Will Kim Jong’s death hasten the unification of Koreas?
North Korea lost her second generation great leader on 17 December 2011 of a heart attack brought on by mental and physical strain. The TV screen shows the heartfelt cry of the citizens which undoubtedly proves their undeniable love for their popular leader Kim Jong whatever way the world leaders termed him. Kim was groomed to succeed his father for three decades taking power when the Great Leader and the founder father of North Korea died in July 1994 to an outpouring of national grief. He extended a cult of personality as the dear leader even as many of the nation’s 24 million citizens lived on an average income of less than a dollar a day. He ruled for seventeen years since he came to power in July 1994 and resisted opening up to the outside world in order to protect his regime. “The likely succession of his third son, Jong Un, threatens to trigger a dangerous period for the Korean Peninsula where 1.7 million troops from the two Koreans and the U.S. square off every day. Kim Jong Un’s taking complete control of the helm will not take place for a while due to his young and inexperienced leadership,”-- said, Yang Moo, Jin, a professor, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. Kim leaves behind an economy less than three percent the size of South Korea’s and which has relied on economic handout since the 1990’s when an estimated two million people died from famine. The United Nations and the U.S. last year increased economic sanctions imposed as result of North Korea’s nuclear weapons activities and attacks that killed 50 South Koreans. He earned the title ‘ axis of evils’ for his country because of his nuclear activities but his genuine love and patriotism for his country gave him courage to ignore these western and outside world pressures.
In 2009 as Kim defied threats of United Nations sanctions to test a second nuclear device and a ballistic missile, technically capable of striking Tokyo. The following year North Korea lashed out militarily, prompting stern warnings from the U.S. and South Korea. An international investigation blamed Kim’s regime for the March 2010 sinking of a South Korean war ship and shelled a South Koran island killing two soldiers and two civilians. These activities convinced the world that North Korea had achieved ‘stunning ‘advances to its uranium –enriched program. In 2010 Kim set in line his succession plan, Kim Jong Un, thought to be 28 or 29 , was first mentioned in official KCNA dispatches on Sept. 28 when his appointments as general and vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the party were announced.
The world knows that before the Korean war of 1950-1953 both South and North Korea had been one nation and the people could go back and forth from northern part of southern part. But it got divided into two namely North and South Korea. North Korea was influenced and helped by the Soviet Union and South by two western superpowers. During 1980s when Soviet Union collapsed North Korea started receiving no support from Russia and Eastern European countries because of their political ideology change. China, the biggest power and the giant in terms of military and commercial partner, began to establish close ties with North Korea. It angered the western powers and their ally South Korea. Both the parts began to do well in terms of economic achievement though the South proved far advanced. But in 1990s the North Korea witnessed several weather disasters and some wrong policies of agriculture coupled with receiving no help from Eastern European countries which invited a famine in the country. Hundreds and thousands of North Korean died in the famine then. Kim refrained from enforcing the usual tight restriction on mobility, permitting starving people to travel within the country to find food Kim hoped to avert a sudden loss of popular support. It was a pragmatic decision.
For three decades Kim exercised power as a high-level official rarely travelling aboard or meeting foreign leaders and often going for long periods when his domestic public appearances weren’t mentioned in the state-run media. ‘Kim was cinema buff whose personal library included tens of thousands of western moves. Obsessed with improving the country’s film output, he had agents kidnap South Korea’s leading director Shin Sang-ok, and the director’s actress wife, Choi- Eun-hi, they subsequently escaped with tape recording s of conversation they had with Kim.’( source: internet)
In 1991 Kim Jong II became Commander in Chief of North Koran’s powerful armed force. Three years later when Kim II Sung died suddenly from a heart attack at 82, most outsiders predicted the imminent collapse of North Korea as the nation had lost its venerable founder father. Just a few years later, its powerful alliances had evaporated with the fall of the Soviet Union bloc and China’s move toward a market based system. The economy was on the rocks and energy and food were in short supply. Kim Jong II inherited a genius for playing the weak hand and by keeping the major powers nervous. It was Kim Jong who managed to open dialogue and arrange a summit level meeting with the then South Korean president in 2000. Now the political analysts ask whether the two Koreas are going to be unified as Kim Jong has passed away. If it might have been done, the poverty stricken lakhs of people of North Korea would have been benefitted. Again, another group comments the unification of two Koreas will create economic imbalance between them. At present the per capita income of South Korea is seven times higher than that of North Korea. So, North Korea will be benefited thought unification. Now North Korea sees China’s full hold on her. Again, the South enjoys western support. Hillary Clinton, the USA Secretary of State, has announced help and cooperating for North Korea. She hopes to establish good relations with the new administration of North Korea. Now will these big global players allow the unification of Koreas to happen smoothly ? Besides, Kim Jong Un, the son of Kim Jong has been groomed and brought up with the same ideology of his father. Will he allow the unification? Time will untie the knot of this riddle. Let us wait to see what is going to happen?
MASUM BILLAH
Program Manager: BRAC Education Program
Cell: 01714-091431
Email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com, masumbillah65@gmail.com
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Our dream in next twenty years
Our dream in next twenty years
The nation has just observed its 40th Victory Day anniversary and stepped into 41st year of our achievement of freedom. Our greatest achievement in the 20th century at the cost of supreme sacrifice of our heroic sons is our freedom but the real spirit of freedom struggle still stands far apart from the reality. Political factors stand prime barriers to materialize the dream of our liberation struggle. What percentage of freedom we have achieved in terms of education, getting health facilities from the state, social security, freedom of speech and human rights still remains a big question.
We have achieved some progress in primary education in terms of the increase of school going children but not in terms of acquiring competency level. Still seventeen percent children don't go to school at all. The fruit of freedom has not yet ripened even after 40 years for these children. This percentage shows much higher in ‘haor’ and ‘monga’ and ‘hilly’ areas. In the secondary level pass percentage is increasing every year without ensuring quality. It has become a national mania to make the students pass in the public examination whether they have the ability to pass or not. We have established 56 private universities beyond our 32 public universities even though only fifteen percent of our students study in university level and the standard of our universities in the world ranking registers many hundred miles back. As in the secondary and higher secondary levels the quality is not ensured, its negative impact is discerned in the tertiary level. Every sensible person must ask a question is it the fruit of freedom that all the educational institutions from primary to highest tier would be absolutely politicized and vitiated the academic atmosphere in the name of democracy. Teacher recruitment, student admission, getting MPO and result publication witness the naked claws of politics. I dream a Bangladesh after twenty years where all the children will go to school laughing and smiling. They will enjoy the school environment; classroom environment will attract them just like magnet. All the teachers will be trained and dedicated to real teaching and building the patriotic citizens of the country. Extra coaching for money will be a foreign phenomenon to all the students, teachers and guardians. Teachers will not have to pay bribes to the corrupt officials of the department of education who are actually like their sons but don’t feel shame to take hush money from the teachers. This evil practice will disappear for ever from the corridors of Shiksha Bhaban. The universities will be centers of excellence where the ugly touch of politics will remain thousands of miles away. The world class research and ideal education will not only invite the true knowledge seekers of the country but also from abroad.
Political programs one after another have annoyed the lives of people. But the most miserable fact appears that hundreds and thousands of youths are being arrested by the police unnecessarily. Before any political programs the young people cannot sleep in their own houses because of the fear of police action. It seems then that we are living in another country, not in our homeland. We are living in occupied Gaza strip of West Bank. When they are caught by the police, they are to endure inhuman torture. Their families are to pass through nightmare ordeals. Many families have to lose everything to save their sons from the clutches of police. A question undoubtedly surfaces in every sensible people’s mind whether we are living in the independent Bangladesh or we are passing the days of 1971 when the Pak army used to torture us. My dream of a Bangladesh after twenty years is that Bangladesh must have a well trained police force that will not be used for gaining political ends. Police will be real friends of the people and the political vengeance will disappear for good. People will really feel the taste of independent Bangladesh. Human’s rights will be established at ever tier of the nation.
Social problems such as trafficking children and women, insecurity, road accidents, human rights situation, price hike, corruption at every step have faded the dream of our nation. We just remain complacent in terms of political achievement. Real achievement and the real fruit of freedom have not yet reached the doorstep of common people. Our state machinery would be diverted to public welfare and ensure trafficking free country and a county where road accidents will be only a rare happening. We live in an independent country but it’s peculiar that hundreds and thousands of poor people die for want of treatment and medicine. Already employed doctors think of their own fortune depriving the country of their valuable service. My dream of future Bangladesh after twenty years is to ensure sound treatment facilities for all the poor people from the state and the well to do have to have good treatment in the country of their own cost. My country will produce ample doctors with humanitarian trainings and good medical skill and also have best quality hospitals both in the private and public sectors but all will ensure treatment for the people of all strata of society.
We need to be optimistic. But mere optimism without any real and qualitative change in personal, social and state life cannot be appreciated. Yes we see many changes have taken place in the lives of the people but how much still remains to be fulfilled need to be thought? Most of the cases changes have taken place in private sectors and the state machinery imposes various types of restrictions in the name of democracy actually to materialize the nefarious design of ugly politics making the countrymen the hostages of these evils. We want to see this culture has evaporated otherwise our freedom will be meaningless to millions, may be meaningful to few. Do we see any qualitative or physical change in the government offices? The answer will be a big No. Still government offices have retained the reputation of harassing people. We don’t see any changes in delivering service to the clients in state run bodies. Nor they are trained to serve the people as the citizens of a free nation. Is it our hard earned freedom? Does freedom mean only having a piece of land? I want to see my country where all the children will receive education in a beautiful and enjoyable place. Girls will not be discriminated. Citizens will receive education and education will be treated as the rights of the citizens not as opportunity. We want a Bangladesh where corruption will be thrown in the dust forever. Poverty will be kept in the museum. We no more want to be the playthings of the rival political games. Rather we want to establish a healthy culture for all where the future generation will nourish and inhale fresh air. This is our dream.
Masum Billah
Program Manager: BRAC Education Program and Vice-President: Bangladesh English Teachers’ Association ( BELTA)
The nation has just observed its 40th Victory Day anniversary and stepped into 41st year of our achievement of freedom. Our greatest achievement in the 20th century at the cost of supreme sacrifice of our heroic sons is our freedom but the real spirit of freedom struggle still stands far apart from the reality. Political factors stand prime barriers to materialize the dream of our liberation struggle. What percentage of freedom we have achieved in terms of education, getting health facilities from the state, social security, freedom of speech and human rights still remains a big question.
We have achieved some progress in primary education in terms of the increase of school going children but not in terms of acquiring competency level. Still seventeen percent children don't go to school at all. The fruit of freedom has not yet ripened even after 40 years for these children. This percentage shows much higher in ‘haor’ and ‘monga’ and ‘hilly’ areas. In the secondary level pass percentage is increasing every year without ensuring quality. It has become a national mania to make the students pass in the public examination whether they have the ability to pass or not. We have established 56 private universities beyond our 32 public universities even though only fifteen percent of our students study in university level and the standard of our universities in the world ranking registers many hundred miles back. As in the secondary and higher secondary levels the quality is not ensured, its negative impact is discerned in the tertiary level. Every sensible person must ask a question is it the fruit of freedom that all the educational institutions from primary to highest tier would be absolutely politicized and vitiated the academic atmosphere in the name of democracy. Teacher recruitment, student admission, getting MPO and result publication witness the naked claws of politics. I dream a Bangladesh after twenty years where all the children will go to school laughing and smiling. They will enjoy the school environment; classroom environment will attract them just like magnet. All the teachers will be trained and dedicated to real teaching and building the patriotic citizens of the country. Extra coaching for money will be a foreign phenomenon to all the students, teachers and guardians. Teachers will not have to pay bribes to the corrupt officials of the department of education who are actually like their sons but don’t feel shame to take hush money from the teachers. This evil practice will disappear for ever from the corridors of Shiksha Bhaban. The universities will be centers of excellence where the ugly touch of politics will remain thousands of miles away. The world class research and ideal education will not only invite the true knowledge seekers of the country but also from abroad.
Political programs one after another have annoyed the lives of people. But the most miserable fact appears that hundreds and thousands of youths are being arrested by the police unnecessarily. Before any political programs the young people cannot sleep in their own houses because of the fear of police action. It seems then that we are living in another country, not in our homeland. We are living in occupied Gaza strip of West Bank. When they are caught by the police, they are to endure inhuman torture. Their families are to pass through nightmare ordeals. Many families have to lose everything to save their sons from the clutches of police. A question undoubtedly surfaces in every sensible people’s mind whether we are living in the independent Bangladesh or we are passing the days of 1971 when the Pak army used to torture us. My dream of a Bangladesh after twenty years is that Bangladesh must have a well trained police force that will not be used for gaining political ends. Police will be real friends of the people and the political vengeance will disappear for good. People will really feel the taste of independent Bangladesh. Human’s rights will be established at ever tier of the nation.
Social problems such as trafficking children and women, insecurity, road accidents, human rights situation, price hike, corruption at every step have faded the dream of our nation. We just remain complacent in terms of political achievement. Real achievement and the real fruit of freedom have not yet reached the doorstep of common people. Our state machinery would be diverted to public welfare and ensure trafficking free country and a county where road accidents will be only a rare happening. We live in an independent country but it’s peculiar that hundreds and thousands of poor people die for want of treatment and medicine. Already employed doctors think of their own fortune depriving the country of their valuable service. My dream of future Bangladesh after twenty years is to ensure sound treatment facilities for all the poor people from the state and the well to do have to have good treatment in the country of their own cost. My country will produce ample doctors with humanitarian trainings and good medical skill and also have best quality hospitals both in the private and public sectors but all will ensure treatment for the people of all strata of society.
We need to be optimistic. But mere optimism without any real and qualitative change in personal, social and state life cannot be appreciated. Yes we see many changes have taken place in the lives of the people but how much still remains to be fulfilled need to be thought? Most of the cases changes have taken place in private sectors and the state machinery imposes various types of restrictions in the name of democracy actually to materialize the nefarious design of ugly politics making the countrymen the hostages of these evils. We want to see this culture has evaporated otherwise our freedom will be meaningless to millions, may be meaningful to few. Do we see any qualitative or physical change in the government offices? The answer will be a big No. Still government offices have retained the reputation of harassing people. We don’t see any changes in delivering service to the clients in state run bodies. Nor they are trained to serve the people as the citizens of a free nation. Is it our hard earned freedom? Does freedom mean only having a piece of land? I want to see my country where all the children will receive education in a beautiful and enjoyable place. Girls will not be discriminated. Citizens will receive education and education will be treated as the rights of the citizens not as opportunity. We want a Bangladesh where corruption will be thrown in the dust forever. Poverty will be kept in the museum. We no more want to be the playthings of the rival political games. Rather we want to establish a healthy culture for all where the future generation will nourish and inhale fresh air. This is our dream.
Masum Billah
Program Manager: BRAC Education Program and Vice-President: Bangladesh English Teachers’ Association ( BELTA)
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Aflatoun- social and financial education
Aflatoun- social and financial education
The Bengali poet Golam Mostofa writes, “ Future fathers lie sleeping in every child.” Children can be powerful agents of social and economic change if they are trained and brought up infusing them with social and economic values in their school life. Social thinkers and educators have been exploring newer ideas and thoughts to enrich our children in school with social values and teachings. A new concept known as ‘ Aflatoun’ has emerged in the literature of education to make the school children responsible, proactive and socially conscious citizens who can contribute to breaking the poverty cycle and to improve their own quality of life. The word ‘ Aflatoun’ is of Arabic origin and to refers to ‘ the explorer, a person who thinks, explores, investigates and acts. It also refers to Plato, known for his ideas and ethics, citizenship, social justice, respect, conservation, friendship and love for fellowmen. ( source: www.natcco.coop/index.php)
The Aflatoun program provides children and youth with the budding blocks of life and empowers them to make a positive change in their lives. If balances personal and social awareness with practical planning, saving and entrepreneurial skills. Aflatoun is delivered by network of partners which ensures that the program is adapted to local culture and requirements and is supposed at local levels. With a view to ensuring that the message of Aflatoun is passed on to all children everywhere the partnership is established and the local implementing partners are selected for the network based on the their work with children and their connections within the country. In establishing partnership special attention is given to those organizations which work for developing the situation of education as education is the prime factor to bring change in the society. A curriculum is developed focusing on personal understanding and exploration , understanding and exploring rights and responsibilities , the concept of saving and spending , learning how to plan and budget , skills that make them aware that they have choices and control over how they can use their resources and demonstrate and practice their learning through social and financial micro-enterprises where they collaborate as a team and discover how they can make the local community a safer, healthier and fairer environment. BRAC is the second largest partner of Aflatoun and has developed an Aflatoun curriculum of BRAC for children aged 6-14 years and for grades one to eight. The child’s interdependence with family , neighborhood and community and money as a means of satisfying some needs are also focused in the curriculum. Self-exploration through understanding, feelings, financial ethics and transparency , environmental preservation are other factors which are incorporated in the curriculum. Responsible behavior and citizenship, developing pride, collective action, and organizational skills are taught to the members of Aflatoun. The Aflatouns students become aware of their responsibilities, income, expenditure and saving, democratic values and leadership, fulfillment of needs and well being of the society.
