Ownership of the last two animals endangered Mexican species is illegal. No-one is entirely sure how the owner of El Peregrino came to acquire him in the first place. The drive towards the Islamization of Bangladesh by President Ershad is having a visible effect on the country s education system. Some Bangladeshi children go to state primary schools, while others attend madrassaks, traditional religious schools which offer a parallel education to that of the state. In both schools the method of teaching is formal.
Children buy their own notebooks and pens while the school provides the books.
But there the similarities end. The madrassahs are attractive, well-maintained buildings with plenty of funds behind them, some channelled indirectly from the Middle East. The government primary schools are usually in run-down buildings with a pervasive air of neglect about them. The village of Dashpaika near Bishwanath in Sylhet is typical. The madrassah is a beautifully kept whitewashed building with an attractive garden and imposing gateway.