The lone community school run by an NGO in remote Char Gangamoti, a fishermen's habitation in Kalapara upazila under Patuakhali district adjoining the Bay of Bengal, is to be closed by December this year, much to the worry ofpoor guardians.

Demanding continuation of the school that has run for 17 years, students and guard-

ians recently formed a human chain in Kalapara upazila town.

Caritas, an international NGO, built a cyclone shelter cum community school at Char Gangamoti about 20 km to the east of Kuakata sea beach in 1993 and lessons for classes one to three were arranged there.

About 300 students now study in the school.

But Caritas decided to close the school by coming

December 31 when their project ends.

"Six hundred families living in this char are fishermen. If the school closes our children will be deprived of education as we do not have the ability to send our children to another school that is at least five kilometres away. We submitted application to local administration including the deputy commissioner and the upazila nirbahi officer to continue the school

anyway," Khorshed Alam, chairman of the school managing committee, said.

Local UP Chairman Mohibur Rahman said, "We urge the district administration and education office to turn the school into a government primary school to help fishermen's children get schooling."

Kalapara upazila education officer said they have no plan to set up the school at Char Gangamoti as the num-

ber of school going children is very low.

"The school is to be closed at the end of our project duration. We have sent a proposal to our higher authorities not to close the school considering local people's demand but we are yet to get any response in this regard," said Joyanti Gomege, Barisal divisional coordinator for Caritas.