Bangladesh Shishu Academy is one of the prominent institutions of our country that offers cultural and educational activities for children. At the moment, there are more than 25,000 children enrolled in different courses at 70 Shishu Academy branches around the country.
Bangladesh Shishu Academy was established in 1976 as an autonomous body to promote our cultural heritage and nurture the talents of our children. The head office of the national academy for children is located at Doyel Chattar in the capital’s Shahbagh area.
This week, Y&I visited the Academy’s main branch in Dhaka to find out about its facilities, activities, future plans and how it is helping children to become more culturally enriched.
Rodela Akter, 11, is a student of class 6. She was at the Academy recently to perform in an event celebrating the 130th birth anniversary of Sukumar Ray, the famous children’s writer. “I have come here with my mother. She is the one who admitted me here. I go to Viqarunnisa Noon School and College and I love coming to Shishu Academy,” Rodela told this reporter.
Rodela’s mother, Munira Arzo, added: “My daughter had a speech disorder, so I enrolled her in the recitation course. She has been coming here for the last couple of years and she has overcome her problem a lot. We live in Shantinagar, and sometimes the traffic jam bothers us a bit, but when we come here we feel relaxed and forget all about it.”
Eliza Haider was also there with her daughter, Joan, to attend Sukumar Ray’s birth anniversary programme. “My daughter has been coming here for the last six years. We come from a family that always encourages us to take part in cultural activities. Over the years, the condition of Shishu Academy has improved. We have no complaints, the children are happy. Every child has the same rights here,” she said.
Mahema Rahman, 14, a student of class 9 at Bangla Bazar Government Girls High School, has been a member of Shishu Academy for eight years. “I have completed courses on recitation and music, and currently, I am taking guitar lessons. Since 2009, I am associated with this institution. My mother was the one who first brought me here and I just fell in love with the place. I completed the recitation course, and now I work as a presenter in many shows of the Academy. Many of my school friends and younger cousins have taken admission here after seeing my achievements. I have not visited any other branches of Shishu Academy, except this main branch, but our fellow members from other districts often come here to attend different events. Of course, many of them find the main branch more beautiful and better organized, compared to their local branch.”
The Academy has a well equipped, modern library. “We have nearly 35,000 books in our library. We have books both in Bangla and English in our collection,” Razina Akhter, head of the library, told Y&I. “The goal of Bangladesh Shishu Academy is to develop children culturally and mentally, and to bring out their talents. That is the main reason this institution was created.”
“According to official definition, those aged 0 to 18 are considered as children. But for practical reasons, we admit children from the age of four. We collect books from our publication department; we also send books to 64 branches around the country. We keep a collection of all kind of books, but we make sure all of them are appropriate for children. Any child aged 4-18 can become a member of our library; they only have to pay a one-time fee of Taka 100. There is an interesting thing about this fee. After completing different courses or after the student turns 18, they can get back the Tk 100 if they can show their library card! At present, we have 4,000 members who come to our library on a regular basis,” said Akhter.
“Every week, students can borrow two books. Though there is a rule to fine anyone if they do not return a book on time, children are normally not fined. At the moment, we are working on making our library a digital one. We are developing two software programs that will allow anyone to read all our books. Of course, making digital copies of 35,000 books can be challenging. We hope that within the next six months, readers around the world will be able to read our books online. I have been working here for the past 20 years. It might come as news to some, but over the years children’s interest in Shishu Academy has only grown. It’s the parents that I am more concerned about. For example, children come here from all over the city and they need someone to supervise them on the way, but many parents are not willing to do that,” she said.