Both Aflatoun and BRAC are striving to empower children. BRAC Education Program launched Aflatoun as a pilot project since 2008 in BRAC Primary schools, BRAC Adolescent Clubs and secondary schools where BRAC works for capacity building of teachers and bringing about a positive change in the overall scenario of school environment. In 1002 BRAC Primary schools, 20 BRAC Adolescent Clubs and 250 secondary schools Aflatoun activities have been introduced reaching 81914 students. The students of these institutions are now more aware of their rights and responsibilities and social issues They have learnt the importance of saving and they are now saving even if it’s small, they can prioritize where to spend, they are learning to utilize used materials, they are cost conscious now, are investigating their savings in buying hens, ducks and goats as assets, their analytical ability has developed. Hidde Van der Veer, Executive Director, Aflaoun (International) says, “Money is just a tool main objective is to develop the habit of the students to grow up socially with financial awareness.” Bernice Raldan, Program Manager, Asia, Aflaoun Secretariat said, “ In 82 countries it is going on. Bangladesh is the second largest country to continue the program whereas India is the largest one to see the program of Aflatoun.” Her lively presentation in the BRAC Centre on November 29, 2011 gathered many national and international eminent personalities belonging to education, co-operatives, banking and social development sectors. Shamim Yusuf , Senior Sector Specialist, BRAC Education Program and the Master Trainer of Aflatoun- Asia shared his experience in the said international stakeholders meeting and I was fortunate enough to be there. My interest to learn more about Aflatoun and its impact has got further momentum participating and coming in contact with the Aflatoun headquarters people. Many developing countries have started incorporating it in their curriculum to derive actual benefit from education.
As Aflatoun’s dream is the reduction of poverty with the help of socially and financially empowered children, Bangladesh context aptly fits it. The Aflatoun program originated in India in 1991 but it started witnessing its success in 2005 when Jhe Ashok fellow Jeroo Billimoria, president and founder of the Aflatoun project made it familiar with different parts of the globe. In order to internalize the concept of Aflatoun interested personalities established a secretariat in Amsterdam. Now it deals with developing financial and social skills of students as well in dealing with adversities but also prepare them for better planning the economic life ahead of them. Financial ethics are explored and children learn the importance of balancing finical skills with the judgment to use these skills responsibly. Aflatoun is grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ( 1990) .Financial empowerment hinges not only on constructive personal values systems, but also on specific , practical skills. Financial empowerment is achieved when children use their saving and spending skills to maximize their life choices. Through managing community or entrepreneur enterprises children begin to see how they can have a positive impact on their community which is one of the basic objectives of education. To save the slanting quality of education of Bangladesh Aflatoun program can play a significant game.
Masum Billah
Program Manager : BRAC Education Program and Vice-President: Bangladesh English Language Teachers' Association ( BELTA)
Cell: 01714-091431
Email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com, masumbillah65@gmail.com
The Bengali poet Golam Mostofa writes, “ Future fathers lie sleeping in every child.” Children can be powerful agents of social and economic change if they are trained and brought up infusing them with social and economic values in their school life. Social thinkers and educators have been exploring newer ideas and thoughts to enrich our children in school with social values and teachings. A new concept known as ‘ Aflatoun’ has emerged in the literature of education to make the school children responsible, proactive and socially conscious citizens who can contribute to breaking the poverty cycle and to improve their own quality of life. The word ‘ Aflatoun’ is of Arabic origin and to refers to ‘ the explorer, a person who thinks, explores, investigates and acts. It also refers to Plato, known for his ideas and ethics, citizenship, social justice, respect, conservation, friendship and love for fellowmen. ( source: www.natcco.coop/index.php)
The Aflatoun program provides children and youth with the budding blocks of life and empowers them to make a positive change in their lives. If balances personal and social awareness with practical planning, saving and entrepreneurial skills. Aflatoun is delivered by network of partners which ensures that the program is adapted to local culture and requirements and is supposed at local levels. With a view to ensuring that the message of Aflatoun is passed on to all children everywhere the partnership is established and the local implementing partners are selected for the network based on the their work with children and their connections within the country. In establishing partnership special attention is given to those organizations which work for developing the situation of education as education is the prime factor to bring change in the society. A curriculum is developed focusing on personal understanding and exploration , understanding and exploring rights and responsibilities , the concept of saving and spending , learning how to plan and budget , skills that make them aware that they have choices and control over how they can use their resources and demonstrate and practice their learning through social and financial micro-enterprises where they collaborate as a team and discover how they can make the local community a safer, healthier and fairer environment. BRAC is the second largest partner of Aflatoun and has developed an Aflatoun curriculum of BRAC for children aged 6-14 years and for grades one to eight. The child’s interdependence with family , neighborhood and community and money as a means of satisfying some needs are also focused in the curriculum. Self-exploration through understanding, feelings, financial ethics and transparency , environmental preservation are other factors which are incorporated in the curriculum. Responsible behavior and citizenship, developing pride, collective action, and organizational skills are taught to the members of Aflatoun. The Aflatouns students become aware of their responsibilities, income, expenditure and saving, democratic values and leadership, fulfillment of needs and well being of the society.
Both Aflatoun and BRAC are striving to empower children. BRAC Education Program launched Aflatoun as a pilot project since 2008 in BRAC Primary schools, BRAC Adolescent Clubs and secondary schools where BRAC works for capacity building of teachers and bringing about a positive change in the overall scenario of school environment. In 1002 BRAC Primary schools, 20 BRAC Adolescent Clubs and 250 secondary schools Aflatoun activities have been introduced reaching 81914 students. The students of these institutions are now more aware of their rights and responsibilities and social issues They have learnt the importance of saving and they are now saving even if it’s small, they can prioritize where to spend, they are learning to utilize used materials, they are cost conscious now, are investigating their savings in buying hens, ducks and goats as assets, their analytical ability has developed. Hidde Van der Veer, Executive Director, Aflaoun (International) says, “Money is just a tool main objective is to develop the habit of the students to grow up socially with financial awareness.” Bernice Raldan, Program Manager, Asia, Aflaoun Secretariat said, “ In 82 countries it is going on. Bangladesh is the second largest country to continue the program whereas India is the largest one to see the program of Aflatoun.” Her lively presentation in the BRAC Centre on November 29, 2011 gathered many national and international eminent personalities belonging to education, co-operatives, banking and social development sectors. Shamim Yusuf , Senior Sector Specialist, BRAC Education Program and the Master Trainer of Aflatoun- Asia shared his experience in the said international stakeholders meeting and I was fortunate enough to be there. My interest to learn more about Aflatoun and its impact has got further momentum participating and coming in contact with the Aflatoun headquarters people. Many developing countries have started incorporating it in their curriculum to derive actual benefit from education.
As Aflatoun’s dream is the reduction of poverty with the help of socially and financially empowered children, Bangladesh context aptly fits it. The Aflatoun program originated in India in 1991 but it started witnessing its success in 2005 when Jhe Ashok fellow Jeroo Billimoria, president and founder of the Aflatoun project made it familiar with different parts of the globe. In order to internalize the concept of Aflatoun interested personalities established a secretariat in Amsterdam. Now it deals with developing financial and social skills of students as well in dealing with adversities but also prepare them for better planning the economic life ahead of them. Financial ethics are explored and children learn the importance of balancing finical skills with the judgment to use these skills responsibly. Aflatoun is grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ( 1990) .Financial empowerment hinges not only on constructive personal values systems, but also on specific , practical skills. Financial empowerment is achieved when children use their saving and spending skills to maximize their life choices. Through managing community or entrepreneur enterprises children begin to see how they can have a positive impact on their community which is one of the basic objectives of education. To save the slanting quality of education of Bangladesh Aflatoun program can play a significant game.
Masum Billah
Program Manager : BRAC Education Program and Vice-President: Bangladesh English Language Teachers' Association ( BELTA)
Cell: 01714-091431
Email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com, masumbillah65@gmail.com
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Sir Abed wins WISE – Nobel award in education
Sir Abed wins WISE – Nobel award in education
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, the founder and chairperson of BRAC, was honoured with the third World Innovation Summit for Education ( WISE) in Doha on November 01, 2011. It is the recognition of his four decade long contribution to reduce poverty through education in Bangladesh and for spreading its model to other parts of the world. 1300 delegates across the world participated in the session. A uniquely designed gold medal with the word’ education ‘ in over 50 languages was presented to Sir Abed. In addition to it, $500000 was awarded to him. “ It’s great privilege to receive such a prestigious award. The recognition belongs to BRAC the organization I founded 40 years ago.”- Sir Abed said. Over the next forty years, he built the organization with an aim to empower people to grow as individuals. He added “On behalf of 85000 BRAC staff and 45000 BRAC school teachers that I humbly accept this award. We have helped to 1.5 million families to get out of extreme poverty and we are providing financial support to more than 8 million families in Bangladesh alone. The achievement I am proud of is providing high quality primary education for 5 million poor children who were out of school children in Bangladesh and now there are 1.2million children enrolled in our schools”. Sir Abed earned a British knighthood in 2010 and a Clinton Global Citizen Award from former U. S. President Bill Clinton in 2007. He has also received the Henry R Kravis Prize in Leadership, David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award and the Gates Award for Global Health from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Conrad N Hilton Humanitarian Prize.
The theme of “Changing Societies, Changing Education’ goes this year’s WISE summit. It discusses how education can become more effective in tackling social, economic and political challenges and promoting sustainable development in a rapidly evolving world. WISE is dedicated to building the future of education through global collaboration. The Qatar Foundation, under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikh Moza bint Nasser, founded it in 2009. Its mission is to address the challenges facing 21st century education, to expand dialogue around the world and to implement practical and suitable solutions. WISE holds an annual international summit that provides a unique platform and meeting place for leaders and experts to share best practices about education . An 11-strong international committee of educational experts made a preliminary assessment and a high –level eminent individuals chaired by Dr. Abdulla took the final decision. The members of WISE Prize 2011 Jury also includes Dr. James H Billington, Librarian of Congress, USA, Naledi Pandor , Minister of Science and Technology, MP South Africa, Prof. Jeffrey D Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, Columbia University, USA and Fatma Rafiq Zakaria, Chariman of the Maulana Azad Educational Trust, Inida. WSIE chairman and also the chair of the Jury said, “ Our aim is that the prize should raise global awareness of education in all societies and create a platform for innovative and practical solutions. Sir Fazle Hasan’s life and career embody the values of WISE. He recognized that education is a passport to social inclusion and opportunity. He discovered a successful formula, and he adapted and expanded it first in Bangladesh and then in other countries.”
BRAC operates in more than 69 thousand villages of Bangladesh covering an estimated 110 million people through its development interventions that range from primary education, essential healthcare, agricultural support and human rights and legal services to microfinance and enterprise development. BRAC went to Afghanistan with its role model in 2002 and now it works eight countries in Asia and Africa. After just five years in Uganda, BRAC and the MasterCard Foundation already reach over 2 million people and are on schedule to reach 4.2 million people, or over 12 percent of the population by 2016. BRAC has exceeded commitments made in 2007 to educate youth in the poorest parts of Africa and Asia, having committed to mobilizing $271 million for education at the Clinton Global Initiative conference in 2007, with a goal of reaching 7.5 million children by 2012 BRAC has already raised more than $288 million to reach 5.6 million children. BRAC introduces social and emotional learning into its curriculum, teaching self-awareness, self- management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision –making. This approach is especially important in conflict and post-conflict environment life which are the practical phenomena of the lives of children of developing countries.
Abed is the first recipient of the prize which was conceived in 2010. The WISE prize is the largest prize of its kind the in world and is considered as a Nobel prize for the field of education. The WISE committee has rightly chosen the individual for this prestigious award. We think it also hints the Nobel committee in Oslo. His vision, resourcefulness and determination are vital ingredients of the innovation process and he stands as an example to all of us who believe that education, more than anything else, determines the destiny of individuals and societies. The issue of inequality has been thrown into the forefront of world politics. How do we begin to address this? Sir Abed answers “We start with education because education is the great equalizer. “ “Innate talent is distributed equally around the world at birth, knowing no bounds of geography or class” says Susan Davis, president and CEO of BRAC USA.” Opportunity is not. We need to redress that imbalance if this world of 7 billion is to prosper as whole.”
Masum Billah
Program Manager: BRAC Education Program Email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, the founder and chairperson of BRAC, was honoured with the third World Innovation Summit for Education ( WISE) in Doha on November 01, 2011. It is the recognition of his four decade long contribution to reduce poverty through education in Bangladesh and for spreading its model to other parts of the world. 1300 delegates across the world participated in the session. A uniquely designed gold medal with the word’ education ‘ in over 50 languages was presented to Sir Abed. In addition to it, $500000 was awarded to him. “ It’s great privilege to receive such a prestigious award. The recognition belongs to BRAC the organization I founded 40 years ago.”- Sir Abed said. Over the next forty years, he built the organization with an aim to empower people to grow as individuals. He added “On behalf of 85000 BRAC staff and 45000 BRAC school teachers that I humbly accept this award. We have helped to 1.5 million families to get out of extreme poverty and we are providing financial support to more than 8 million families in Bangladesh alone. The achievement I am proud of is providing high quality primary education for 5 million poor children who were out of school children in Bangladesh and now there are 1.2million children enrolled in our schools”. Sir Abed earned a British knighthood in 2010 and a Clinton Global Citizen Award from former U. S. President Bill Clinton in 2007. He has also received the Henry R Kravis Prize in Leadership, David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award and the Gates Award for Global Health from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Conrad N Hilton Humanitarian Prize.
The theme of “Changing Societies, Changing Education’ goes this year’s WISE summit. It discusses how education can become more effective in tackling social, economic and political challenges and promoting sustainable development in a rapidly evolving world. WISE is dedicated to building the future of education through global collaboration. The Qatar Foundation, under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikh Moza bint Nasser, founded it in 2009. Its mission is to address the challenges facing 21st century education, to expand dialogue around the world and to implement practical and suitable solutions. WISE holds an annual international summit that provides a unique platform and meeting place for leaders and experts to share best practices about education . An 11-strong international committee of educational experts made a preliminary assessment and a high –level eminent individuals chaired by Dr. Abdulla took the final decision. The members of WISE Prize 2011 Jury also includes Dr. James H Billington, Librarian of Congress, USA, Naledi Pandor , Minister of Science and Technology, MP South Africa, Prof. Jeffrey D Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, Columbia University, USA and Fatma Rafiq Zakaria, Chariman of the Maulana Azad Educational Trust, Inida. WSIE chairman and also the chair of the Jury said, “ Our aim is that the prize should raise global awareness of education in all societies and create a platform for innovative and practical solutions. Sir Fazle Hasan’s life and career embody the values of WISE. He recognized that education is a passport to social inclusion and opportunity. He discovered a successful formula, and he adapted and expanded it first in Bangladesh and then in other countries.”
