A Warning in the Classroom: Schools Rally to Stop Child Trafficking and Early Marriage

Kamal Kumar Biswas.TOD.Kumarganj

In classrooms where lessons usually revolve around textbooks and examinations, students at two schools in Kumarganj block were given a different lesson on Tuesday: how to recognize and resist the threats of child trafficking and early marriage.

Awareness programmes were held separately at Golabari High School and Baram High School, as the Anti Human Trafficking Unit and the Border Security Force’s Hili Border Outpost sought to alert students to the dangers facing children and the steps they can take to protect themselves.The sessions focused on how trafficking networks operate, the tactics used by traffickers, the harmful social and personal consequences of child marriage and the importance of speaking up when a child’s safety is at risk.

BSF officials Mohar Singh, Sujoy Halder and P.S. Pal attended the programmes, along with child protection worker Suraj Das. Speakers stressed that protecting children cannot be left to any single institution. Parents, teachers, community members and authorities must work together to identify risks and intervene early, they said.At both schools, Suraj Das addressed students on the prevention of child marriage, explaining its social and legal consequences and urging young people to play an active role in preventing it. The students later took a pledge to help prevent child marriage.

The heads of the two schools — Subrata Deb of Golabari High School and Shubhendu Biswas of Baram High School — played an important role in organizing and conducting the programmes.The message delivered to the students was direct: silence can allow exploitation to continue. If they encounter a suspected case of child trafficking or child marriage, they were urged to immediately inform a teacher, parent, government authority or child protection organization rather than keeping the matter to themselves.

The organisers said awareness, vigilance and swift reporting remain among the most effective tools for preventing crimes against children.For the students, the day offered a lesson that extended well beyond the classroom — that protecting a child can begin with something as simple, and as powerful, as speaking up.