Padma Parer Pathshala spreads light of education

For decades the Padma River erosion in Harirampur upazila of Manikganj left peasants landless and poor, resulting in many kids of the area being deprived of education. Eager to help, an honours student opened a free primary school in Andharmanik village for the underprivileged children.

Mir Nadim Hossain, a student of Political Science at Govt. Debendra College in Manikganj, pioneered “Padma Parer Pathshala” (Padma Riverside School), and is running it for the past five months. Occasionally he takes help of his friends.

The school activities are held in two shifts in a rented shack. Currently 54 students are being taught every day. Mir Nadim and some of his friends bear the expenses for the school, which includes distribution of books, pencils, pens, and exercise books to pupils free of charge.

Shujoy, an eight-year-old child is a student of the school. His family lost their home, and farm land to river erosion around five years ago. Like him Ajmat, Meem, and Nishi are some of the enthusiastic students of the school whose hopes of getting formal education is somewhat bleak due to poverty, landlessness, and in some cases unwillingness of their parents .

About seven students of the local primary schools also attend the free classes at Padma Parer Pathshala. Exams are held each month to test the merit of students. Nadim hopes that regular exams will help the poor but meritorious pupils  to receive support for further education from the government, and affluent people.  

In 30 years, most villages in 13 unions of Hariram upazila have gone under the mighty Padma. Thousands of families have lost their homes, and land. Some of the landless are living either beside the roads or on lands that belong to others. 

When Nadim was asked about what motivated him to do something for the kids, he said: "From a young age I could observe the sufferings of the people, and also my relatives when river erosion took their property, and turned the rich into landless. Since then, I thought that I needed to do something to help the people in need."

Nadim's father is a fourth grade employee, who has to maintain a family of four, yet Nadim manages to do something good from his own pocket with the earnings from his tuition. He sometimes goes around villages to convince parents, and gather more students for his school.

Nadim says that if the government, and private institutions support his school, students can learn in a better environment. Recently two local businessman financed five pair of benches for the school. 

Harirampur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Illias Mehdi said: "The Padma Parer Pathshala has already gained reputation, and earned the trust of the local people." He added upazila administration will do its best to come to the aid of Nadim's school, and recently a list of students attending the school was handed over to him.

Manikganj Deputy Commissioner SM Ferdous praised Nadim's initiative, and said the school will be supported according to its needs.