BRAC operates in more than 69 thousand villages of Bangladesh covering an estimated 110 million people through its development interventions that range from primary education, essential healthcare, agricultural support and human rights and legal services to microfinance and enterprise development. BRAC went to Afghanistan with its role model in 2002 and now it works eight countries in Asia and Africa. After just five years in Uganda, BRAC and the MasterCard Foundation already reach over 2 million people and are on schedule to reach 4.2 million people, or over 12 percent of the population by 2016. BRAC has exceeded commitments made in 2007 to educate youth in the poorest parts of Africa and Asia, having committed to mobilizing $271 million for education at the Clinton Global Initiative conference in 2007, with a goal of reaching 7.5 million children by 2012 BRAC has already raised more than $288 million to reach 5.6 million children. BRAC introduces social and emotional learning into its curriculum, teaching self-awareness, self- management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision –making. This approach is especially important in conflict and post-conflict environment life which are the practical phenomena of the lives of children of developing countries.
Abed is the first recipient of the prize which was conceived in 2010. The WISE prize is the largest prize of its kind the in world and is considered as a Nobel prize for the field of education. The WISE committee has rightly chosen the individual for this prestigious award. We think it also hints the Nobel committee in Oslo. His vision, resourcefulness and determination are vital ingredients of the innovation process and he stands as an example to all of us who believe that education, more than anything else, determines the destiny of individuals and societies. The issue of inequality has been thrown into the forefront of world politics. How do we begin to address this? Sir Abed answers “We start with education because education is the great equalizer. “ “Innate talent is distributed equally around the world at birth, knowing no bounds of geography or class” says Susan Davis, president and CEO of BRAC USA.” Opportunity is not. We need to redress that imbalance if this world of 7 billion is to prosper as whole.”
Masum Billah
Program Manager: BRAC Education Program Email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com
Monday, October 24, 2011
Boat schooling- an innovation in education
Boat schooling- an innovation in education
When a student of English literature visits greater Sylhet particularly Sunamgonj he/she will remember the famous lines of S.T Coleridge, the romantic poet ‘ Water ,water everywhere, but there is not a drop to drink.” He /she can change it a little bit thus’ water, water everywhere, no land in sight or water, water everywhere, no school in sight.” We know Sylhet is called the land of haors or permanent marshland covering 30.2 percent of its land. Despite the adverse conditions and isolation, people have managed to live in the haors of Sylhet for hundreds of years. Their fighting with nature has given them courage to adjust with the roughness of natural phenomena which have become part of their lives. But the world has seen quite change in the ways of living, earning, education which have very negligible or no effect on these haor or marshlands of Sunamgonj. Of course, the poets or lovers of nature can soothe their eyes by visiting these areas just for a retreat or sojourn. Permanent living keeping them aloof from the world which we call civilized (?) will not allow our minds and strength. Still ‘homo sapiens’ have lived here for long on the lap of nature surrounded by water. The light of education and modernity hardly touches them. We the plain land people, the fortunate people and the state definitely have some responsibilities towards them. Generally and traditionally in rural Bangladesh boys are the first ones to be sent to school and girls can go to school only if the facility is not too far from home. Often, the nearest school is miles away and for girls this can represent an insurmountable challenge to their schooling. The picture of schooling in haor areas prove extremely miserable. Standing beside the education deprived populace has come under the thought of BRAC Education as it promises to extend education facilities to those who have no option for schooling.
Traditionally the natural location of Sunamgonj haor area people doesn’t send their children to school. They don’t even think of sending them to school in this age of computer and internet whereas we have promised a lot to the nation. They deserve the light of education and it is our duty to reach it to the haor children. From BRAC’s commitment to the outreach population, it started campaign and searched for every possible means and ways and talked to the local boat making people and made them know that BRAC was going to make arrangements of primary education for the haor children. People from all walks of life started welcoming this initiative. In one research it is seen that in greater Sylhet children start going to school at the age of six and their percentage is 52. In plain land this rate is 50, in haor area it is 60 and in tea estate areas it is 73. To make the dream of giving education to the deprived children of haor areas into reality BRAC Education Program launched a boat schooling program at Sunamgjon district. On 26th September 2011 a new chapter has opened in the history of education of the haor people. BRAC Education Program started schools on boats in two villages namely Dhorerpar and Rahamatpur on that day. Each boat will pick teachers and 30 registered students from nearer ‘ hati’. After finishing class they will be dropped in their home. They consider this as an excellent opportunity of becoming familiar with the letters and alphabets. At the launching event Dr. Mahbub Hossain,the Executive Director of BRAC said, “ BRAC works to support government. Our values are reflected in our work.” According to research statistics it is seen that 42 percent of the villages in Sylhet have no primary schools. In terms of literacy rate also it lags far behind the national average. The literacy rate for 7 plus populations is 40.7 percent and for adult population it is 44.4 percent but national rates are 48.5 percent and 52.1 percent respectively.
The Executive Director of BRAC, Dr. Mahbub Hossain, Director- BRAC Education Program, Dr. Safiqul Islam and the Deputy Commissioner of Sunamgonj-Muhammad Yasin Chowdhury were present in the boat schooling launching ceremony to give encouragement to the villagers and children. It also sets an example of GO and NGO-cooperation. Now this boat schooling opportunity is extended to ten villages such as Rahamatpur, Bagani and Aktapara of Jamalgonj Upazia, Dhararpar, Dharerpar of Bishamvar upazial, Bhatital of Dirai Upazial, Raghunath pur of Shalla, Rameshorpur, Jagadishpur and Gazipur of Sonakani and Tahirpur Upazila. Total ten boats will hold schooling program for three hundred children. It exists as an example for others to extend hands to bring the deprived children of the haor people under schooling program. The government can make such kind of arrangements for the haor people as well as for the children who cannot go to school due to flood in many parts of Bangladesh as frequent flood is a common natural phenomenon here. Normal schooling gets hampered every year in several parts of Bangladesh but no tangible arrangement has yet been done except to yield to the whims of nature and accept non-schooling during flood.
It deserves relevance to mention here that in BRAC primary schools 1.2 million students are currently enrolled. It is more encouraging that most of them are female students who usually get the second priority from their parents to go to school. The presence of BRAC primary schools in their vicinity has changed this notion of the parents proving their old and superstitious ideas. So far almost 5 million children have graduated and received basic education from these BRAC Primary Schools, while nearly 95 percent continue to secondary schools and they show far better performance in terms of presence in the class, cultural aspects, participation in educational activities and academic results. Introducing boat schooling has opened new vistas for BRAC Education Program and it cherishes to borrow all out cooperation from all concerned to make it a successful and sustainable project.
Masum Billah :Program Manager: BRAC Education Program
(Ex-Faculty: Ghatail Cantonment College, Sylhet, Comilla and Mirzapur Cadet College and Rajuk Uttara Model College)
When a student of English literature visits greater Sylhet particularly Sunamgonj he/she will remember the famous lines of S.T Coleridge, the romantic poet ‘ Water ,water everywhere, but there is not a drop to drink.” He /she can change it a little bit thus’ water, water everywhere, no land in sight or water, water everywhere, no school in sight.” We know Sylhet is called the land of haors or permanent marshland covering 30.2 percent of its land. Despite the adverse conditions and isolation, people have managed to live in the haors of Sylhet for hundreds of years. Their fighting with nature has given them courage to adjust with the roughness of natural phenomena which have become part of their lives. But the world has seen quite change in the ways of living, earning, education which have very negligible or no effect on these haor or marshlands of Sunamgonj. Of course, the poets or lovers of nature can soothe their eyes by visiting these areas just for a retreat or sojourn. Permanent living keeping them aloof from the world which we call civilized (?) will not allow our minds and strength. Still ‘homo sapiens’ have lived here for long on the lap of nature surrounded by water. The light of education and modernity hardly touches them. We the plain land people, the fortunate people and the state definitely have some responsibilities towards them. Generally and traditionally in rural Bangladesh boys are the first ones to be sent to school and girls can go to school only if the facility is not too far from home. Often, the nearest school is miles away and for girls this can represent an insurmountable challenge to their schooling. The picture of schooling in haor areas prove extremely miserable. Standing beside the education deprived populace has come under the thought of BRAC Education as it promises to extend education facilities to those who have no option for schooling.
Traditionally the natural location of Sunamgonj haor area people doesn’t send their children to school. They don’t even think of sending them to school in this age of computer and internet whereas we have promised a lot to the nation. They deserve the light of education and it is our duty to reach it to the haor children. From BRAC’s commitment to the outreach population, it started campaign and searched for every possible means and ways and talked to the local boat making people and made them know that BRAC was going to make arrangements of primary education for the haor children. People from all walks of life started welcoming this initiative. In one research it is seen that in greater Sylhet children start going to school at the age of six and their percentage is 52. In plain land this rate is 50, in haor area it is 60 and in tea estate areas it is 73. To make the dream of giving education to the deprived children of haor areas into reality BRAC Education Program launched a boat schooling program at Sunamgjon district. On 26th September 2011 a new chapter has opened in the history of education of the haor people. BRAC Education Program started schools on boats in two villages namely Dhorerpar and Rahamatpur on that day. Each boat will pick teachers and 30 registered students from nearer ‘ hati’. After finishing class they will be dropped in their home. They consider this as an excellent opportunity of becoming familiar with the letters and alphabets. At the launching event Dr. Mahbub Hossain,the Executive Director of BRAC said, “ BRAC works to support government. Our values are reflected in our work.” According to research statistics it is seen that 42 percent of the villages in Sylhet have no primary schools. In terms of literacy rate also it lags far behind the national average. The literacy rate for 7 plus populations is 40.7 percent and for adult population it is 44.4 percent but national rates are 48.5 percent and 52.1 percent respectively.
The Executive Director of BRAC, Dr. Mahbub Hossain, Director- BRAC Education Program, Dr. Safiqul Islam and the Deputy Commissioner of Sunamgonj-Muhammad Yasin Chowdhury were present in the boat schooling launching ceremony to give encouragement to the villagers and children. It also sets an example of GO and NGO-cooperation. Now this boat schooling opportunity is extended to ten villages such as Rahamatpur, Bagani and Aktapara of Jamalgonj Upazia, Dhararpar, Dharerpar of Bishamvar upazial, Bhatital of Dirai Upazial, Raghunath pur of Shalla, Rameshorpur, Jagadishpur and Gazipur of Sonakani and Tahirpur Upazila. Total ten boats will hold schooling program for three hundred children. It exists as an example for others to extend hands to bring the deprived children of the haor people under schooling program. The government can make such kind of arrangements for the haor people as well as for the children who cannot go to school due to flood in many parts of Bangladesh as frequent flood is a common natural phenomenon here. Normal schooling gets hampered every year in several parts of Bangladesh but no tangible arrangement has yet been done except to yield to the whims of nature and accept non-schooling during flood.
It deserves relevance to mention here that in BRAC primary schools 1.2 million students are currently enrolled. It is more encouraging that most of them are female students who usually get the second priority from their parents to go to school. The presence of BRAC primary schools in their vicinity has changed this notion of the parents proving their old and superstitious ideas. So far almost 5 million children have graduated and received basic education from these BRAC Primary Schools, while nearly 95 percent continue to secondary schools and they show far better performance in terms of presence in the class, cultural aspects, participation in educational activities and academic results. Introducing boat schooling has opened new vistas for BRAC Education Program and it cherishes to borrow all out cooperation from all concerned to make it a successful and sustainable project.
Masum Billah :Program Manager: BRAC Education Program
(Ex-Faculty: Ghatail Cantonment College, Sylhet, Comilla and Mirzapur Cadet College and Rajuk Uttara Model College)
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed deserves next Nobel Peace Prize
The future recipient of Nobel Peace Prize
This year the world’s most prestigious Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian social worker Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman of Yemen as the recognition of their ‘ non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace building work for promoting peace, democracy and gender equality. Most of the recipients in the award’s 110-year history have been men but this year it shows a striking difference. It gives a new signal and bears a special significance. Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland’s announcement clandestinely explains how much importance has been attached to women empowerment in the global arena in awarding this prize, “We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women achieve the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society.” We congratulate the three glorious women on winning this prestigious award and give thanks to the Nobel Committee for their judicious and subtle decision.
Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist, is the first democratically elected president of Liberia since 2005. She has contributed to securing peace in Liberia, to promoting economic and social development, and to strengthening the position of women. In her reaction she said ‘the award gives her a stronger commitment to work for reconciliation in the war –torn West African nation’. Gbowee, a trained social worker, was cited for her efforts in organizing women, across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia and to ensure women’s participation in elections. She introduced ‘sex strike’ to compel the males to work with them. Liberian conflict killed 250000 people and ruined the country. Karman heads the Yemeni organization Women Journalists Without Chains and has been jailed several times over her campaigns for press freedom and her opposition to the government of president Ali Abdullah Saleh.She took to the streets of the capital along with about 50 other university students in January , demanding the resignation of president Ali Abdullah Saleh. She is the first Arab woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 98 times to individuals and 23 times to organizations since 1901. The youngest peace laureate was Mairead Corrigan aged 32, and the oldest 87-year old Joseph Rotblat. Peace prize actually covers a variegated range of fields. In 2004 Wangari Maathai of Kenya was awarded the peace prize for planting four crore trees to bring change in weather, supply shed fuel and fruits to the farmers and increase the food production. Peace cannot prevail where poverty reigns. The absence of social security and illiteracy cannot bring peace. Very rare examples exist in the world to work against all these ills . This rare work has been done by a Bangladesh son named Fazle Hasan Abed and his organization named BRAC which has already earned name, familiarity and fame beyond the boundaries of this developing nation. The Nobel Committee is entreated to take into consideration and enlist the name of this icon whose contribution to the fields which remain responsible for establishing peace in the globe in the next year Nobel Peace Prize. President Tutu, another Nobel laureate commented on Sirleaf’s prize that’ it is too late.’ People also consider Sir Fazle Hasan Abed’s winning the Peace Nobel Prize is getting late.
BRAC strives to achieve its mission by working with the poor, especially women and children, engaging in multifaceted development interventions, to promote positive changes in quality of life, working towards attaining socially, financially and environmentally sustainable programs. It actively promotes human rights, human dignity and gender equity and helps shape national and global policies on poverty reduction and social progress. BRAC launched its journey in the field of micro finance in Bangladesh in 1974. Today it is the largest poverty focused microfinance provider in the world with 8 million members and USD660 million in outstanding loans. The micro-finance program has achieved this success by implementing a model that focuses on building the structure and system for sustainable microfinance with the ability to reach scale and organizing the poor in a manner that enables them to form a compact for empowerment and growth through micro-finance.
BRAC boasts of a huge non-formal primary education with 38000 one-room primary schools which presently impart education to 1.2 million children. 5 million Students have already graduated from these schools. It also runs 8250 primary schools through 782 NGOs. These schools enroll children often deprived of the option of continuing schooling due to poor economic background, ethnic backgrounds and disabilities. The schools employ local women as teachers and above 60 percent of the students are girls. BRAC runs 26, 350 pre-primary schools and so far 3 million children have been promoted to primary schools. In the first public examination for class five BRAC schools occupied the second position in the country. It has a special life skill courses for both adolescent boys and girls at the village level. It provides scope for socializing, access to reading materials and develops leadership skills. There are 8868 ADP centers all over the country. Its Post-primary basic education intervention develops the capacity of rural secondary school teachers in English, Mathematics, Science and Management. This intervention also works to increase the self esteem among students by engaging in co-and extracurricular activities that again contribute to improving the quality of education. The multipurpose community learning centers or popularly known as Gonokendras provide continued learning and IT facilities for all of the people in the community with minimum education and foster community contribution in spreading education. Gonokendras extend education facilities to the doorstep of the village women, disabled and people deprived of formal education.
BRAC offers primitive, preventive, limited curative care and reproductive health services to more than 100million people in rural and urban Bangladesh through its Essential Health Care services. Community Health Workers and Volunteers of BRAC Health Program make regular household visits to raise awareness on basic health and hygiene issues. They apply the techniques of inter-personal communication, arranging health forums and providing treatment for common diseases and pregnancy related care. 85000 Community Health Volunteers popularly known as Shasthya Shebika and more than 7000 Community Health Workers are trained to offer these services. In partnership with the Government of Bangladesh BRAC is implementing the community based Tuberculosis Control Program covering 88million population. WASH program intends to ensure improved supplies and sanitation facilities to individual households, schools and communities. This program ensures access to sanitation services for 17.5million people of 150 upazials, hygiene education for 38.5 million people and safe water services for 8.5million people across rural Bangladesh.
