STUDYING IN KARAIL

Every morning, crowds of children in school uniforms are seen walking through the maze of alleys at the Karail slum. Their chatter and laughs make the alleyways a lively place for some time. These children attend schools especially built for slum dwelling children by BRAC- the world's largest NGO that has established numerous primary schools across the country for the underprivileged, for whom even primary education is a luxury.
Like all BRAC primary schools, the one in Karail slum is a single-room hut. However, its speciality is its walls and ceilings which are colourfully decorated with paintings and paper flowers made by its little occupants that show how these children adore their school. The young learners love to welcome any visitor to their school with smiling faces. 

Their teacher, Shushmita Hussain, is a young woman in her 20s. "The school is absolutely free of cost and BRAC provides us with all kinds of learning materials. The children learn difficult textbook lessons through fun games and group activities," she says.
A very special feature of the school is the ratio of male and female students. Shafiqul Islam, branch manager of BRAC Education Programme says, "We ensure that 60 percent students of our school are female and 40 percent are male. Most of our students had previously dropped out from different schools before they were admitted here," he continues, "Our one-teacher school is run by the same teacher for the entire period of four years and teaches all subjects. Our students have been performing very well in the PSC exams."

After completing a lesson, Shushmita tells the students to divide themselves into small groups. Within moments, all the thirty students form six groups and start discussions on their lesson. Every group has a unique name. Sanjida Akhter from Shapla group says, "Besides group study, we also sing, play music and draw pictures during group activities." 
BRAC schools put emphasis on co-curricular activities. The students usually conclude their class with a song or dance. Besides singing and dancing, the school introduces an ingenious activity called 'Aflatoon corner'. "Aflatoon means the finder," Salahuddin, a student of the school says about the activity, "In this activity, we are taught to reuse old materials to create new useful things. I have collected some pieces of cloth and have made a bag all by myself."
Over the past 26 years, BRAC has set a new standard for primary education through its schools and innovative system. It has been creating a generation that is creative, conscious of equal rights and enthusiastic learners.