Natural disasters like cyclone and flood are severely hindering children’s education in Bangladesh, affecting classes in around 5,000 schools every year and severely damaging 900 schools across the country, according to a recent study, reports BSS. The findings of the study conducted by the Save the Children was cited at a roundtable discussion on Comprehensive School Safety, organised at a city hotel by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief with support from the Unicef.
Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya was the chief guest at the roundtable. Speaking on the issue, the minister stressed establishing disaster resistant school framework and plan-wise management of schools during the disaster so the schooling of the children could not hamper due to flood or cyclone.
Referring to the study, deputy representative of Unicef in Bangladesh Stefano Savi pointed out that around 900 schools suffered severe damage and 5,000 schools had been affected by disasters every year since 1970.
He said 84.0 per cent of schools in disaster prone areas experienced extended closure up to 26 days due to flood and cyclone that also resulted in higher dropout of school children.
He cautioned that the frequency and the extent of the natural disasters in Bangladesh would be further aggravated due to changing climate, which could have huge impact on children’s education. He also referred to the policy framework of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on child-centered disaster risk reduction saying that one of the four pillars of policy framework is comprehensive school safety.