“ Translating Awareness into Action” is the motto of the Social Development Program aiming at enabling the rural poor especially women to build secure and use socio-political assets to improve their well being, reduce vulnerability ,take advantage of new opportunities, exercise their rights and play a more active role in public life. BRAC promises to protect and promote rights through legal empowerment especially for the poor and marginalized through its Human Rights and Legal Services. It creates awareness on human rights and laws to empower the poor and marginalized through community mobilization and capacity building. BRAC presently works in eight countries other than Bangladesh.
More than one lac regular and irregular staff members work relentlessly for the success and further innovation of this large organization. Awarding Nobel Peace Prize to its founder or the organization will encourage the entire cluster of beneficiaries and give impetus to all concerned for steering the welfare oriented efforts in all parts of the globe extending real opportunities to the people wishing to see this planet as a peaceful abode.
Masum Billah
Program Manager: BRAC Education Program and Vice-President: Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association (BELTA)
Cell: 01714-091431
Email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com
This year the world’s most prestigious Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian social worker Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman of Yemen as the recognition of their ‘ non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace building work for promoting peace, democracy and gender equality. Most of the recipients in the award’s 110-year history have been men but this year it shows a striking difference. It gives a new signal and bears a special significance. Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland’s announcement clandestinely explains how much importance has been attached to women empowerment in the global arena in awarding this prize, “We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women achieve the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society.” We congratulate the three glorious women on winning this prestigious award and give thanks to the Nobel Committee for their judicious and subtle decision.
Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist, is the first democratically elected president of Liberia since 2005. She has contributed to securing peace in Liberia, to promoting economic and social development, and to strengthening the position of women. In her reaction she said ‘the award gives her a stronger commitment to work for reconciliation in the war –torn West African nation’. Gbowee, a trained social worker, was cited for her efforts in organizing women, across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia and to ensure women’s participation in elections. She introduced ‘sex strike’ to compel the males to work with them. Liberian conflict killed 250000 people and ruined the country. Karman heads the Yemeni organization Women Journalists Without Chains and has been jailed several times over her campaigns for press freedom and her opposition to the government of president Ali Abdullah Saleh.She took to the streets of the capital along with about 50 other university students in January , demanding the resignation of president Ali Abdullah Saleh. She is the first Arab woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 98 times to individuals and 23 times to organizations since 1901. The youngest peace laureate was Mairead Corrigan aged 32, and the oldest 87-year old Joseph Rotblat. Peace prize actually covers a variegated range of fields. In 2004 Wangari Maathai of Kenya was awarded the peace prize for planting four crore trees to bring change in weather, supply shed fuel and fruits to the farmers and increase the food production. Peace cannot prevail where poverty reigns. The absence of social security and illiteracy cannot bring peace. Very rare examples exist in the world to work against all these ills . This rare work has been done by a Bangladesh son named Fazle Hasan Abed and his organization named BRAC which has already earned name, familiarity and fame beyond the boundaries of this developing nation. The Nobel Committee is entreated to take into consideration and enlist the name of this icon whose contribution to the fields which remain responsible for establishing peace in the globe in the next year Nobel Peace Prize. President Tutu, another Nobel laureate commented on Sirleaf’s prize that’ it is too late.’ People also consider Sir Fazle Hasan Abed’s winning the Peace Nobel Prize is getting late.
BRAC strives to achieve its mission by working with the poor, especially women and children, engaging in multifaceted development interventions, to promote positive changes in quality of life, working towards attaining socially, financially and environmentally sustainable programs. It actively promotes human rights, human dignity and gender equity and helps shape national and global policies on poverty reduction and social progress. BRAC launched its journey in the field of micro finance in Bangladesh in 1974. Today it is the largest poverty focused microfinance provider in the world with 8 million members and USD660 million in outstanding loans. The micro-finance program has achieved this success by implementing a model that focuses on building the structure and system for sustainable microfinance with the ability to reach scale and organizing the poor in a manner that enables them to form a compact for empowerment and growth through micro-finance.
BRAC boasts of a huge non-formal primary education with 38000 one-room primary schools which presently impart education to 1.2 million children. 5 million Students have already graduated from these schools. It also runs 8250 primary schools through 782 NGOs. These schools enroll children often deprived of the option of continuing schooling due to poor economic background, ethnic backgrounds and disabilities. The schools employ local women as teachers and above 60 percent of the students are girls. BRAC runs 26, 350 pre-primary schools and so far 3 million children have been promoted to primary schools. In the first public examination for class five BRAC schools occupied the second position in the country. It has a special life skill courses for both adolescent boys and girls at the village level. It provides scope for socializing, access to reading materials and develops leadership skills. There are 8868 ADP centers all over the country. Its Post-primary basic education intervention develops the capacity of rural secondary school teachers in English, Mathematics, Science and Management. This intervention also works to increase the self esteem among students by engaging in co-and extracurricular activities that again contribute to improving the quality of education. The multipurpose community learning centers or popularly known as Gonokendras provide continued learning and IT facilities for all of the people in the community with minimum education and foster community contribution in spreading education. Gonokendras extend education facilities to the doorstep of the village women, disabled and people deprived of formal education.
BRAC offers primitive, preventive, limited curative care and reproductive health services to more than 100million people in rural and urban Bangladesh through its Essential Health Care services. Community Health Workers and Volunteers of BRAC Health Program make regular household visits to raise awareness on basic health and hygiene issues. They apply the techniques of inter-personal communication, arranging health forums and providing treatment for common diseases and pregnancy related care. 85000 Community Health Volunteers popularly known as Shasthya Shebika and more than 7000 Community Health Workers are trained to offer these services. In partnership with the Government of Bangladesh BRAC is implementing the community based Tuberculosis Control Program covering 88million population. WASH program intends to ensure improved supplies and sanitation facilities to individual households, schools and communities. This program ensures access to sanitation services for 17.5million people of 150 upazials, hygiene education for 38.5 million people and safe water services for 8.5million people across rural Bangladesh.
“ Translating Awareness into Action” is the motto of the Social Development Program aiming at enabling the rural poor especially women to build secure and use socio-political assets to improve their well being, reduce vulnerability ,take advantage of new opportunities, exercise their rights and play a more active role in public life. BRAC promises to protect and promote rights through legal empowerment especially for the poor and marginalized through its Human Rights and Legal Services. It creates awareness on human rights and laws to empower the poor and marginalized through community mobilization and capacity building. BRAC presently works in eight countries other than Bangladesh.
More than one lac regular and irregular staff members work relentlessly for the success and further innovation of this large organization. Awarding Nobel Peace Prize to its founder or the organization will encourage the entire cluster of beneficiaries and give impetus to all concerned for steering the welfare oriented efforts in all parts of the globe extending real opportunities to the people wishing to see this planet as a peaceful abode.
Masum Billah
Program Manager: BRAC Education Program and Vice-President: Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association (BELTA)
Cell: 01714-091431
Email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
School teachers teach in colleges
Secondary school teachers conduct classes in colleges
With a view to addressing the increasing crisis of admission into intermediate level the government turned ten government schools into colleges and this process was started in 2007 as a huge number of students passed the SSC examination that year. Firstly, Dhanmondi Government High School, Motijheel Government Boys’ High School and Sher-e-Banglanagar Boys’ High School introduced intermediate class. Again in 2008 Khilgaon Government High School and Sher-e-Banglanagar Girls’ High School were turned into colleges reaching the number five. Another five schools have been upgraded to colleges outside Dhaka . They are Chittagong Collegiate School, Rajshahi Collegiate School, Sylhet Augragami Girls’ School, Khulna Zilla School and Barisal Zilla School . The decision in one sense was wise indeed. But its hastiness without giving subsequent thoughts and its present inertia regarding the next course of action in these institutions to offer quality education have exerted a negative impact on the studies in these newly turned colleges. 1500 students have already passed the HSC examinations from these institutions in the last two years facing some basic problems.
Usually, specialized subject based teachers don’t teach individual subjects in the secondary level ( upto grade ten) in our country except in cadet colleges, cantonment school and colleges, Rifles Public school and College, Residential Model School and College, Rajuk Uttara Model College and some institutions controlled by Corporations and Mills. Subject based teachers are recruited in these institutions. Here English teachers teach only English, not Bengali or other subjects. Chemistry teachers teach Chemistry, Physics teachers take classes on Physics. The secondary schools both in urban and rural, government and non-government mathematics teachers teach mathematics and other science subjects. Social welfare teachers teach sociology and Bengali, Bengali teachers teach both Bengali and English. This is the usual pattern of staffing to teach the subjects prescribed in the secondary level. This discrimination or specialized system in some secondary level institutions contributes a great deal to show a large gap of results among schools. Cadet colleges and Rajuk College and the similar ones excel in result in the public examinations and in other areas of students’ performance because subject-based teachers teach in these institutions. Teachers having masters in a particular subject and with experience definitely deliver a different and developed way of class. Intermediate classes of all colleges are run by subject based teachers. When the subject based teachers teach in the intermediate as well in the secondary level the situation of overall teaching environment is sure to see a change. Moreover, the course of SSC and HSC shows a big difference in terms of volume as well as standard. . Teachers without having masters normally cannot give proper teaching in this level. The teachers having simple graduation working in these institutions cannot give satisfactory way of delivery which these newly turned colleges experience. In our new education policy secondary level will be up to grade twelve like most of the countries and subject based teachers may be recruited then. Till now intermediate level is considered as college and subject based teachers are necessary for it. In most of the countries of the world secondary level is called high school up to twelve classes.
It is sad enough that no new policy has been adopted to run the newly turned ten government schools into colleges smoothly and effectively. Recruitment of new teachers of college level has not yet received any consideration of the authorities concerned. They just changed the name of the schools into college or upgraded the classes from ten to twelve like political declaration. Now a teacher is to conduct even eight classes a day as to run both schools and colleges which is a tremendous pressure of their part. Then again, a teacher is to move from class one to twelve creating a standard vacuum. It is difficult for a teacher to match quickly with the levels. A teacher said that he had to conduct classes in class one and just after class one he has to take another class to twelve grade. Psychologically it is not sound for the learners and for the teachers as well. So, the students admitted in these newly turned colleges don’t feel the warmth of colleges. They don’t; find the standard teaching as the secondary level teachers teach in the same way in the intermediate section as they do in schools. Students have already lost their interest to continue their studies in these institutions showing the result and standard of teaching below standard. The proof comes in the way that some of these colleges don’t get students to continue intermediate class whereas the better colleges of the country cannot accommodate the huge pressure of students. Barisal collegiate school doesn’t get students. Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Boys’ High School has 80 seats in commerce group but 55 students got admission here. In science group out of 80 only 30 students got enrolled.
The institutional heads of these newly turned colleges sent proposals several times to the authorities concerned for increasing the number of teachers but no solution has yet been found. I came to find in the newspapers that the media people talked to the proper authorities such as the Secretary of the ministry and the Director General of Secondary and Higher Education but their answers seemed to be evading the real problems. In this connection, I want to put forward some suggestions which the authorities may consider. In the last several years a good number of potential and young teachers having masters been recruited in the government secondary schools. These teachers try to leave the job as they are not satisfied with their position and designation. The position of these teachers can be upgraded changing their designation as lecturer. They can be transferred to these institutions as lecturers. If it is done they will work with full dedication and don’t think of leaving the job.
It does not seem reasonable to learn that the five upgraded schools of Dhaka city don’t find subject based teachers. Many teachers are trying heart and soul to come to Dhaka and other big cities from the rural areas and moffashal towns. Due to the non-availability of post, the authorities cannot transfer them to Dhaka. The posts lying vacant can be filled in by transferring the teachers from other areas and the activities of these institutions can be turned into a normal going.
Many master degree holder students have been unemployed in the country. They can be employed in these institutions part time basis as lecturers. It will be a great help for the unemployed potential youths. To meet the extra amount to pay the part time teachers can be met with tuition fees of the students. It will not incur extra financial burden of the ministry. Only initiatives and right decision can show a better solution these newly turned institutes are facing. The institutional heads can be assigned with dealing with this temporary recruitment avoiding the bureaucratic tangle lying in this field. When the objective is to offer quality education and narrowing admission crisis, we should be liberal enough to take decisions in this regard empowering the institutional heads.
Masum Billah
Program Manager: BRAC Education Program and Vice-President: Bangladesh English Language Teachers’ Association (BELTA)
With a view to addressing the increasing crisis of admission into intermediate level the government turned ten government schools into colleges and this process was started in 2007 as a huge number of students passed the SSC examination that year. Firstly, Dhanmondi Government High School, Motijheel Government Boys’ High School and Sher-e-Banglanagar Boys’ High School introduced intermediate class. Again in 2008 Khilgaon Government High School and Sher-e-Banglanagar Girls’ High School were turned into colleges reaching the number five. Another five schools have been upgraded to colleges outside Dhaka . They are Chittagong Collegiate School, Rajshahi Collegiate School, Sylhet Augragami Girls’ School, Khulna Zilla School and Barisal Zilla School . The decision in one sense was wise indeed. But its hastiness without giving subsequent thoughts and its present inertia regarding the next course of action in these institutions to offer quality education have exerted a negative impact on the studies in these newly turned colleges. 1500 students have already passed the HSC examinations from these institutions in the last two years facing some basic problems.
Usually, specialized subject based teachers don’t teach individual subjects in the secondary level ( upto grade ten) in our country except in cadet colleges, cantonment school and colleges, Rifles Public school and College, Residential Model School and College, Rajuk Uttara Model College and some institutions controlled by Corporations and Mills. Subject based teachers are recruited in these institutions. Here English teachers teach only English, not Bengali or other subjects. Chemistry teachers teach Chemistry, Physics teachers take classes on Physics. The secondary schools both in urban and rural, government and non-government mathematics teachers teach mathematics and other science subjects. Social welfare teachers teach sociology and Bengali, Bengali teachers teach both Bengali and English. This is the usual pattern of staffing to teach the subjects prescribed in the secondary level. This discrimination or specialized system in some secondary level institutions contributes a great deal to show a large gap of results among schools. Cadet colleges and Rajuk College and the similar ones excel in result in the public examinations and in other areas of students’ performance because subject-based teachers teach in these institutions. Teachers having masters in a particular subject and with experience definitely deliver a different and developed way of class. Intermediate classes of all colleges are run by subject based teachers. When the subject based teachers teach in the intermediate as well in the secondary level the situation of overall teaching environment is sure to see a change. Moreover, the course of SSC and HSC shows a big difference in terms of volume as well as standard. . Teachers without having masters normally cannot give proper teaching in this level. The teachers having simple graduation working in these institutions cannot give satisfactory way of delivery which these newly turned colleges experience. In our new education policy secondary level will be up to grade twelve like most of the countries and subject based teachers may be recruited then. Till now intermediate level is considered as college and subject based teachers are necessary for it. In most of the countries of the world secondary level is called high school up to twelve classes.
It is sad enough that no new policy has been adopted to run the newly turned ten government schools into colleges smoothly and effectively. Recruitment of new teachers of college level has not yet received any consideration of the authorities concerned. They just changed the name of the schools into college or upgraded the classes from ten to twelve like political declaration. Now a teacher is to conduct even eight classes a day as to run both schools and colleges which is a tremendous pressure of their part. Then again, a teacher is to move from class one to twelve creating a standard vacuum. It is difficult for a teacher to match quickly with the levels. A teacher said that he had to conduct classes in class one and just after class one he has to take another class to twelve grade. Psychologically it is not sound for the learners and for the teachers as well. So, the students admitted in these newly turned colleges don’t feel the warmth of colleges. They don’t; find the standard teaching as the secondary level teachers teach in the same way in the intermediate section as they do in schools. Students have already lost their interest to continue their studies in these institutions showing the result and standard of teaching below standard. The proof comes in the way that some of these colleges don’t get students to continue intermediate class whereas the better colleges of the country cannot accommodate the huge pressure of students. Barisal collegiate school doesn’t get students. Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Boys’ High School has 80 seats in commerce group but 55 students got admission here. In science group out of 80 only 30 students got enrolled.