“After the Ekushey Book Fair (in February) every year, we organise the National Children’s Book Fair. Children from different parts of the country visit the fair. I have seen children who come to attend the fair and perform in our programmes waiting all day, with their makeup or costumes on, so they can buy the books they want. But some parents today would spend Tk 500 on fast food, rather than buy their children Tk 300 worth of books. I have found that children in the city show less interest in the activities we organize, while children in other parts of the country are more motivated. I believe students should spend more time in the library and on extracurricular activities; many of our students who did that have made it big in life,” Akhter added
Nasreen Akhtar, administrative officer, Bangladesh Shishu Academy, informed this reporter: “Bangladesh Shishu Academy started its journey on November 5, 1976. We offer classes in 11 subjects, including dance, music, drawing, recitation, dramatics, handwriting, spoken English, chess, etc. Since 1990, Bangladesh Shishu Academy is being supervised by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, before that it was under the Department of Social Services.”
“Our students’ uniform is red and green which reflects our national flag. We organise classes on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. A student has to spend Tk 2,170 per year. We regularly organise 34 to 35 events annually. Among those, two of the most prestigious events are the National Children Award Competition and Seasonal Competition. We do not have any sports classes, but our director has plans to introduce a karate course very soon. Our academic year is from July to June,” Akhtar added.
The Shishu Academy in Dhaka has a 3D auditorium that can accommodate 530 students. During different national holidays, various kinds of children’s films are screened there. For example, a weeklong film festival is arranged during National Child Rights Week, so children can watch movies that highlight their rights, our culture and be entertained at the same time. Besides organising various programmes, the Academy also rents out the auditorium to other organisations that work with children. One has to pay Tk 25,000 to book the auditorium for the whole day.
The Academy also has a museum, named Sheikh Russel Children’s Museum, on its premises in Dhaka. The museum is open daily from 10 AM to 5 AM.
“We have three hall rooms. On the ground floor, different photographs of Sheikh Russel, the youngest son of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, are on display. A gallery on ‘Bangladesh through the ages’ is on the second floor. There, visitors can see three-dimensional artworks, or dioramas, that portray the social, cultural and economic history of Bengal, from prehistoric times to the emergence of Bangladesh. The first and second floors have been renovated, but there is still some work left to be done, according to the experts who are working with the artifacts. Both those halls are open to the public now. Students, parents, and visitors who come to attend our programmes visit our museum as well. Our museum website is under construction,” Farzana Akhter, head of the museum, said.
“We contact different countries and ask them to give us some cultural items that represent their respective countries. So far, 23 countries have responded to our call. We have put them on display on the third floor,” Akhter added.
The Academy has a publication department. “Every year, we publish around 20 books. We receive many manuscripts, but we have reviewers and a committee that decide which books to publish. Some well-known writers and eminent personalities from the cultural arena are on the committee. Five thousand copies of each book are printed and those are distributed for sale in all the 70 branches of the Academy across the country. The authors of the books receive 15 percent royalty once the books are published,” said Sujan Bikash Barua, programme officer, Publication Department.
Kamal Hossain is a children’s author who is also working as a programme officer in the Publication Department: “We bring out a monthly youth magazine, called Shishu. For the past 40 years, it has been published regularly. In the magazine, there are poems, rhymes and short stories for children. Mostly famous poets and writers contribute to the magazine, but we encourage everyone to write. Anyone can send us their writings. We will even publish writings by a five-year-old, if it is good, as we to motivate our children. Every writer receives a payment and one can send us their work by post or email. Our email address is [email protected].”
M Abdul Alam, district child affairs officer, Shishu Academy, Khulna, said children aged 4-5 can take admission in their branch and classes are held five days a week. “We try to teach students different educational things through entertainment. We provide three types of books to students who are 5 to 6 years old. I have been working in the Academy for 25 years, and to be honest, many things still need to be developed. For example, we have only four rooms and that’s why we cannot accommodate more than 120 students. At the moment, there are 112 students in our branch. We sell books we get from the main branch, many business houses and general people buy books from us. We also receive books for our children and the library. We have one bigha (0.33 acre) of land and we need to increase the number of rooms. We have sent a proposal to the main office to build a larger building here,” Alam said over telephone.
When asked about what kind of funding the Academy receives, Tanzir Liton, director of the institution, told Y&I: “It is better to promote Bangladesh Shishu Academy, rather than asking about the funds it receives.”
Photos: Mahmud Zaman, Courtesy