Whatever happened to the floating schools of Bangladesh?
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Whatever → happen → Bangladesh
In September 2018, we posted a story from flood-prone Bangladesh, 'Floating Schools' Make Sure Kids Get To Class When The Water Rises.
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Water → post → Class
Did the floating schools actually work, and what happened to the children who attended them?
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who → float → them
This story is part of our annual series, Whatever happened to …
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Whatever → happen → series
We're revisiting some of our past global health and development stories to see "Whatever happened to ..."
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Whatever → revisit → stories
Eight years ago, NPR correspondent Jason Beaubien visited a riverside village in the northwest of Bangladesh and found a small beige boat tied up in tall grass beside the Atrai River.
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Beaubien → visit → River
The boat was packed with narrow benches, which in turn were jammed with children.
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which → pack → children
About 29 third-grade students sat shoulder to shoulder in front of a blackboard on this very first floating school of Bangladesh, which started its journey 24 years ago.
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which → sit → journey
The floating schools were a response to a longstanding local problem of seasonal floods and impassable, muddy roads that kept children from reaching conventional schools.
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that → float → schools
Now, as we come back in 2026, climate-related disruptions are affecting schooling on a much larger scale, and that practical local solution has become more necessary and more relevant beyond Bangladesh.
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solution → come → Bangladesh
The schools were designed for one flood-prone region, but they now offer a model for how communities can preserve essential services as the environment changes.
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environment → design → services
International recognition highlights the project's growing relevance.
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recognition → highlight → relevance
On a visit to one of the boat schools this summer, 27 students sat on benches and recited Bangla poetry with their teacher.
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students → sit → teacher
"This school picks me up from my house in the morning and, after class, drops me off beside my house," says Mahiya Khatun, a 12-year-old fourth grader.
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Khatun → pick → house
"Other schools are not too close; it is tough to reach there during the rainy season because of floods and mud.
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it → reach → floods
The teacher teaches us with care in this school, and I love to learn the rhymes."
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I → teach → rhymes
Then she recites a Bangla rhyme written by the famous poet and author Farrukh Ahmad.
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she → recite → poet
Another fourth grader, Himel Hasan, says he doesn't like the government-run primary school because it is too far from his house, so he loves coming to the boat school.
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he → say → school
"I have five friends here in this class, and we enjoyed learning together," says Himel.
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Himel → have → class
Mosammat Hosne Ara Khatun has been teaching in the boat school for the last 10 years.
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Khatun → teach → years
I enjoyed this job because the workplace is easy to commute to, and I think I am doing a noble job teaching underprivileged students," says Hosne Ara.
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Ara → enjoy → students
Suman Mia, who drives the boat, says "I didn't get the chance to study in my childhood, and now I am earning my livelihood by operating this engine boat.
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I → drive → boat
I dream that someday my son and daughter will be educated in those boat schools, and they will do a good job after growing up.
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they → dream → job
Student success stories
Rabbi Hossain started his schooling at the floating school, studying there from 2005 to 2010.
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Hossain → start → 2010
After completing grade five, Rabbi later went to a local high school and college.
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Rabbi → complete → school
He now studies engineering at Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology, located in Gazipur.
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He → study → Gazipur
"My life started from the boat school.
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life → start → school
I want to be an engineer after completing my studies," says Rabbi, whose father is a farmer and mother is a school teacher.
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mother → want → studies
He credits the boat school for an important step in his schooling: "Just imagine, in 2005 we got the opportunity to learn computers."
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we → credit → computers
Rabbi has many schoolmates who are in established positions after starting their education at the boat school.
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who → have → school
Nahid Hossain, a classmate, received his education at the same floating school and is now a soldier in the Bangladesh Army.
For him, the boat school was more than just an educational institution.
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school → receive → institution
I learned my basic education from that floating school," says Nahid.
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Nahid → learn → school
Without the floating school, he says, he would never have moved ahead in life.
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he → float → life
To collect students, the boat school goes from one ghat — one docking place — to another, enabling children in difficult-to-reach areas to attend classes.
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school → collect → classes
Even when there are storms and heavy rain, he says, classes generally went on.
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classes → be → ?
"Flooding was a serious issue for conventional schools in that area because roads and communication lines would become unusable and muddy, school grounds might be flooded, and students' education would be disrupted.
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education → become → area
In contrast, the floating school could keep going and reach the children where they were," says Nahid.
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Nahid → float → children
Another successful student is Surovi Khatun, an undergrad student currently studying at Nawab Siraj-Ud-Dowla Government College of Natore, a neighboring district of Pabna.
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student → study → Pabna
Surovi was raised in a small village named Bolighati in Singra Upazila, Natore, and started her first schooling at a floating school.
She studied at the boat school at the primary level from 2012 to 2016; later, she was admitted to a local high school and college, and is now working toward a degree in English.
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she → raise → English
"The foundation that I achieved from the boat school advanced me in the English language, as teachers were so caring about teaching a second language in our early schooling days," she says.
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she → achieve → days
…and 15 more, not listed.
