TAFSILUL AZIZ, Kishoreganj

A large steel boat lies anchored on the riverbank. Children step aboard by climbing a narrow wooden stair, their laughter rising as they take their seats on the neat rows of benches set under a canopy.

Inside, it feels like any other classroom -- except that the walls are water. This is a floating school.

From pre-primary to class five, lessons take place here.

The children receive not just education, but also free books, notebooks, pens, geometry boxes, school uniforms, bags, shoes, tiffin and healthcare.

For many families who struggle to make ends meet, this support makes the difference between a child staying at home or going to school.

Eight such schools now drift quietly in the haor of Nikli in Kishoreganj, bringing learning to the doorsteps of the most remote villages.

Sports and games are also arranged, so that children who once missed out on education can now enjoy the full rhythm of school life.

Parents and locals simply call them “floating schools.”

The project began when People Oriented Program Implementation (POPI), an NGO, noticed the hardship in two unions along the Ghorautra River -- Chhatirchar and Singpur. Most people there are farmers or fishermen living below the poverty line. For many children, education was once a distant dream. Starting in 2010, POPI set up four floating schools in each union, some single-storey, others double-storey.

They also arranged boats to ferry children from ghat to ghat, making sure the journey to school never became a barrier.

Classes run from 8:00am to 3:00pm. Each boat-school has a small library, a gallery of educational photographs and space for sports.

At present, 360 students are enrolled.

Sabiha Akhter of Chhatirchar Floating School said, “Being close, we do not have any problem going to school even on rainy days.”

Her classmate Amir Hossain added, “The school provides us with free books, notebooks, pens, geometry boxes, school dresses, bags, shoes and tiffin. This greatly facilitates our studies.”

Mojahidul Islam, one of the teachers, said, “We go from house to house, bring the students by boat, and after teaching them at the floating school, they are again taken home by boat.”

Parents, too, are relieved. “In this village, there was no government primary school, so the children had problems in their studies,” said Jebunnesa Akhter of Kashipur.

“Now, our children no longer have to travel far. They can study near their homes,” he added.

Project coordinator Md. Zahirul Islam said, “About 1,500 students have completed their primary education from our floating school. Many of them are now studying in various secondary schools, colleges and universities.”

POPI’s executive director Murshed Alam Sarker added, “The first two floating schools were opened in 2010 in the landslide-hit areas of Chhatirchar and Goradigha in Nikli. With growing demand, these schools were later set up in other deprived villages. The latest was opened in Kashipur in 2025. At present, eight schools are operating in Nikli, and we plan to open more in other areas of the haor.”

Lauding the initiative, Chhatirchar UP Chairman, Shamsuzzaman Chowdhury said underprivileged children are getting an opportunity for education because of the floating schools.