The institutional heads of these newly turned colleges sent proposals several times to the authorities concerned for increasing the number of teachers but no solution has yet been found. I came to find in the newspapers that the media people talked to the proper authorities such as the Secretary of the ministry and the Director General of Secondary and Higher Education but their answers seemed to be evading the real problems. In this connection, I want to put forward some suggestions which the authorities may consider. In the last several years a good number of potential and young teachers having masters been recruited in the government secondary schools. These teachers try to leave the job as they are not satisfied with their position and designation. The position of these teachers can be upgraded changing their designation as lecturer. They can be transferred to these institutions as lecturers. If it is done they will work with full dedication and don’t think of leaving the job.
It does not seem reasonable to learn that the five upgraded schools of Dhaka city don’t find subject based teachers. Many teachers are trying heart and soul to come to Dhaka and other big cities from the rural areas and moffashal towns. Due to the non-availability of post, the authorities cannot transfer them to Dhaka. The posts lying vacant can be filled in by transferring the teachers from other areas and the activities of these institutions can be turned into a normal going.
Many master degree holder students have been unemployed in the country. They can be employed in these institutions part time basis as lecturers. It will be a great help for the unemployed potential youths. To meet the extra amount to pay the part time teachers can be met with tuition fees of the students. It will not incur extra financial burden of the ministry. Only initiatives and right decision can show a better solution these newly turned institutes are facing. The institutional heads can be assigned with dealing with this temporary recruitment avoiding the bureaucratic tangle lying in this field. When the objective is to offer quality education and narrowing admission crisis, we should be liberal enough to take decisions in this regard empowering the institutional heads.
Masum Billah
Program Manager: BRAC Education Program and Vice-President: Bangladesh English Language Teachers’ Association (BELTA)
New Education Policy from 2013
New Education Policy from 2013
The present education policy claims greater acceptance than the previous ones due to its strong base on huge public opinion. Introducing public interest oriented and scientific education policy has been the demand for long. Again this education policy is the reflection of Kudrat-e-Khuda Education Commission which was instituted just after our independence. The government has taken steps to reorganize the curriculum from class six to twelve keeping pace with the modern knowledge, science and technology. It has announced that the students will get the books under new curriculum by 1st January 2013. By March 2012 the writing of books on new syllabus and curriculum will be completed. The Education Minister released this news at BIAM Foundation in the National Education Policy 2010 seminar organized by NCTB and SESDP. Some remarkable steps have already been taken to implement the present education policy. An implementation committee, 24 sub-committees have been formed to give it a momentum. Completion examination after class five and Junior Certificate Examination for class eight, distribution of books across the country, distribution of computer, introducing lunch in some areas of the country to retain the students in the class manifest the steps taken by the government.
The present education policy says that the subjects which are taught as general subjects should be written keeping pace with the trend and culture of the country. Again, they need to be revised, rewritten and corrected when necessary. But coordinated law is necessary to implement the policy. It needs to be passed in the parliamentary session without delay. Education as rights should be ensured for the backward people. The proposed education commission must be formed immediately. To constitute accreditation council to ensure the standard of public and private universities should be done without delay. To monitor the process chief education monitor should be employed.
The Education Minister said that the country now sees the curriculum adopted eighteen years back and implemented in 1996. Changes in the global arena, the demand in teachers and learners have taken place. So, to revise, change and extension of our curriculum is a must. The aim of our education is to equip our children to face the challenges of the 21st century and imbue them with the teachings of values, honesty, and sincerity and patriotism and to develop them as responsible and ideal citizens of the country. He added that everybody should not receive higher education, it is not necessary for all as well. Technical and vocational education is emphasized in the present education policy. To bring changes he emphasized the duration of teaching time, the dedicated and meritorious candidates to be employed in teaching profession. To establish a separate commission to select the deserving candidates for teaching profession is not moving fast. The minister informed that 75 books of secondary and four in the higher secondary level books will see change. After completing pre-primary and primary ( up to eight) a portion of students will be able to take admission in the secondary level and another portion in the vocational education. After the completion of secondary education students will have opportunity to receive vocational education or higher education. Even the vocational educators also have scope to receive higher education particularly those who are capable.
In this new curriculum from six to eight in general and madrasa English for 150 marks, Bengali 150, mathematics 100, Bangladesh and the World affairs 100, Science 100, Environment 50, ICT 50 total 700 marks. 300-400 marks will be for their own stream.In the secondary level from class nine and ten there will be Humanities, Science and Business Education groups. For each group there will be Bengal for 200 marks, English 200, Mathematics 100, Religious Education and moral education 100, ICT 50, Education, Health and Games and Sports for 100 marks and total 750 marks compulsory and 400 for their own stream.
In Eleven and twelfth grades Bengali will be taught for 200 marks, English 200, ICT 50 and Health Education and Games and Sports for 100 marks. Human qualities, morality, democratic values, discipline, patriotism, creativity, analytical capability, developing imaginative power are emphasized in all the streams and levels. The duration of class time will be increased from 35 to 50 minutes. Yearly leaves/vacations will be squeezed from 141 to 116 days. The time of SSC and HSC examinations will be lessened to utilize more time for teaching-learning purpose.
Finally for the implementation of the present education policy financing, education administration, public awareness stand as key factors which call for serious thought. At present the education field of the country sees only 2.3 percent expenditure from national income. Other developing countries of the world already have been using 6 percent of the GDP and Bangladesh promises to do it. The situation does not show any positive sign before us as we can collect only 11 percent revenue income and to spend 6 percent from it for education proves to be absurd. How far we are lagging behind in this respect can be deduced from the fact to learn that Japan used 43 percent of its GDP for education since 1906-1911. ( Samakal 21 September 2011). And where we stand after one hundred years!
Still most of the students of universities in Bangladesh belong to relatively higher economic class of society showing the opportunities are open for the higher segment of population. In respect of higher education the emphasis should be given on infrastructure building, research capacity enhancement and technological uplift. Public universities should construct safety nets of the pupils coming from poor segment of population. The private costs of primary education is high for poor families because of high opportunity costs of education and expected benefits are lower for poor families out of primary education. Still free education for the primary students fails to lure them to complete the circle because of timing. Most poor children have to spend the hours when they are supposed to earn something for supporting their families. Some NGO schools are running keeping this view in mind which can be taken as role models.
Masum Billah
Program Manager: BRAC Education Program
The present education policy claims greater acceptance than the previous ones due to its strong base on huge public opinion. Introducing public interest oriented and scientific education policy has been the demand for long. Again this education policy is the reflection of Kudrat-e-Khuda Education Commission which was instituted just after our independence. The government has taken steps to reorganize the curriculum from class six to twelve keeping pace with the modern knowledge, science and technology. It has announced that the students will get the books under new curriculum by 1st January 2013. By March 2012 the writing of books on new syllabus and curriculum will be completed. The Education Minister released this news at BIAM Foundation in the National Education Policy 2010 seminar organized by NCTB and SESDP. Some remarkable steps have already been taken to implement the present education policy. An implementation committee, 24 sub-committees have been formed to give it a momentum. Completion examination after class five and Junior Certificate Examination for class eight, distribution of books across the country, distribution of computer, introducing lunch in some areas of the country to retain the students in the class manifest the steps taken by the government.
The present education policy says that the subjects which are taught as general subjects should be written keeping pace with the trend and culture of the country. Again, they need to be revised, rewritten and corrected when necessary. But coordinated law is necessary to implement the policy. It needs to be passed in the parliamentary session without delay. Education as rights should be ensured for the backward people. The proposed education commission must be formed immediately. To constitute accreditation council to ensure the standard of public and private universities should be done without delay. To monitor the process chief education monitor should be employed.
The Education Minister said that the country now sees the curriculum adopted eighteen years back and implemented in 1996. Changes in the global arena, the demand in teachers and learners have taken place. So, to revise, change and extension of our curriculum is a must. The aim of our education is to equip our children to face the challenges of the 21st century and imbue them with the teachings of values, honesty, and sincerity and patriotism and to develop them as responsible and ideal citizens of the country. He added that everybody should not receive higher education, it is not necessary for all as well. Technical and vocational education is emphasized in the present education policy. To bring changes he emphasized the duration of teaching time, the dedicated and meritorious candidates to be employed in teaching profession. To establish a separate commission to select the deserving candidates for teaching profession is not moving fast. The minister informed that 75 books of secondary and four in the higher secondary level books will see change. After completing pre-primary and primary ( up to eight) a portion of students will be able to take admission in the secondary level and another portion in the vocational education. After the completion of secondary education students will have opportunity to receive vocational education or higher education. Even the vocational educators also have scope to receive higher education particularly those who are capable.
In this new curriculum from six to eight in general and madrasa English for 150 marks, Bengali 150, mathematics 100, Bangladesh and the World affairs 100, Science 100, Environment 50, ICT 50 total 700 marks. 300-400 marks will be for their own stream.In the secondary level from class nine and ten there will be Humanities, Science and Business Education groups. For each group there will be Bengal for 200 marks, English 200, Mathematics 100, Religious Education and moral education 100, ICT 50, Education, Health and Games and Sports for 100 marks and total 750 marks compulsory and 400 for their own stream.
In Eleven and twelfth grades Bengali will be taught for 200 marks, English 200, ICT 50 and Health Education and Games and Sports for 100 marks. Human qualities, morality, democratic values, discipline, patriotism, creativity, analytical capability, developing imaginative power are emphasized in all the streams and levels. The duration of class time will be increased from 35 to 50 minutes. Yearly leaves/vacations will be squeezed from 141 to 116 days. The time of SSC and HSC examinations will be lessened to utilize more time for teaching-learning purpose.
Finally for the implementation of the present education policy financing, education administration, public awareness stand as key factors which call for serious thought. At present the education field of the country sees only 2.3 percent expenditure from national income. Other developing countries of the world already have been using 6 percent of the GDP and Bangladesh promises to do it. The situation does not show any positive sign before us as we can collect only 11 percent revenue income and to spend 6 percent from it for education proves to be absurd. How far we are lagging behind in this respect can be deduced from the fact to learn that Japan used 43 percent of its GDP for education since 1906-1911. ( Samakal 21 September 2011). And where we stand after one hundred years!
Still most of the students of universities in Bangladesh belong to relatively higher economic class of society showing the opportunities are open for the higher segment of population. In respect of higher education the emphasis should be given on infrastructure building, research capacity enhancement and technological uplift. Public universities should construct safety nets of the pupils coming from poor segment of population. The private costs of primary education is high for poor families because of high opportunity costs of education and expected benefits are lower for poor families out of primary education. Still free education for the primary students fails to lure them to complete the circle because of timing. Most poor children have to spend the hours when they are supposed to earn something for supporting their families. Some NGO schools are running keeping this view in mind which can be taken as role models.
Masum Billah
Program Manager: BRAC Education Program
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Rickshawpuller's hospital
Rickshawpuller Joynal teaches us a lot
On Saturday the last page of Prothom Alo has brought out a feature on how a richshawpuller runs a hospital and school. It received my reading with tearing rolling down my checks continuously till I finished reading it. I feel constrained to let the message know the world. It’s the story of a noble man., Joynal, he is a 60 year old rickshawpuller in the streets of Dhaka and possesses a greater heart which goes unnoticed and unknown and to the metropolitan city dwellers. He is simply a rickshawpuller to the metropolitan snobs, opportunists and masked gentlemen but he is a great man in our eyes. They don’t know how great a man this city witnesses as a rickshawpuller and what a great idea he nurtures in his bosom. Who knows that the hardest earn money of Joynal is spent for the poorest segment of people for their treatment in a small hospital established by the money he earns peddling rickshaws. Dear readers please imagine what a great heart lives in his bosom!. The hospital contains six beds, a village doctor, and sees once a week a doctor from a government hospital which he manages. He gives salary to the village doctor and gives medicine to the patients free of cost. He buys medicine by his hard earned money. Not only that Joyanl runs a primary school having 120 students and he defrays all the educational expenses of the students and gives books free of cost but no government book they enjoy. He collects old books from different schools and buys some by his own money which he earns paddling rickshaws. The school sits at 10:00 a.m. Before that it runs a ‘Maktab’ to teach Arabic to the village children. Tanhasadia village of Parangonj Union under Mymensing Sadar has been proud of having such a man of broadest heart . Dear readers can you imagine what a great heart does Mr. Joyanl posses! Doesn’t he deserve salute from us?
This mundane and complicated world shapes us just to remain busy with our own thoughts and interest, gain personal ends and think of our future but Joynal who didn’t embrace the opportunity to receive institutional education. The higher educated individuals who receive higher degrees from state-run institutions and what they return the nation ? We fail to compare this unknown man with the so-called educated, higher educated, so-called public leaders and social workers. Many of us possess palatial houses in the city but heart suffers from poverty. They hardly think of doing anything for the ailing humanity. They rather try to steal the wealth of the poor by a stroke of the pen. They take pleasure to give pain to the poor. Even, the people who have been engaged by state to give service to the countrymen just seek foul means to trap the illiterate and common people and extract monetary gains utilizing all sorts of unfair means. Higher education have failed to teach them any humanity. But Joynal had no institutional education but serious concern and dedicated commitments to the nation, to the humanity and to the neglected segment. I want to say he is simply a great man whom we don’t know. The so-called developed and civilized society doesn’t know him and don’t know how to honour him. How he has nurtured the hope of establishing a hospital and giving free medicine to the poor villagers and engaging there his wife, daughter in-law, grandfather simply make us ashamed. What is our commitment to the nation and what we are doing? He earns 500-700 taka per day pulling rickshaws at the age of sixty. He pulls rickshaws three or four days a week and spends most of the money for buying medicine for his hospital. He goes to his village, remain there for two or three days and again comes to Dhaka to earn for running the hospital and school. As he does not have any other skill to earn money, he has materialized his dream and given the shape of his nurturing hope to dedicate himself to the real welfare of the real poor by peddling rickshaws. How great he is! This heartless Dhaka city and the thankless society cannot measure how unfathomable his nobleness and broadness of heart is! May I request the Director of BRAC Health Program to extend our health facilities to Mamtaz Hospital and give encouragement to Joynal?
His father died without treatment and medicine which taught him to do something for the poor. Extreme poverty did not give him any opportunity to be familiar with alphabets and words but the heart he has developed cannot be measured by the traditional values of the society where everybody is vying for material gain and individual publicity. He is the most literate; he is the most enlightened person in the society. A small two-shed house is his school and Maktab. In the morning children of the village learn Arabic and from 10:00 am the school starts. The school is from grade one to three. Ayub Ali, a SSC passed young man is the teacher of that school. Out of 120 students 70 of them are girls. This illiterate Joybnal highly evaluates girls’ education which the world leaders think and started giving priority above many things. I request the Director of BRAC Education Program to see whether we can do something for this great and noble hearted Joynal. He contributes tremendously to the education of the country, may be, in a small scale but the effort, dedication, genuineness’ and sincerity he has employed cannot be fathomed by traditional tools of measurement. . Students are given free books and education materials which he collects from other schools .How innovative his ideas are! After passing class three students get enrolled in Sirta-Naya Para government school and Foliamary Registered Primary School. This noble and high level thought of Joynal matches with the Education Program of BRAC which thinks of the education of the vulnerable section along with other interventions to stand beside the poor and helpless.
Poor Joynal is originally the richest person as he habrours a broader heart. His broad smile says so. This is his greatest satisfaction that his honest labour and toil go for the welfare of ailing people . I salute you Joybal thousand times.
Joynal toiled twenty years in the city and opened a DPS account to fulfill his dream but he was neglected and criticized by the bank managers. However, one manager of Sonali Bank gave value of is dream and concern. She helped him open two DPS accounts which produced him one lac eighty four thousand taka. He came back to his village with that money and bought a small piece of land for 40 thousand taka and established a 25 feet long tin-shed house for hospital. Even the village people criticized him to learn his plan. Now 25-30 patients come to his hospital every day. One room is for sitting the patients and doctor, another room for distributing medicine and another room accommodates six beds. Mohammad Ali, the doctor gets Tk 1500 per month. Patients come to the hospital with fever, diarrhea, cold, cough, stomach pain, pregnancy problem, injury. His wife helps giving birth to normal child in the hospital as she has got some lesson working in a hospital in Dhaka. Every Thursday Hefzul Bari, chest physician of Mymensingh Sadar Hospital comes here. The hospital is named after his daughter Mamtaz . His granddaughter Alpana writes the description of the disease, his son’s wife Tamanna distributes medicine. Joynal himself talks to the patients personally whenever he gets time.
