Shikha Akter is the second of the five siblings born in a poor family in Manikganj. Her father struggled to meet the necessities of the family. Few years later, her father decided to move to Dhaka with the whole family in search of fortune and rented a rickshaw for income. Despite such limitations, Shikha always had a keen interest in studies. After completing PEC exam from a local government school, Shikha got to know about Nazir Hossain Three Star UCEP School, Dhaka from her neighbor. Impressed by the curriculum of UCEP General Schools, Shikha immediately got enrolled in Class VI. She passed the JSC exam in 2015. In that year, she also got admitted at the UCEP Vocational School, Mirpur. She passed the SSC Vocational exam with a brilliant result in 2017, achieving GPA 5.00. For further studies she later got admitted in the Dhaka Polytechnic Institute, studying Diploma-in-Engineering on Information and Computer Technology. She dreamt of completing B.Sc. Engineering Degree on Networking and establish herself to change the socio-economic condition of her family. However, Shikha’s pursuit to become a Computer Engineer was objected to an aggravation of marriage by a young boy from a well-off society. Realizing that the boy belongs to a financially solvent family, Shikha’s parents also insisted her on her marriage. Shikha witnessed appalling mental distress at that time, so much so, that she shared the issue with her former teacher from Nazir Hossain Three Star UCEP School. The teacher deliberately took steps to oppose this marriage and consulted with both of them – the boy and Shikha – from time to time to resolve the issue. After several discussions and meet ups the teacher successfully managed the boy to let Shikha pursue her dreams. Meanwhile, distraught Shikha revived herself boldly and completed fifth of the eight semester at Dhaka Polytechnic Institute. She speaks that the life lessons she learned is to stay stagnant until the obstacle is overcome. Shikha expressed her gratitude to her teacher and UCEP Bangladesh for all the support and opportunities it has provided her.
SHIKHA AKTER: Conquering Education over Poverty & Marriage
