Once known for its crumbling tin-roofed classrooms and makeshift lessons held under worn-out tarpaulins, the 63-year-old Samajik Shikkha Kendra Government Primary School in Bailey Road, Dhaka, is undergoing a remarkable transformation. Popularly referred to as the “school for the poor” due to its student body largely comprising children of laborers and underprivileged families, the institution is finally receiving a long-overdue upgrade—a six-storey building that is currently under construction on the same premises.
For years, the school struggled with legal complications, a lack of infrastructure, and a deeply neglected learning environment. Students attended classes in semi-open, dilapidated rooms, with low enrollment and frequent dropout rates being common issues. However, during a recent visit, a strikingly different scene unfolded: the school is now being rebuilt with a solid, multi-storey structure on its original site within the Bangladesh Girl Guides Association compound. An engineer on site confirmed that the new building is indeed for the school.
Established in 1962 by the Girl Guides Association and nationalized in 1973, the school’s journey has been tumultuous. Although initially functioning without issue, the Girl Guides Association requested its removal in 1989, leading to prolonged legal battles. Ultimately, a court ruling allowed the school to remain on its original grounds. Following the ruling, the school’s land was officially recorded in 2022, and by November 2023, construction began on the new building—spanning 5.58 decimals of land and estimated to cost over Tk 22.9 million.
The planned structure will have two rooms on each floor, including classrooms and administrative offices, and a separate entrance gate will be built beside the Girl Guides’ main gate for student access. Until the building is completed, the school continues its operations from a single rented room at the nearby Bailey Preparatory School, paying Tk 5,000 monthly in rent. Presently, it has five teachers and only 33 students spread across pre-primary to fifth grade. Attendance remains low, attributed partly to families still returning from Eid holidays and partly to the school’s long-standing infrastructure issues.
Headteacher Shampa Rani Pal expressed optimism that once the school moves into its new premises later this year, it will not only regain credibility but also attract more students from nearby working-class communities. The teachers have also committed to community outreach efforts to boost enrollment. Despite the challenges, the school’s transformation from a symbol of neglect to a beacon of opportunity offers a hopeful chapter in the pursuit of inclusive and equitable education in Bangladesh.