After the publication of the report many readers and individuals and organizations have already responded to extend their help and cooperation to Joyanl for his noble endevour. By the active and prompt initiative of Prothom ALo a trust has already been opened named ‘ Prothom Alo/ Mamtaz Hosptial ‘ Account number 2071007959. Thanks to Prothom Alo. You have done the genuine service of media. Who bother about the poor actually? Everybody is ready to add more oil to the already oily head. I request Hanif Sanket to bring Joynal to his popular magazine ‘ Ittadi’ and make him acquainted with the world. The national and international organizations dedicated to the service of poor humanity are entreated to stand beside this great man. We believe the noble and sincere endevour of Joynal will not perish. Definitely God will stand beside him to materialize his dream to give us a lesson. Again I salute Joynal. Go on.
Md. Masum Billah . Email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com
On Saturday the last page of Prothom Alo has brought out a feature on how a richshawpuller runs a hospital and school. It received my reading with tearing rolling down my checks continuously till I finished reading it. I feel constrained to let the message know the world. It’s the story of a noble man., Joynal, he is a 60 year old rickshawpuller in the streets of Dhaka and possesses a greater heart which goes unnoticed and unknown and to the metropolitan city dwellers. He is simply a rickshawpuller to the metropolitan snobs, opportunists and masked gentlemen but he is a great man in our eyes. They don’t know how great a man this city witnesses as a rickshawpuller and what a great idea he nurtures in his bosom. Who knows that the hardest earn money of Joynal is spent for the poorest segment of people for their treatment in a small hospital established by the money he earns peddling rickshaws. Dear readers please imagine what a great heart lives in his bosom!. The hospital contains six beds, a village doctor, and sees once a week a doctor from a government hospital which he manages. He gives salary to the village doctor and gives medicine to the patients free of cost. He buys medicine by his hard earned money. Not only that Joyanl runs a primary school having 120 students and he defrays all the educational expenses of the students and gives books free of cost but no government book they enjoy. He collects old books from different schools and buys some by his own money which he earns paddling rickshaws. The school sits at 10:00 a.m. Before that it runs a ‘Maktab’ to teach Arabic to the village children. Tanhasadia village of Parangonj Union under Mymensing Sadar has been proud of having such a man of broadest heart . Dear readers can you imagine what a great heart does Mr. Joyanl posses! Doesn’t he deserve salute from us?
This mundane and complicated world shapes us just to remain busy with our own thoughts and interest, gain personal ends and think of our future but Joynal who didn’t embrace the opportunity to receive institutional education. The higher educated individuals who receive higher degrees from state-run institutions and what they return the nation ? We fail to compare this unknown man with the so-called educated, higher educated, so-called public leaders and social workers. Many of us possess palatial houses in the city but heart suffers from poverty. They hardly think of doing anything for the ailing humanity. They rather try to steal the wealth of the poor by a stroke of the pen. They take pleasure to give pain to the poor. Even, the people who have been engaged by state to give service to the countrymen just seek foul means to trap the illiterate and common people and extract monetary gains utilizing all sorts of unfair means. Higher education have failed to teach them any humanity. But Joynal had no institutional education but serious concern and dedicated commitments to the nation, to the humanity and to the neglected segment. I want to say he is simply a great man whom we don’t know. The so-called developed and civilized society doesn’t know him and don’t know how to honour him. How he has nurtured the hope of establishing a hospital and giving free medicine to the poor villagers and engaging there his wife, daughter in-law, grandfather simply make us ashamed. What is our commitment to the nation and what we are doing? He earns 500-700 taka per day pulling rickshaws at the age of sixty. He pulls rickshaws three or four days a week and spends most of the money for buying medicine for his hospital. He goes to his village, remain there for two or three days and again comes to Dhaka to earn for running the hospital and school. As he does not have any other skill to earn money, he has materialized his dream and given the shape of his nurturing hope to dedicate himself to the real welfare of the real poor by peddling rickshaws. How great he is! This heartless Dhaka city and the thankless society cannot measure how unfathomable his nobleness and broadness of heart is! May I request the Director of BRAC Health Program to extend our health facilities to Mamtaz Hospital and give encouragement to Joynal?
His father died without treatment and medicine which taught him to do something for the poor. Extreme poverty did not give him any opportunity to be familiar with alphabets and words but the heart he has developed cannot be measured by the traditional values of the society where everybody is vying for material gain and individual publicity. He is the most literate; he is the most enlightened person in the society. A small two-shed house is his school and Maktab. In the morning children of the village learn Arabic and from 10:00 am the school starts. The school is from grade one to three. Ayub Ali, a SSC passed young man is the teacher of that school. Out of 120 students 70 of them are girls. This illiterate Joybnal highly evaluates girls’ education which the world leaders think and started giving priority above many things. I request the Director of BRAC Education Program to see whether we can do something for this great and noble hearted Joynal. He contributes tremendously to the education of the country, may be, in a small scale but the effort, dedication, genuineness’ and sincerity he has employed cannot be fathomed by traditional tools of measurement. . Students are given free books and education materials which he collects from other schools .How innovative his ideas are! After passing class three students get enrolled in Sirta-Naya Para government school and Foliamary Registered Primary School. This noble and high level thought of Joynal matches with the Education Program of BRAC which thinks of the education of the vulnerable section along with other interventions to stand beside the poor and helpless.
Poor Joynal is originally the richest person as he habrours a broader heart. His broad smile says so. This is his greatest satisfaction that his honest labour and toil go for the welfare of ailing people . I salute you Joybal thousand times.
Joynal toiled twenty years in the city and opened a DPS account to fulfill his dream but he was neglected and criticized by the bank managers. However, one manager of Sonali Bank gave value of is dream and concern. She helped him open two DPS accounts which produced him one lac eighty four thousand taka. He came back to his village with that money and bought a small piece of land for 40 thousand taka and established a 25 feet long tin-shed house for hospital. Even the village people criticized him to learn his plan. Now 25-30 patients come to his hospital every day. One room is for sitting the patients and doctor, another room for distributing medicine and another room accommodates six beds. Mohammad Ali, the doctor gets Tk 1500 per month. Patients come to the hospital with fever, diarrhea, cold, cough, stomach pain, pregnancy problem, injury. His wife helps giving birth to normal child in the hospital as she has got some lesson working in a hospital in Dhaka. Every Thursday Hefzul Bari, chest physician of Mymensingh Sadar Hospital comes here. The hospital is named after his daughter Mamtaz . His granddaughter Alpana writes the description of the disease, his son’s wife Tamanna distributes medicine. Joynal himself talks to the patients personally whenever he gets time.
After the publication of the report many readers and individuals and organizations have already responded to extend their help and cooperation to Joyanl for his noble endevour. By the active and prompt initiative of Prothom ALo a trust has already been opened named ‘ Prothom Alo/ Mamtaz Hosptial ‘ Account number 2071007959. Thanks to Prothom Alo. You have done the genuine service of media. Who bother about the poor actually? Everybody is ready to add more oil to the already oily head. I request Hanif Sanket to bring Joynal to his popular magazine ‘ Ittadi’ and make him acquainted with the world. The national and international organizations dedicated to the service of poor humanity are entreated to stand beside this great man. We believe the noble and sincere endevour of Joynal will not perish. Definitely God will stand beside him to materialize his dream to give us a lesson. Again I salute Joynal. Go on.
Md. Masum Billah . Email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Turkish Elections talk about modern democracy
Turkish elections talk about modern democracy
The previous week of this month witnessed Turkish general elections which declared Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s centre right Justice and Development ( AKP) party victorious with 325 seats out of 550. The party received 49.9%. votes and has won for the third time. The results fall short of two-third majority needed to rewrite Turkey’s military constitution. This number of seats is a comfortable majority that ensures the continuation of a single party rule in Turkey. The party occupied 331 seats in the outgoing parliament. Lawmakers of this country serve four-year terms. The Republican People’s party (CHP) stood second with 25.9% vote. The only other party to gain seats in parliament, the Nationalist Movement party (NHP) took 13% seemingly unaffected by a sex tape scandal that caused the resignation of ten senior party members. It is mentionable that thirty-six independent candidates came to parliament most of them are backed by the Kurdish BDP. Voter turnout was 84.79%. About 50 million Turks, or two-thirds of the population, were eligible to vote. For the first time voters cast ballots in transparent plastic boxes in which the yellow envelopes could be seen piling up. The measure was taken to prevent any allegations of fraud . Prime Minister Erdogan has set a target of making Turkey one of the world’s ten largest economies by 2023. Average Turkish per capita income by 2023 will be $25000 a year, not far below that of Spain today. ( Dawn 06.10.’11). He targeted some mega projects as well. A Turkish space program, an aviation industry that designs and builds aircraft from scratch, even a 50-km canal west of Istanbul that bypasses the crowded Bosphorus strait and connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Per capita income in Turkey is already about the same as in Russia and Romania. So, it will not be an over ambitious plan for him to reach the goals is the comment of political analysts. Turkish presidents are elected for up to two five-year terms. So, if Erdogan turns to presidential government he may be in the office with popularity up to 2023 and he will be only 69 then. So, there lies the possibility to materialize his ambitious plans.
Erdogan wants to implement a presidential system, “ Gencer Ozcan, professor for international relations at Bilgi University told the Guardian. “ This is the main goal of a new constitution. This is the first time that the prime minister handpicked all AKP candidates, assuring absolute loyalty within is own party. But the election result requires wider parliamentary consensus on a new constitution. Speaking at a victory rally in the capital, Ankara, Erdogan adopted conciliatory tone: “ Today workers, pensioners, farmers have won. People in the villages have won. Today 74 million people have won. Today the western world, Tripoli, Gaza have won. The Middle East, the Balkans, Europe have won. Peace, justice and stability have won. “Of the new constitution he said, “We will go to the opposition. We will consult with the media and academics to find a consensus. We will not close our doors regarding the constitution. Only because we haven’t reached 330 seats.”The political commentators have said that AKP will face a rocky third term. They predict a dangerously overheating economy , and Turkey’s ‘ zero-problem’ foreign policy is being challenged by regional uprisings such as that in neigbouring Syria, long an ally of AKP ruled Turkey. Another problem he will have to face is dealing with the Kurdish minority. A 34-year old Kurd Demir by name comments thus, We don’t want any canals, bridges or airports, he said in reference to Erdogan’s regeneration schemes. “ We don’t need any ‘ crazy projects’. All we want is peace and end to the bloodshed in the south-east”. Of course, the previous term of Erdogan saw somehow good relations with the Kurdish. His political career says that he will be tactful enough to deal with them well.
Erdogan has presided over strong economic growth and a more assertive foreign policy since taking power. Under his rule, the country’s economy has more than tripled and exports have expanded to 132$ billion a year from $36 billion. There are 250 industrial zones in Anatolia. It registered economic growth of 8.1% in 2010. Turkey has also played a positive role in trying to remove misunderstanding between Pakistan and the Karzai government in Kabul. It will hold a conference of regional donors for Afghanistan in November this year. The country’s UN vote against sanctioning Iran and the proposal of a safe exit strategy to Gaddafi are examples of its independent policy. Its outspoken criticism of Israel’s Gaza policy earned admiration from Arab countries. From its new standing Turkey is benefitting from investment –flows from Gulf countries ( $6 billion and has diversified its exports, in which Asian share has increased from 14% to 25% during the last seven years. (DS June 22, 2011by Harunur Rashid)
It is known to us that Turkey is a NATO allay with a mostly Muslim population. The government expresses the desire to establish a Western-style democracy and join the European Union. But it has a root of Islamic ideology. So, the secularists who dominated Turkey raise a suspicion. Ifter Turan, a professor of political science at Istanbul’s Bilgi University , said the ruling party now had political capital to spend, though hard debate awaits. Erdogan had previously spoken about shifting Turky to a presidential system, a source of worry for some Turks who fear he will seek the post and stay in power for many years to come. “ If erdogan had reservations on certain policies in the past, for fear of losing votes, he is now free to implement those. Turan added, he seems to be going toward a presidency . Such a presidential system move is sure to create controversy in the country. “The current constitution of Turkey was adopted in 1982 under military rule which is unsuitable for a modern democracy. In 2003, soon after the AKP came to power, the government undertook some constitutional reforms such as the Penal Code, limiting the military’s influence on politics and giving more cultural freedom to the Kurdish minority. But the greatest success of Erdogan is to rein the military and not to allow them to influence state machinery and occupy state power. It is a healthy sign of democracy. So Turkey will go ahead with new prgorammes inclined to the welfare of the people.
Md. Masum Billah
The previous week of this month witnessed Turkish general elections which declared Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s centre right Justice and Development ( AKP) party victorious with 325 seats out of 550. The party received 49.9%. votes and has won for the third time. The results fall short of two-third majority needed to rewrite Turkey’s military constitution. This number of seats is a comfortable majority that ensures the continuation of a single party rule in Turkey. The party occupied 331 seats in the outgoing parliament. Lawmakers of this country serve four-year terms. The Republican People’s party (CHP) stood second with 25.9% vote. The only other party to gain seats in parliament, the Nationalist Movement party (NHP) took 13% seemingly unaffected by a sex tape scandal that caused the resignation of ten senior party members. It is mentionable that thirty-six independent candidates came to parliament most of them are backed by the Kurdish BDP. Voter turnout was 84.79%. About 50 million Turks, or two-thirds of the population, were eligible to vote. For the first time voters cast ballots in transparent plastic boxes in which the yellow envelopes could be seen piling up. The measure was taken to prevent any allegations of fraud . Prime Minister Erdogan has set a target of making Turkey one of the world’s ten largest economies by 2023. Average Turkish per capita income by 2023 will be $25000 a year, not far below that of Spain today. ( Dawn 06.10.’11). He targeted some mega projects as well. A Turkish space program, an aviation industry that designs and builds aircraft from scratch, even a 50-km canal west of Istanbul that bypasses the crowded Bosphorus strait and connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Per capita income in Turkey is already about the same as in Russia and Romania. So, it will not be an over ambitious plan for him to reach the goals is the comment of political analysts. Turkish presidents are elected for up to two five-year terms. So, if Erdogan turns to presidential government he may be in the office with popularity up to 2023 and he will be only 69 then. So, there lies the possibility to materialize his ambitious plans.
Erdogan wants to implement a presidential system, “ Gencer Ozcan, professor for international relations at Bilgi University told the Guardian. “ This is the main goal of a new constitution. This is the first time that the prime minister handpicked all AKP candidates, assuring absolute loyalty within is own party. But the election result requires wider parliamentary consensus on a new constitution. Speaking at a victory rally in the capital, Ankara, Erdogan adopted conciliatory tone: “ Today workers, pensioners, farmers have won. People in the villages have won. Today 74 million people have won. Today the western world, Tripoli, Gaza have won. The Middle East, the Balkans, Europe have won. Peace, justice and stability have won. “Of the new constitution he said, “We will go to the opposition. We will consult with the media and academics to find a consensus. We will not close our doors regarding the constitution. Only because we haven’t reached 330 seats.”The political commentators have said that AKP will face a rocky third term. They predict a dangerously overheating economy , and Turkey’s ‘ zero-problem’ foreign policy is being challenged by regional uprisings such as that in neigbouring Syria, long an ally of AKP ruled Turkey. Another problem he will have to face is dealing with the Kurdish minority. A 34-year old Kurd Demir by name comments thus, We don’t want any canals, bridges or airports, he said in reference to Erdogan’s regeneration schemes. “ We don’t need any ‘ crazy projects’. All we want is peace and end to the bloodshed in the south-east”. Of course, the previous term of Erdogan saw somehow good relations with the Kurdish. His political career says that he will be tactful enough to deal with them well.
