Underprivileged children in char areas of the district are suffering while attending school during winter as they do not have warm clothes or shoes.

Sohel Rana, 10, a student of Class V at Bowalmari Government Primary School in Dharla river char Bowalmari in Kulaghat union under Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila said they have to tolerate the cold as there is no alternative option. He asked his parents for a jacket and a pair of shoes but they cannot afford to buy those, he added.

Jisan Islam, 10, of the same class, said he and many other students walk about 4km every day over sandy land to go to school as there is no road.

Teacher Shahidul Islam, 45, said about 95 char students attend school without wearing warm clothes and shoes as their parents cannot buy those due to poverty.

They suffer in the classroom as they do not have warm clothes, but they accept the suffering positively as they have no alternative, said Swapna Akhter, 11, a student of Class V at Charn Harinchawra Government Primary School in Teesta river char Harinchawra of Khuniyagachh union. Sometime they cannot stay long in their classes due to the biting cold, she added.

Jakir Hossain, 10, a student of Class V, said they cannot believe it when they visit schools in the mainland and see the students wearing jackets and shoes during the winter.

Sohel's father Hasmot Ali, 35, said he earns Tk 200 to Tk250 per day, but it is insufficient to maintain the family, so he can't provide additional support to his children. Their children are not only studying in school but also working in the crop fields, he said, adding that they want the children to develop skills for working in the crop fields.

Lalmonirhat representative of Char Health and Education Reaz Ahmed Rinku said if the government and kind-hearted people in the society help the char area school students it will help them develop and make them more attentive towards learning.

Lalmonirhat District Primary Education Officer Nabez Uddin Sarker said they have no programme to give warm clothes and shoes to char students.