1,159 primary schools in entire Khulna district, of which 126 are situated in Khulna city.

Assistant District Primary Officer Jamal Hossain said all schools are open now and attendance of students is improving day by day.  Khandakar Ruhul Amin, deputy director of secondary education in Khulna division, said all the schools, including 110 schools in Khulna city, are now open.