Erdogan has presided over strong economic growth and a more assertive foreign policy since taking power. Under his rule, the country’s economy has more than tripled and exports have expanded to 132$ billion a year from $36 billion. There are 250 industrial zones in Anatolia. It registered economic growth of 8.1% in 2010. Turkey has also played a positive role in trying to remove misunderstanding between Pakistan and the Karzai government in Kabul. It will hold a conference of regional donors for Afghanistan in November this year. The country’s UN vote against sanctioning Iran and the proposal of a safe exit strategy to Gaddafi are examples of its independent policy. Its outspoken criticism of Israel’s Gaza policy earned admiration from Arab countries. From its new standing Turkey is benefitting from investment –flows from Gulf countries ( $6 billion and has diversified its exports, in which Asian share has increased from 14% to 25% during the last seven years. (DS June 22, 2011by Harunur Rashid)
It is known to us that Turkey is a NATO allay with a mostly Muslim population. The government expresses the desire to establish a Western-style democracy and join the European Union. But it has a root of Islamic ideology. So, the secularists who dominated Turkey raise a suspicion. Ifter Turan, a professor of political science at Istanbul’s Bilgi University , said the ruling party now had political capital to spend, though hard debate awaits. Erdogan had previously spoken about shifting Turky to a presidential system, a source of worry for some Turks who fear he will seek the post and stay in power for many years to come. “ If erdogan had reservations on certain policies in the past, for fear of losing votes, he is now free to implement those. Turan added, he seems to be going toward a presidency . Such a presidential system move is sure to create controversy in the country. “The current constitution of Turkey was adopted in 1982 under military rule which is unsuitable for a modern democracy. In 2003, soon after the AKP came to power, the government undertook some constitutional reforms such as the Penal Code, limiting the military’s influence on politics and giving more cultural freedom to the Kurdish minority. But the greatest success of Erdogan is to rein the military and not to allow them to influence state machinery and occupy state power. It is a healthy sign of democracy. So Turkey will go ahead with new prgorammes inclined to the welfare of the people.
Md. Masum Billah
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Magic touch in the SSC results
Magic touch in the SSC results
The SSC results of 2011 came out with much hope, enthusiasm along with some questions. The record number of pass percentage of 82.16 against 78.19 percent last year showing a trend of upward motion in the second public examination. Definitely the trend tends to make us happy. Thirty-five lac people hit the website to learn the results while twenty four lac people collected the results using mobile phone SMS. This also bears testimony to the increasing use of technology in the field of education in our national life. The causes of upward results have been attributed by the authorities to the growing consciousness of the schools, guardians and students, students’ more concentration on studies, absence of adopting unfair means and above all the increased pass rate in English and Mathematics. The increased pass rate in English and Mathematics raises questions how it has suddenly become possible in these two important and hard subjects.
Students this year sat for examinations on creative question in seven subjects. Last year students found creative questions only in two subjects’ namely Bengali first paper and Religious education. It was spread across the country that the note-books and guide books would take leave of the school corridors and educational arena. But in reality they have been found in their original shape . Students and teachers could not come out of them. The way of creative questions and their appearance are still vague to the lion’s share of the teachers. It was decided that all the teachers would be brought under the training of creative questions but it did not happen in the real sense of the term. A very negligible number of teachers were reached. The government could have reached a vast number of teachers if it had engaged the NGOs working for secondary education development. In this case we can mention the name of BRAC which has twenty two well equipped training centres with the capacity of accommodating three thousand participants at a time. In the creative question system each question of ten marks is divided into four parts such as knowledge level for one marks, understanding level for two marks, application level three and higher skill four marks. There remain six questions for sixty marks and forty marks for practical and other purposes. The students of class six will see creative questions in all the subjects so that they can cope with the question fully well in the SSC examination.
Dhaka Board authorities claimed that teachers received training which contributed to increase the pass percentage in English and Mathematics. Unbelievable percentage in first paper 97 percent and second paper 94 percent while 92 percent in Mathematics. Our English textbook ‘English for Today’ contains one hundred nineteen lessons in twenty two units. It is written on the basis of four language skills namely listening, speaking, reading and writing. Out of these four skills only two are touched by the teachers and students such as reading and writing skills. The rest two skills namely speaking and listening remain ever neglected. It means that two legs of a table are already broken which do not support the table to stand comfortably depending on only two legs. But we are giving certificates that students have done extremly good in English taking the test of only two skills (reading and writing). Now if we look into their reading and writing skills we see that many students having GPA-5 cannot even read the passage well. If you ask them to retell the passage they cannot give you any message in English. But they manage to get very high marks. How is it possible? Questions are set from only a selected number of passages such as The National Memorial, Examination Strategy, Shat Gambuj Mosque, Feroza, Dr. Nafisa, Masum and Becky and Tazneen Karim in either of the education boards. Questions available in a popular guide appear in the same way and form in the board examinations. Students do the practice of those selected passages in class nine , ten and it continues till the SSC examination from the guide book. If any question is prepared by any creative teacher, it is frowned and criticized by the students and all concerned that the questions are not common and they have been made so hard. So, it has become the tradition of the day to pick question from that particular guide book to make English popular and make more students pass in this subject. This is why 97 percent students passed in English first paper. It further means that we have already done a lot in English. We need not put more effort in English. In second paper forty marks are on traditional grammar in which students who don’t have any idea about grammatical facts can manage pass marks. The rest 60 marks remain for writing. Here teachers’ skill of preparing suggestion is the magic. They make a suggestion of three or four essays, paragraphs and completing stories. Students take preparation only on these selective items, vomit those on the examination scripts and manage GPA-5 and the teachers who prepared that short suggests are evaluated and honoured as the best teachers of the school and area. The real situation proves further dark. Out of these GPA-5 holders only a rare number of students can write a paragraph of their known topic in English. I still conduct research on the students of secondary and higher secondary levels and this dark picture appears before me. If you ask them to retell the same passage they have read, they cannot. If you ask them to write a question about the passage they just surrender. I am not exaggerating. This is the fact with some exceptions. There are some teachers who are more skilled to make a suggestion. What they do, they just give one essay and on the basis of it, any essay can be written. Students take preparation only on that easy. These students absolutely fail to use in English in their practical life situations but a show a very good performance in the result. I do fear what we are going to face in future.
All the subjects are going under creative system except English. The newspaper sources say that the education authorities are reluctant to touch or change anything in English and mathematics as the most deciding factor of increasing pass percentage depends on English and mathematics. In respect of mathematics, most of the students don’t develop basic ideas. Any change in figure in mathematics throws the students in a perplexed situations event the teachers. I gave a sum ( I have a mathematical problem outside the text to a teacher who is known as the ship of mathematics in the area but he miserably failed to do it.) 92 percent students passed in this subject. Are we just increasing the pass percentage or we are preparing the students to face the challenges of the twenty first century?
Teacher training is a significant factor in terms of quality teaching which finds a lot of constraints. As the short-term trainings of different government projects and NGOs don’t have any financial implications, the teachers and school show reluctance to receive those trainings. There lies no obligation for the teachers also whether they have any training to teach a particular subject. The teacher shortage in the schools also makes the head teachers disinterested to send the teachers to receive short trainings offered by government projects and NGOs. But these trainings have a well follow-up system whether teachers are applying the latest method in teaching or not. It is sometimes not liked by the teachers but it is must to develop a teacher professionally. B.Ed does not have any well follow-up system though it attaches financial implication. Now the ministry of education must make it mandatory to receive a particular days of training and its application in the class for all the teachers particularly the teachers teaching the harder subject. If it is not ensured we will just produce the students having only certificates, not any knowledge to contribute to their individual life and nation.
Masum Billah
The SSC results of 2011 came out with much hope, enthusiasm along with some questions. The record number of pass percentage of 82.16 against 78.19 percent last year showing a trend of upward motion in the second public examination. Definitely the trend tends to make us happy. Thirty-five lac people hit the website to learn the results while twenty four lac people collected the results using mobile phone SMS. This also bears testimony to the increasing use of technology in the field of education in our national life. The causes of upward results have been attributed by the authorities to the growing consciousness of the schools, guardians and students, students’ more concentration on studies, absence of adopting unfair means and above all the increased pass rate in English and Mathematics. The increased pass rate in English and Mathematics raises questions how it has suddenly become possible in these two important and hard subjects.
Students this year sat for examinations on creative question in seven subjects. Last year students found creative questions only in two subjects’ namely Bengali first paper and Religious education. It was spread across the country that the note-books and guide books would take leave of the school corridors and educational arena. But in reality they have been found in their original shape . Students and teachers could not come out of them. The way of creative questions and their appearance are still vague to the lion’s share of the teachers. It was decided that all the teachers would be brought under the training of creative questions but it did not happen in the real sense of the term. A very negligible number of teachers were reached. The government could have reached a vast number of teachers if it had engaged the NGOs working for secondary education development. In this case we can mention the name of BRAC which has twenty two well equipped training centres with the capacity of accommodating three thousand participants at a time. In the creative question system each question of ten marks is divided into four parts such as knowledge level for one marks, understanding level for two marks, application level three and higher skill four marks. There remain six questions for sixty marks and forty marks for practical and other purposes. The students of class six will see creative questions in all the subjects so that they can cope with the question fully well in the SSC examination.
Dhaka Board authorities claimed that teachers received training which contributed to increase the pass percentage in English and Mathematics. Unbelievable percentage in first paper 97 percent and second paper 94 percent while 92 percent in Mathematics. Our English textbook ‘English for Today’ contains one hundred nineteen lessons in twenty two units. It is written on the basis of four language skills namely listening, speaking, reading and writing. Out of these four skills only two are touched by the teachers and students such as reading and writing skills. The rest two skills namely speaking and listening remain ever neglected. It means that two legs of a table are already broken which do not support the table to stand comfortably depending on only two legs. But we are giving certificates that students have done extremly good in English taking the test of only two skills (reading and writing). Now if we look into their reading and writing skills we see that many students having GPA-5 cannot even read the passage well. If you ask them to retell the passage they cannot give you any message in English. But they manage to get very high marks. How is it possible? Questions are set from only a selected number of passages such as The National Memorial, Examination Strategy, Shat Gambuj Mosque, Feroza, Dr. Nafisa, Masum and Becky and Tazneen Karim in either of the education boards. Questions available in a popular guide appear in the same way and form in the board examinations. Students do the practice of those selected passages in class nine , ten and it continues till the SSC examination from the guide book. If any question is prepared by any creative teacher, it is frowned and criticized by the students and all concerned that the questions are not common and they have been made so hard. So, it has become the tradition of the day to pick question from that particular guide book to make English popular and make more students pass in this subject. This is why 97 percent students passed in English first paper. It further means that we have already done a lot in English. We need not put more effort in English. In second paper forty marks are on traditional grammar in which students who don’t have any idea about grammatical facts can manage pass marks. The rest 60 marks remain for writing. Here teachers’ skill of preparing suggestion is the magic. They make a suggestion of three or four essays, paragraphs and completing stories. Students take preparation only on these selective items, vomit those on the examination scripts and manage GPA-5 and the teachers who prepared that short suggests are evaluated and honoured as the best teachers of the school and area. The real situation proves further dark. Out of these GPA-5 holders only a rare number of students can write a paragraph of their known topic in English. I still conduct research on the students of secondary and higher secondary levels and this dark picture appears before me. If you ask them to retell the same passage they have read, they cannot. If you ask them to write a question about the passage they just surrender. I am not exaggerating. This is the fact with some exceptions. There are some teachers who are more skilled to make a suggestion. What they do, they just give one essay and on the basis of it, any essay can be written. Students take preparation only on that easy. These students absolutely fail to use in English in their practical life situations but a show a very good performance in the result. I do fear what we are going to face in future.
All the subjects are going under creative system except English. The newspaper sources say that the education authorities are reluctant to touch or change anything in English and mathematics as the most deciding factor of increasing pass percentage depends on English and mathematics. In respect of mathematics, most of the students don’t develop basic ideas. Any change in figure in mathematics throws the students in a perplexed situations event the teachers. I gave a sum ( I have a mathematical problem outside the text to a teacher who is known as the ship of mathematics in the area but he miserably failed to do it.) 92 percent students passed in this subject. Are we just increasing the pass percentage or we are preparing the students to face the challenges of the twenty first century?
Teacher training is a significant factor in terms of quality teaching which finds a lot of constraints. As the short-term trainings of different government projects and NGOs don’t have any financial implications, the teachers and school show reluctance to receive those trainings. There lies no obligation for the teachers also whether they have any training to teach a particular subject. The teacher shortage in the schools also makes the head teachers disinterested to send the teachers to receive short trainings offered by government projects and NGOs. But these trainings have a well follow-up system whether teachers are applying the latest method in teaching or not. It is sometimes not liked by the teachers but it is must to develop a teacher professionally. B.Ed does not have any well follow-up system though it attaches financial implication. Now the ministry of education must make it mandatory to receive a particular days of training and its application in the class for all the teachers particularly the teachers teaching the harder subject. If it is not ensured we will just produce the students having only certificates, not any knowledge to contribute to their individual life and nation.
Masum Billah
What are happening in the National University?
What are happening in the National University?
A series of irregularities of the National University of Bangladesh appeared in a Bengali daily ( Jugantor April 19 to 23) drawing the attention of the people working for education .NU was established in 1992 to ease the burden of public universities and run smoothly the functions of education in the tertiary level run through the university colleges . But with the passage of time the heap of burden and problems have grasped the university making us frustrated. No effective measures have so far been taken though the situation is getting worse day by day.
Session jam has paralyzed NU as traffic jam paralyses the lives of Dhaka city dwellers and hijacks much of their valuable time everyday exerting its negative effect on national life. Lack of inter-departmental coordination stands as a significant factor of its session jam. The university now experiences three years gridlock or session jam. Students are to spend seven years to complete their four years’ course. The university does not see and monitor how classes are going on, who and how the teachers conduct classes, whether they are to the point or not, whether students can come out of the circle of student life after a certain period of time. To remove the burden of taking exams, examining the scripts and publishing the results on time of the public universities, NU was given the responsibility . After two decades it seems the situation stands in the same place as it had been. It takes one year to publish the results of Masters examination. It is one of the main causes of session jam along with other causes.
The administration of the university is corrupt from head to foot in terms of sincerity, honesty and financially matters. Political recruitment of officials and staff ignoring the transparent way of employing the officers , teachers and staff can be attributed to it. Administrative officials who received appointment on the basis of political affiliations don’t have any accountability, honesty, sincerity to the development of the university. They remain busy to make their fortune by fair means or foul. They don’t bother about rules and regulations of the university. They don’t bother about the higher administration because of their political linings. It is strange to learn that many officials don’t attend even offices regularly contributing to increasing the heap of works. After coming to office many just spend time like the labour leaders in the canteens, taking tea and arranging political discussions. The Bengali daily also mentions that teachers’ salary come from directorate of secondary and higher education, PSC selects the cadres, teacher transfer and promotion are looked after by education ministry itself. Non-government teachers are employed by NU . Lack of coordination among these bodies contributes to increasing the problem of NU.
In the face of serious irregularities a fact finding committee was formed to identify the problems and suggest some measures to address the problematic issues. It identified that printing questions in the government press is a long process which is a contributing factor to cause session jam. Examination cannot be taken timely due to it.
The press remains busy with printing papers/ questions and various other things of different government departments and agencies. Still no pragmatic step has been devised to address this issue though the university possess a good amount of balance amounting to 260 crore taka of its own. (Jugantor). So, we propose that the university should establish a printing press of its own immediately. It does need to depend on Government press. It does not need to wait in the long queue to get the questions and other education materials published from the BG press. Why no such step has yet been taken when ten lakh students belong to this university? Why didn’t the previous authorities of the university raise this question really baffles us?
Natioanl University administration has decided to establish six regional offices in six divisions to bring motion in all the activities of university . It is argued that the students need not go to Gazipur to address the small problems . But many say that it will not lessen the problems rather increases problems manifold and corruption will develop tentacles. In 1999 two Regional Centers were established at Chittagong and Rajshahi respectively but they did not show any efficiency. Moreover, it incurred loss of takd fifteen lakh. Who can guarantee that the same situation will not happen to the new ones?
