Volume 2 Issue 61 | July 4, 2009 |



  
Inside

   Cover Story
   Learner's Club
   Story
   She
   Learner's Club
   Journey through    Bangladesh
   Behind the Scene
   Guru Griho

   Star Insight     Home

Guru Griho

From Moulvibazar


Antehori

Rajat Kanti Goswami


THE newly established Antehori High School is located on the village of Antehori under Rajnagar upazila in Moulvibazar district. Children of the village have started to dream of their future now that this school is here. After completion of their primary education, they will be able to continue their studies here. The tin-roofed, bamboo-fenced school building has opened up a lot of possibility for them.

Locals say that the village is in a very backward area. Modern educational and communication facilities never reached this village, which is located in the western bank of the Kawadighi Haor of Fatehpur Union under Rajnagar upazila. About 10 thousand people are living within two-kilometers of Antehori village. The number of voters here is more than two thousand. A small part of the village is under Akhailkura Union of Moulvibazar Sadar upazila and has the name Kadipur. This Hindu-majority village is mostly dependent on agriculture and fishing. Despite repeated promises from politicians, not even a paved road has been built that would have made it easy to go to the upazila headquarters.

However, there are now four government primary schools in the area, but there is still no high school within seven kilometers of the village. So a very small percentage of children have the opportunity to attend high school. In this situation, most of the children of the village conclude their academic lives after primary school.

Now these children have a high school of their own. Nakul Chandra Das, President of the newly established Antehori Model High School is also a social worker of Moulvibazar. He said initiative had been taken to establish a high school in the village a few years ago and they were discussing this issue with local people. In this situation they had decided to start academic classes from class VI in the house of a local, Arun Chowdhury. Classes started in January 2008. Students of the village who completed primary education from local primary schools got admission in this class. Ranendra Bijoy Das, a retired teacher of the village, came forward to teach these students. In the meantime the locals started putting up a school building. Gonopoti Das, Raikunja Das, Monindra Das, Kamalesh Das, Dhirendra Das and Avijit Das of Antehori donated land. Some other people have promised to donate more land for the school. Within a year, a two-room school-building of tin-roofed bamboo fence had been constructed. From March 2009, academic activities of the school commenced with classes VI and VII being taught at this schoolhouse. The number of students in these two classes is 100. Two teachers including the headmaster have been appointed.

Bantu Chakraverty, a resident of the village, said the school is a lighthouse to the people of the haor bank village. Once it was just a dream to the people. “Now our children can learn more after primary education,” he said. Local UP Chairman Zami Ahmed said he would give cooperation to the school of Antehori.

All the credit for the establishment of the school goes to the people of Antehori village, who never waited for the government to take initiative.


Copyright (R) thedailystar.net 2009