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School goes to children

Boat school is the combination of a school bus and schoolhouse. Boat school collects students from different riverside villages and finally docking at last destination the boat arranges onboard class. After the class the boat drops students at their places and then moves forward to pick other groups, again it arranges onboard classes and after the class drops students in their villages, and moves forward for other groups. This is the way the boat school works throughout the day and arrange 3-4 classes.

Each boat school consists of a classroom for 30 to 35 students, a computer/laptop, hundreds of books, and electronic resources. School provides basic primary education up to grade IV. Shidhulai introduces the first river-based environmental curriculum in the country that teaches how to protect the environment and conserve water. Government curriculum is followed at grade III and IV.

The solar power enables boat school to provide late evening classes to the working children while they are free. Some students get Shidhulai in-house developed solar lamps to study during the night. The lamp/batteries are charged at charging stations of boat school.

Boat school & library ensures continuation of education

All boat schools have small library facility, but some boats have complete facility of a standing library, for example, 1,500 books, 2 to 4 computers with internet access, printer and mobile phones. Children, youths, senior citizens, and particularly women learn computer skills and get information on agriculture, biodiversity, climate change, job opportunities, micro enterprise development and human rights. Late evening literacy classes are arranged on these boats for the parents.

Students now can borrow the school books from the book library of the boats, which helps them to get better exam results and ensures continuation of education.

The neo-literates who used to relapse in to illiterates are now in touch with education using the educational resources of book library. The boats use their solar energy to run the computers.

Story from the field

Three cousins - Ratna, Shakila and Rupali are the grade four students of boat school in the north-western part of Bangladesh, which is seasonally flooded every year.

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Related Info

Case Study

The Ashden Awards: ‘Solar powered boats bringing education and sustainable energy to remote areas’

Related Links

Khaleej Times: ‘B'desh children flock to school on water’ by Helen Rowe/AFP, October 6, 2007.

Seattle Times: ‘In Flood-Prone Bangladesh, a Future That Floats’ by Emily Wax, September 28, 2007.

View Film (Flash 8)

green tv: ‘Fight against climate change’