Education in Emergency: Exploring the Issues and Options for Continuing Education during Flash Flood in the Haor Regions of Bangladesh
- June 2, 2021
- Posted by: RSIS
- Categories: Education, IJRIAS
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science (IJRIAS) | Volume VI, Issue IV, April 2021|ISSN 2454-6194
Zawad Ibn Farid1*, Sawban Ibn Farid2, Muhammad Awfa Islam3, Tasnim Jerin4
1,3 Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
2Department of International Relations, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
4Department of Coastal Studies & Disaster Management, University of Barishal, Barishal-8254, Bangladesh
Abstract: Bangladesh, being overly surrounded by rivers, is a highly flood-prone country. Geographical location and features make this country prone to Flash Floods in definite areas commonly known as Haor regions. During the monsoon, the community’s children find it immensely difficult to go to schools since the water level rises and connecting roads get inundated. During a Flash Flood, they are denied by the disaster to continue their education at schools, resulting in dropouts, loss of academic years, and even social problems like early marriage. Vulnerable conditions rooted in fragile socio-economic condition, seasonal unemployment, economic hardship, along with attitudinal vulnerability, results in disastrous impacts when faced with Flash Floods. Children of the community are the worst sufferers as they are forced to leave schools which then traps them into a never-ending vicious loop of vulnerability and poverty. This paper adopts a method of reviewing relevant secondary documents and the authors’ direct observation from their field visits to address the issues and way forward pertinent to continuing education in the Haor regions during disasters. The paper’s findings suggest that poverty, marginalization, historical inequality etc., are the root causes of the progression of vulnerability in the areas of study. The paper further describes the impacts of disaster on student and institutional facility, ranging from an individual loss like dropouts to broken water and sanitation facility at schools. This article also points out critical specific options to be undertaken at the local and national for addressing this issue, i.e., creating a standardized manual to be used nationally.
Keywords: Education in Emergency, Flash Flood, Haor Regions, Continuity of Education, Children, Students.
I. INTRODUCTION
Being one of the major natural disasters that the Bangladeshi population confronts regularly, Flooding is a persistent incident that affects people in diverse ways in Bangladesh. Each substantial flooding occurrences generally affect 20.5% of the country’s total area, but sometimes it can be quite destructive by submerging more than 60% of the country (Paul and Routray, 2010). Rather than regular Flooding by a river stream, unusual flooding events like Flash Flood likewise occur in Bangladesh periodically, causing demolition of houses, infrastructures, livelihoods sources, properties, life losses, and enormous sufferings to the affected people (Abedin and Khatun, 2019).
