The teachers of different secondary level educational institutions should play their vital role for eradicating child marriage to ensure at least higher secondary level education for every girl child.
Educationists said this at a concluding ceremony of a ‘Day-long Master Trainers Training Course on Preventing Child Marriage Affairs Issues’ at Rangpur Government Teachers’ Training College (GTCC) in the city on Saturday afternoon.
Rangpur GTTC organized the training course under management of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education of the Ministry of Education with financial assistance of the United Nations Girls Education Initiative.
Deputy Director (Training) of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education from Dhaka K M Rashidul Hassan attended the launching ceremony and formally inaugurated the training course as the chief guest.
Vice-Principal of Rangpur GTTC Md Amjad Hossain and Research Officer (Training) of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Mohammad Abul Hossain Kayes addressed as special guests.
With Principal of Rangpur GTTC Professor Mrs Akhter Banu in the chair, its Assistant Professor (Guidance & Counseling) and Course Coordinator of the TQI-II in Secondary Education Project Rawshan Alam moderated the function.
Associate Professors of Rangpur GTCC Golam Ahmmed Faruk and Nasir Ahmed, Jaldhaka Upazila Secondary Education Officer Ashrafuzzaman Sarker and Headmaster of Mirjaganj High School in Nilphamari addressed the concluding ceremony, among others.
Thirty-six participants, including 19 trainers-teachers of Rangpur GTTC, five Upazila Secondary Education Officers from Nilphamari district and 12 teachers from different secondary level educational institutions took part in the training course.
Citing UNICEF statistics, the speakers said the rate of child marriage in Bangladesh still stands at 65 percent which is the second highest rate in the world and 29 percent of the under-15 girl children are being married in the country.
They said rate of child marriage still stands at 59 per cent in urban areas and 71 per cent in rural areas causing dropouts of significant number of the girl children from schools.
The present government has been implementing the National Plan of Action to stop child marriage of female students studying at the secondary level educational institutions for ensuring their minimum education up to higher secondary level, they said.
The chief guest called upon the participants for playing their due role in stopping child marriage by quality education.
