30 students in Mymensingh drop out after early marriages
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
Around 30 students in Trishal, Mymensingh stopped attending school for months after school authorities found they had gotten married.
Among them, several have not even reached 18 years of age. Parents said in many instances, these marriages took place with family consent due to romantic relationships between the boys and girls.
Kathal High School and College Founder and Principal Anisur Rahman added that three to four months ago, he noticed low attendance of girls in the classrooms and initiated an inquiry. Upon contacting their homes later, he learned that many of the absent students had got married.
He added that if students continue to drop out in this manner, the institution’s student enrollment will decline. The matter has also been reported to the upazila administration.
Established in 1997 on two acres of land, Kathal High School and College has around 460 students studying from sixth to tenth grade. The institution is located about seven kilometers away from the Trishal Sadar Upazila.
Conversations with guardians of several students at the school revealed that many families married off their daughters despite them not reaching the legal age. The father of a ninth-grade female student mentioned that he married off his daughter about a year ago. Although his daughter was not 18 years old, he agreed to the marriage because he found a good family.
Another parent said his daughter is 15 years old and was married three months ago. He had to arrange the marriage because he could not manage the situation arising from a relationship between the boy and girl.
It is not only girls; a tenth-grade male student of the school also got married, abandoned his studies, and moved to Dhaka, according to his family. The family added that he got married following a relationship with a female student from the same school.
Anisur noted that in many cases, even the families were not aware of the marriages beforehand. He urged that the issue be addressed urgently with serious importance.
Trishal Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Hasnat Jahan Khan said she learned about the matter last month while attending an event at the school, where the school authorities informed her of the situation. The administration will take necessary measures to prevent child marriage.
She added that immediate action is taken whenever reports of child marriage are received.
