Education Day: A Schoolgirl in Bangladesh Reads Her Way to Success

Illuminated by the winter sun streaming through her bedroom window, 13-year-old Fatema reads through the half-dozen books spread across her desk. In Bangladesh, Fatema is one of the 42 million children who have been out of school for almost 12 months. Spurred by the pandemic, inequality between students threatens to grow deeper and wider in 2021. The lack of technology at home and limited connection to the internet, together with economic instability, puts girls, rural students and socio-economically disadvantaged children at risk of being left behind. “I have been studying on my own at home [during the pandemic] and my sister helps me with my studies,” says Fatema. “I like studying on my own because nobody disturbs me, but I will feel very good when the schools reopen.” Fatema has always been self-motivated. Last year, before schools closed, she was ‘book captain’ at her school in Cox’s Bazar. As part of a literacy program with the U.S.-based not-for-profit Room to Read, supported by Washington and the Government of Bangladesh, over 40,000 students across 146 primary schools in the district receive a reading curriculum and storybooks.  Complete Article HERE