Meet Halim: The artist who travels and paints primary schools across Bangladesh
For 15 years, Halim made banners and posters and painted roads. When digital print arrived, he had to find an alternative. Halim and his team have painted more than 200 primary schools since 2017
Md Abdul Halim was 186 kilometres away from Dhaka. Our phone conversation was often pierced by cackles of laughter, the sound of running feet and singing voices.
Halim must have been in a park, surrounded by at least a dozen children, if I hadn't known better. But he sounded unbothered and patiently took my questions.
He was actually in a government primary school in Sherpur, Mymensingh district. Along with three of his employees, he was painting the school.
"Right now, there are 15-20 children around us and they are the most excited about the school colouring project. They love the colouring and the art so much that every day, they gather around us and play. It encourages us even more to do our work," he said.
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Halim regularly shares photos and videos of his projects on social media. Walls painted in vibrant colours, for a moment, dazzle your eyes. A dark blue sky with a yellow sun or a boat with a crimson red sail on a blue lake under an orange sky are some of his team's work. They tend to use a lot of primary colours.
"To date, my team and I have painted more than 200 schools in more than 30 districts all over Bangladesh - in Tangail, Manikganj, Kishoreganj, Barishal, Jhalakathi, Shariatpur, Faridpur, Rajbari, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Noakhali etc," he said. All of these are government primary schools.
He said that he is appointed by school principals and UNOs (Upazila Nirbahi Officers) to paint the primary and the pre-primary sections of government primary schools.
As a part of the School Level Improvement Plan (SLIP) by the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, primary schools are allocated annual amounts to improve the quality of education and the environment.
According to the SLIP guidelines of 2023, primary schools that have no more than 50 students will be allocated Tk50,000, for 51-300 students the schools will have Tk 1 lakh, for 301-600 students Tk1 lakh 50,000, for 601-1,000 students Tk2 lakh – and for more than 1,000 students, the schools will get Tk2 lakh 50,000 annually.
This money is allocated for a range of activities such as buying teaching materials, renovating infrastructure and furniture, working on the interior design of the classrooms, buying water purifiers (if needed), investing in club and scout activities, paying land fees, etc.
Under this plan, primary schools are now renovating their interior with colourful classes and balconies.
We spoke with Yasmin Akhter, the headmistress of East Mohammadpur government primary school in Senbagh, Noakhali. Last December, Halim along with two of his team members, stayed in the school for three days and painted the pre-primary section and the balcony.
She said, "The children are so happy with the school now that they are enjoying studying in the classrooms. The first and second sections of the school are left unpainted. We are planning to call him [Halim] again to paint the remaining sections."
For this project, Halim asked for Tk30,000 but the school authority bargained and got it done at Tk27,000. He also said that although he has to bargain with the clients, in the end, everyone appreciates his work.
Painting for years with no formal training
Forty-year-old Halim was born in Mymensingh in a large family of eight siblings. His father died when he was only 12 years old. He passed his secondary school certificate (SSC) in 2000. He couldn't study further due to financial hardship and family responsibilities.
"Who doesn't want to study more, tell me, apa? I wish I could study fine arts. But why repent for something that never happened?" he said.
He started an apprenticeship of painting banners and signboards under his ustad (teacher) Abdus Salam in the late 1990s when he was still in school. "He didn't have any formal training in fine arts but his works were beautiful."
Halim's mother died three years ago. "I could not study but I understand that there is no alternative to education. So, I am educating my children even though it is difficult." Halim's daughter is an SSC candidate and his son will be in class six.
From 2000 to 2015, Halim made banners and posters and painted roads. In 2017, he and his team started painting schools. "When digitally printed banners and posters arrived, the hand-painted ones lost their demand. So, we were looking for alternative projects to work on. Eventually, the school painting idea struck us," Halim said.
With a total of six to seven employees, Halim works in two shifts. It takes at least three of them to finish one school. "The time depends on the size of the school. An average balcony with three classrooms takes us two to three days. The longest we worked was a school in Hossainpur, Kishoreganj; it took us almost a month to complete it," Halim said.
In the pre-primary section and the balcony, they draw alphabets – vowels and consonants, numbers, seasons, days a week, Bangla months, etc. On the balcony, the paintings also include the national emblems of our country.
On the ceiling, they usually paint the galaxy, solar system, rainbows, smiling suns and flowers, birds, etc. "We want to create a colourful space for children. Generally, we get five to six colours from the market, but we mix and make 15 to 20 different ones."
"We buy [paint mainly Berger] in gallons. On average, we paint 15-20 schools a month, for which we need 20-30 gallons of paint," Halim said.
He charges Tk15-20,000 for painting a balcony. A pre-primary classroom, including the ceiling, will cost Tk15,000.
Too bright a colour palette for children?
Sonia Akram, an early childhood development and education specialist and also the owner of ABC Early Learning Daycare Centre studied in Australia and worked there in daycare centres for eight years.
According to her, the interior is a vital part of the place where the children will stay. The walls should not be too colourful, these will overstimulate their brains and excite them. The shades need to be muted, yet warm and welcoming.
"Children these days have a lot of sugary food, they get a lot of screen time, which is also very loud and colourful – all of these overstimulate their brains," she said.
Halim does not use neon colours or such but only uses primary colours (red, blue and yellow).
