Overcoming relentless poverty and the devastating blows of river erosion, Sahara Akhter, a young girl from a remote riverine char in Shariatpur's Jajira upazila, has carved out an inspiring path to academic excellence by achieving a Golden GPA-5 in her Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations. Her remarkable triumph was highlighted on Thursday during a spirited reception ceremony organized for GPA-5 achievers at the Shariatpur Sadar Upazila Parishad auditorium. Jointly organized by Prothom Alo and digital education platform Shikho under the motto Dream Big, Build Your Life, the nationwide event honors outstanding students across 64 districts who attained the top grade.
Sharing her arduous journey with a choked voice during the Thursday morning programme, Sahara detailed how she managed her education against all odds. Hailing from the Ranjan Chhail Kandi area of the Padma river basin, her family has lost their homestead five times to relentless river erosion. As the youngest of six sisters born to a daily-wage agricultural laborer father, financial destitution nearly forced her to drop out after the sixth grade. Refusing to surrender to circumstances, she began tutoring children from house to house across her village starting in seventh class, financing her own education through her meager earnings and studying late into the night. She is a student of Borkandi Model Academy on the banks of the Padma, marking the first time a student from the institution has secured a GPA-5.
Reflecting on the grim realities of her marginalized community, Sahara pointed out that families in the riverine chars are often rendered destitute by erosion, leaving generations without defined life goals and forcing many girls into early child marriage due to extreme financial hardship. Despite these daunting environmental and economic barriers, her persistence paid off, earning her widespread admiration from educators and peers alike at the Shariatpur gathering.
The Thursday event commenced at 10:00 AM with the rendition of the national anthem, hosted by Bondhushabha General Secretary Tamim Hossain and welcomed by Prothom Alo's Shariatpur correspondent Satyajit Ghosh. Addressing the aspiring youth, Professor Prodyut Kumar Das, head of the economics department at Shariatpur Government College, urged the students not to halt their pursuits after a single success, emphasizing that true humanity transcends merely becoming a physician, engineer, or high-ranking professional. Echoing this sentiment, Principal Farid Al Hossain of Majid Jarina Foundation School and College underscored that today's honored achievers will steer the nation's future. Prothom Alo's Khulna correspondent Uttam Mandal also addressed the students, advising them to properly harness artificial intelligence while preserving their intrinsic habits of self-learning and independent thought.
The day's proceedings featured parental remarks by Nasrin Aziz, speeches by fellow achievers Maliha Rahman and Fardin Ahmed, and a collective oath administered by Shariatpur Government College Assistant Professor Shaheen Sarkar, urging students to reject drug abuse, rote learning, and dishonesty. Cultural performances by Bondhushabha members, a quiz competition with book prizes distributed to ten victors, and closing remarks by District Bondhushabha President Abdul Motaleb concluded the celebration. The nationwide initiative is powered by bKash, with collaboration from Concord Group, Fresh, Savoy Ice Cream, Konka-Gree, Mutual Trust Bank PLC, Quality Group, Presidency University, Zinc B, Atish Dipankar University of Science and Technology, UCSI University Bangladesh Campus, Amber IT Limited, ATN Bangla, and Prothom Alo Bondhushabha.
