Kid Marriage: Creeping through the pandemic

85 young lady understudies out of 345 of Baravita Girls High School in Kurigram's Phulbari upazila have been offered during the conclusion of the school in the midst of the pandemic. 

Matured somewhere in the range of 12 and 16, they were understudies of classes VI to X and SSC examinees last year, said Headmaster Matiur Rahman Khandaker. 

Of the 85 youngster marriage casualties, two were in class VI, 10 in class VII, 17 in class VIII, 29 in class IX, 14 in class X and 13 SSC examinees. 

After the returning of the school on September 12, the participation of understudies came down to around 40 to 45 percent. Prior to the conclusion in March last year, the participation was 80 to 90 percent, said Matiur. 

"We were unable to gather data about the understudies as the school was shut. Meanwhile, their families wedded them off. We are attempting to take them back to the school." 

The dean said they have educated the upazila optional instruction official with regards to the episode. 

Sujit Chandra Roy, an associate instructor at the school, said the youngster relationships occurred between November last year and July this year. The understudies' relatives took them somewhere else and organized their relationships. 

"The gatekeepers would prefer not to give us any data about the name of the marriage registers and where the relationships occurred," he disclosed to The Daily Star. 

Phulbari Upazila Secondary Education Officer Abdul Hai said he got a letter from the school experts on the kid relationships. He said they were working to gather data from each of the 73 instructive foundations, including schools, universities and madrasas, in the upazila about their understudies. 

"Instructors have been told to bring issues to light with regards to kid marriage by trading sees with guardians," he added. 

Nasima Khatun, an eighth grader at Baravita Girls High School, said her folks had intended to wed her off last year, yet she went against it. She said she came to think about the relationships of her schoolmates solely after getting back to the school. 

Meher Ali, 48, gatekeeper of an understudy from Baravita town, said he offered his 10th grader girl as he had a "great engagement proposition" for her. 

"The more a young lady is taught, the more share it takes. That is the reason individuals from towns offer their underage little girls," he said. 

Phulbari Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sumon Das said he caught wind of the youngster relationships of 85 understudies of Baravita Girls High School. 

"Kid marriage has now turned into an infection in our general public," he said. 

The UNO said they have begun chipping away at how to forestall youngster marriage. Moreover, work is in progress to take truant understudies back to instructive foundations, he added.