"Our school is closed. Apa (female teacher) asked us not to go to school", he said.

Like him, Belal, Delwar, Babu and Shefali were lazing around. Their school is locked, they said.

Neither they nor their fathers knew when the school will reopen.

They are among 4,500 children deprived of education in the district following closure of 61 satellite schools in remote villages on orders from the Primary and Mass Education Directorate last year allegedly due to fund crisis.

Nine year-old Kuddus was a student of Chapra Beradanga Jolipara Satellite School. He now grazes goat instead of going to school.

The Apa advised him to go to a government primary school. But this is far away from home, he said.

The schools were set up under a project of the Primary Education Directorate in 1998. Students were given free books and 1500 of them were given 'Upa Britti' (stipend) to encourage primary education. All the facilities have been stopped.

The primary schools were set up in remote villages where poor students could not go to government primary schools far away from home.

Twenty-three such satellite schools were set up in Jaldhaka upazila, 14 in Syedpur, eight in Kishoreganj, nine in Domar, four in Dimla and nine in the Sadar upazila.

A total of 109 female teachers were appointed and 80 students were enrolled in each school. Each teacher was given Tk 500 honorarium per month. Many of them were trained at the Nilphamari Teachers Training Institute.

Despite a good success in spreading primary education, the satellite schools have been closed.

Some of the poor parents of the children this correspondent talked to at Jolipara village said the satellite schools were close to their houses and female teachers kept an eye to ensure regular attendance of students.

Their children do not like to go to government primary schools as those are far away. They also do not press the children to walk long distances as it is not safe, they said.

A former teacher said the satellite schools provided a good chance to children of poor families for primary education. She regretted closure of the schools.

District Primary Education Officer Abdus Sattar Sarkar when contacted said the satellite schools have been closed on order from higher authorities.

He declined to elaborate and could not say when the satellite schools will be reopened.

But other sources at the district primary education office said the schools have been closed due to fund crisis.

He informed that around 40 per cent of students of satellite schools had been given 'Upa Britti".

He admitted that closure of the satellite schools has dented primary education.

"Teachers of government primary schools now visit houses, talk to guardians and have even formed 'guardians committees' to motivate them send their children to government school.

"But all these failed to bring children to far away government primary schools" he said.

Some officials and civil society leaders while talking to this correspondent said closure of the satellite schools has made government's policy of 'education for all' ineffective.