When I talked to the teachers some more dark pictures came out. For the session 2010-11 honours students mark allocation has not yet been done. No sample question on writing even after college test examination have not been sent to the colleges. This is about English honours cases. The same may be for other subjects. They also said that many examinations ( HSC and degree examinations) in colleges hamper the normal classes of honours students. Honours students hardly get due attention due to these examinations. Some new or innovative measures are needed to develop for quite a long time but the authorities hardly give attention to the fact. Teachers complained that they don’t have training to deal with honours students, run academic administration. They need training both at home and abroad many teachers are not actually apt to teach in honours level as they are the real teachers of intermediate and degree pass.
In many colleges students cannot use seminar rooms though they give the fees regularly. Colleges are not buying books and NU does not take any step regarding the issue. As students cannot read the books, newspapers and journals in the seminar rooms, they loiter and use their free time fruitlessly. This issue along with the whole academic affairs need to be monitored. No monitoring system has been developed in the NU though teachers and officials at Gazipur Campus are available to do this thing.
The presence of students in the first year honours remains nearly 60% and it comes to ten and even five percent with their crossing of the years. In the third year and final years the presence becomes so thin that it cannot be mentioned even. Students remain busy with tuition, business, running coaching centres and share business leaving the classes as soon as they get admission in the honour level. It becomes easy for them to memorize some notes and pass the examinations. Authorities don’t have any headache to bring the students in the class. Teachers suggest that NU must compel the colleges to send the attendance of the honours students every three or four months duly signed by the departmental heads and principal. The university authorities must ask for a particular attendance in the class otherwise taking part in the examination will not be allowed. If it is done, students will give importance to participate in the class. They have taken the honours class just like a plaything and take a degree which gives them just a certificate, not education in the real sense of the term.
Creative teachers complain that no research at all in the NU is being conducted. No arrangement for sending them outside the country for higher education is done. Research is the life of a university. A university is ranked on the basis of its qualitative and quantities of research. It is evaluated on how many research programs are conducted a year. This university stands hundreds of miles apart from this notion. In case of taking examinations and viva-voce lobbing gets priority. Some particular teachers earn money neglecting the talented and good ones. They are not allowed to go out of their colleges and engage in these financially academic activities. . Syllabuses are changed again and again but in the process the teachers of NU are hardly invited. They complain who do this thing without consulting them remains unknown to them.
Can we afford to allow these anomalies to continue in the largest university run by public money? Should we play ducks and drakes with life and education of ten lakh students? In the ranking of universities no university of Bangladesh or SAARC countries occupy any place within 10th or even 100th position. But the number of students of NU far outnumbers many universities of the world. It has ten lakh students in more than two thousand colleges. Really quite a big number of students! In no way they deserve to face any negligence or irregularities from the authorities concerned. At any rate this big national educational institution must be made a real centre for teaching and learning, conducting research and producing quality students so that they can face the challenges of the 21st century without being the burden of the already unemployment plagued country.
Masum Billah
A series of irregularities of the National University of Bangladesh appeared in a Bengali daily ( Jugantor April 19 to 23) drawing the attention of the people working for education .NU was established in 1992 to ease the burden of public universities and run smoothly the functions of education in the tertiary level run through the university colleges . But with the passage of time the heap of burden and problems have grasped the university making us frustrated. No effective measures have so far been taken though the situation is getting worse day by day.
Session jam has paralyzed NU as traffic jam paralyses the lives of Dhaka city dwellers and hijacks much of their valuable time everyday exerting its negative effect on national life. Lack of inter-departmental coordination stands as a significant factor of its session jam. The university now experiences three years gridlock or session jam. Students are to spend seven years to complete their four years’ course. The university does not see and monitor how classes are going on, who and how the teachers conduct classes, whether they are to the point or not, whether students can come out of the circle of student life after a certain period of time. To remove the burden of taking exams, examining the scripts and publishing the results on time of the public universities, NU was given the responsibility . After two decades it seems the situation stands in the same place as it had been. It takes one year to publish the results of Masters examination. It is one of the main causes of session jam along with other causes.
The administration of the university is corrupt from head to foot in terms of sincerity, honesty and financially matters. Political recruitment of officials and staff ignoring the transparent way of employing the officers , teachers and staff can be attributed to it. Administrative officials who received appointment on the basis of political affiliations don’t have any accountability, honesty, sincerity to the development of the university. They remain busy to make their fortune by fair means or foul. They don’t bother about rules and regulations of the university. They don’t bother about the higher administration because of their political linings. It is strange to learn that many officials don’t attend even offices regularly contributing to increasing the heap of works. After coming to office many just spend time like the labour leaders in the canteens, taking tea and arranging political discussions. The Bengali daily also mentions that teachers’ salary come from directorate of secondary and higher education, PSC selects the cadres, teacher transfer and promotion are looked after by education ministry itself. Non-government teachers are employed by NU . Lack of coordination among these bodies contributes to increasing the problem of NU.
In the face of serious irregularities a fact finding committee was formed to identify the problems and suggest some measures to address the problematic issues. It identified that printing questions in the government press is a long process which is a contributing factor to cause session jam. Examination cannot be taken timely due to it.
The press remains busy with printing papers/ questions and various other things of different government departments and agencies. Still no pragmatic step has been devised to address this issue though the university possess a good amount of balance amounting to 260 crore taka of its own. (Jugantor). So, we propose that the university should establish a printing press of its own immediately. It does need to depend on Government press. It does not need to wait in the long queue to get the questions and other education materials published from the BG press. Why no such step has yet been taken when ten lakh students belong to this university? Why didn’t the previous authorities of the university raise this question really baffles us?
Natioanl University administration has decided to establish six regional offices in six divisions to bring motion in all the activities of university . It is argued that the students need not go to Gazipur to address the small problems . But many say that it will not lessen the problems rather increases problems manifold and corruption will develop tentacles. In 1999 two Regional Centers were established at Chittagong and Rajshahi respectively but they did not show any efficiency. Moreover, it incurred loss of takd fifteen lakh. Who can guarantee that the same situation will not happen to the new ones?
When I talked to the teachers some more dark pictures came out. For the session 2010-11 honours students mark allocation has not yet been done. No sample question on writing even after college test examination have not been sent to the colleges. This is about English honours cases. The same may be for other subjects. They also said that many examinations ( HSC and degree examinations) in colleges hamper the normal classes of honours students. Honours students hardly get due attention due to these examinations. Some new or innovative measures are needed to develop for quite a long time but the authorities hardly give attention to the fact. Teachers complained that they don’t have training to deal with honours students, run academic administration. They need training both at home and abroad many teachers are not actually apt to teach in honours level as they are the real teachers of intermediate and degree pass.
In many colleges students cannot use seminar rooms though they give the fees regularly. Colleges are not buying books and NU does not take any step regarding the issue. As students cannot read the books, newspapers and journals in the seminar rooms, they loiter and use their free time fruitlessly. This issue along with the whole academic affairs need to be monitored. No monitoring system has been developed in the NU though teachers and officials at Gazipur Campus are available to do this thing.
The presence of students in the first year honours remains nearly 60% and it comes to ten and even five percent with their crossing of the years. In the third year and final years the presence becomes so thin that it cannot be mentioned even. Students remain busy with tuition, business, running coaching centres and share business leaving the classes as soon as they get admission in the honour level. It becomes easy for them to memorize some notes and pass the examinations. Authorities don’t have any headache to bring the students in the class. Teachers suggest that NU must compel the colleges to send the attendance of the honours students every three or four months duly signed by the departmental heads and principal. The university authorities must ask for a particular attendance in the class otherwise taking part in the examination will not be allowed. If it is done, students will give importance to participate in the class. They have taken the honours class just like a plaything and take a degree which gives them just a certificate, not education in the real sense of the term.
Creative teachers complain that no research at all in the NU is being conducted. No arrangement for sending them outside the country for higher education is done. Research is the life of a university. A university is ranked on the basis of its qualitative and quantities of research. It is evaluated on how many research programs are conducted a year. This university stands hundreds of miles apart from this notion. In case of taking examinations and viva-voce lobbing gets priority. Some particular teachers earn money neglecting the talented and good ones. They are not allowed to go out of their colleges and engage in these financially academic activities. . Syllabuses are changed again and again but in the process the teachers of NU are hardly invited. They complain who do this thing without consulting them remains unknown to them.
Can we afford to allow these anomalies to continue in the largest university run by public money? Should we play ducks and drakes with life and education of ten lakh students? In the ranking of universities no university of Bangladesh or SAARC countries occupy any place within 10th or even 100th position. But the number of students of NU far outnumbers many universities of the world. It has ten lakh students in more than two thousand colleges. Really quite a big number of students! In no way they deserve to face any negligence or irregularities from the authorities concerned. At any rate this big national educational institution must be made a real centre for teaching and learning, conducting research and producing quality students so that they can face the challenges of the 21st century without being the burden of the already unemployment plagued country.
Masum Billah
West Bengal opens a new chapter in history
West Bengal opens a new chapter in history
The West Bengal elections declared Trinomool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee winner giving salute to the communist party. The present chief minister and the CPI(M) leader Budhudev Bhatacharjee has already stepped down in the face of Left Front’s drubbing in the Assembly election. Thus the longest communist rule in India since 1977 has come to an end opening a new chapter in West Bengal. Sixty six year old CPI(M) politburo member succumbed to the strong winds of change .Political analyst Sabyasachi Basu said, “ It’s a profoundly important moment for the people of the state who had an intense desire for change.” Mamata Banerjee , a populist who casts herself as a champion of the poor, has ridden a wave of popular discontent with the Communist government’s handling of the economy that has left industry in decline and the state neck-deep in debt. The farmers, the toiling masses, the poor really wanted a change.
The feisty 56 year old Banerjee who is the founder and chairperson of the Trinomool Congress set up in 1998 after falling out with Congress party , is now savoring the victory of a war she has found so steadfastly often risking her own life. A firebrand orator, coined a catchy slogan, “ Ma, Mati o Manush” and ‘poribartan’ before last year’s Lok Sabha, the seven time MP successfully sold a vision of development , cashing in on the widespread resentment among the middle classes and unemployed youths, promising jobs and development. Mamata was born in a lower middle class family of a freedom fighter. When she was studying at Jogmaya College in Kolkata in 1970s, she joined the Chathra Parishad which is the student wing of Congress. She became the general secretary of West Bengal women’s congress unit of 1979-80 and subsequently held other posts in Congress. She tasted the state power first in 1991 in the Narosima Rao’s government as a state minister for Human Resources Development, Youth Affairs and Sports and Women and Child Development. Her party won eight and seven seats in the Lok Sabha polls in 1998 and 1999 respectively and joined hands with BJP seen in party circles as disastrous move in hindsight. During NDA rule under the Atal Behari Bajpayee government, Mamat was Railway Minster in 1999 and for Coal and Mines in 2004 . She was also a minister without portfolio for brief period in 2003 and 2004. She had been a relentless fighter against the CPI(M).She gained much popularity when the controversial land acquisition issue in Nandigram and Singur issue appeared on the political scene in 2008. She took the farmers’ side, traveled extensively in the villages and really fought for the farmers’ cause and interest. She proved herself since then that she has been a leader of the poor and rural, minorities and rural have-nots.
So, she reacts at the polls result thus, “The result reflects a 34-year ‘freedom struggle’ and a victory for the people.” She continues, “We want to dedicate our victory to our people and motherland. We will give people and motherland a good administration, not autocracy.” Trinomool and its ally Congress had led an aggressive campaign in the mostly rural state, hammering the communist led government for economic stagnation, agricultural malaise and industrial decline. The people responded to their call which has become apparent in the election results. Trinomool Congress and Congress secured –three fourths majority in West Bengal while India’s ruling Congress headed by Sonia Gandhi retained power for a third consecutive term in Assam. Out of 294 assembly seats in West Bengal Trinomool Congress and its ally Congress won 226 seats while CPI(M) and its allies were reduced to just 60 seats from more than 200 seats won in the previous elections. Trinomool alone got a very comfortable majority in the assembly with 184 seats while Congress secured 42 seats and the remaining eight seats were occupied by other parties.
Now which factors contributed much to end the 34-year rule of the Communist who developed a strong hold in the state? Actually, Mamata has led her unwavering campaign against the communists since she formed Trinomool Congress in 1998. She successfully made the people of West Bengal understand the gaps and shortcomings of the CPI(M). Her party filled the space of a credible opposition to the left, the space which Congress lost because of its dalliance with the Left from time to time including from 2004 to 2009.Congress had a layered relationship with the Left . While in West Bengal politics , Congress was sworn rival of Left . Over the years this has harmed politically as far as their credibility was concerned, although Congress has enjoyed fruits of power at the centre with the Left help. Mamata on the other hand, was steadfast in her fight against credibility.
The long thirty- four years in power itself is a negative point for the Communist. It actually led them to be autocrats in some fields inviting the present doom. Anybody in any field who was not ideologically with the Marxists were steamrolled in all sorts of ways and dissent in and out of the party was put down with iron hands. Definitely it goes against democratic or communist ideology.
A section of CPI(M) leaders embroiled themselves in corruption. They a led a luxurious lifestyle which they have always preached against. As this section sent a wrong image of the party, Mamata on the other hand, led a simple life wearing her trademark plain cotton sari and a pair of chappals, and living in a tiled-roof house in one of the most congested localities of Kolkata. All this represented the poverty of the West Bengali in general and poverty of the rural people in particular. Finally, she could win the hearts of the hungry, minorities and the suffering farmers. She strongly supported the farmers who were against the establishment of industries on their arable fertile land. The Communist government not only gave the TATA Company to build car industries but also shot the farmers who protested against it. This incident seriously damaged the party image. Car is the symbol of the wealthy people. Farmers are the friends of the communist. Against the ideology of the communist, the farmers were killed by the state police. Mamata did not make delay to stand beside the farmers. That very day actually made a wide road for her victory.
CPI (M) aggressive trade union wing CITU worked as a stumbling block to private industries and investment and information technology sector in West Bengal , the sunrise sector in other parts of India. That led to large scale unemployment and anger among the educated and technology skilled youth in West Bengal. They voted for change and it is a reality.
The so-called land reform policy which the CPI(M) started just after coming to power in 1977 created a special wealthy class. The landless got money and land through the policy which made them greedier to grab more and more land and money. From the party there was no such control or monitoring to see how things were going on in the villages and whether the real needy people were getting benefit out of the system. Due to this loophole of the system, a class was developed to cheat the poor and began to lead a pompous life inviting much anger from the commoners and sufferers.
Finally it can be said that change is the go of nature. People prefer change. They have been sticking to the same party for more than three decades which made them tasteless. Again, the absence of Joyti Basu, the charismatic leader of the party also played much to draw this conclusion. The election results not only say goodbye to the 34-year rule of the communist but also the state will see its first woman chief minister who has not got married. Obviously it is a new chapter in the history of West Bengal.
Masum Billah
The West Bengal elections declared Trinomool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee winner giving salute to the communist party. The present chief minister and the CPI(M) leader Budhudev Bhatacharjee has already stepped down in the face of Left Front’s drubbing in the Assembly election. Thus the longest communist rule in India since 1977 has come to an end opening a new chapter in West Bengal. Sixty six year old CPI(M) politburo member succumbed to the strong winds of change .Political analyst Sabyasachi Basu said, “ It’s a profoundly important moment for the people of the state who had an intense desire for change.” Mamata Banerjee , a populist who casts herself as a champion of the poor, has ridden a wave of popular discontent with the Communist government’s handling of the economy that has left industry in decline and the state neck-deep in debt. The farmers, the toiling masses, the poor really wanted a change.
The feisty 56 year old Banerjee who is the founder and chairperson of the Trinomool Congress set up in 1998 after falling out with Congress party , is now savoring the victory of a war she has found so steadfastly often risking her own life. A firebrand orator, coined a catchy slogan, “ Ma, Mati o Manush” and ‘poribartan’ before last year’s Lok Sabha, the seven time MP successfully sold a vision of development , cashing in on the widespread resentment among the middle classes and unemployed youths, promising jobs and development. Mamata was born in a lower middle class family of a freedom fighter. When she was studying at Jogmaya College in Kolkata in 1970s, she joined the Chathra Parishad which is the student wing of Congress. She became the general secretary of West Bengal women’s congress unit of 1979-80 and subsequently held other posts in Congress. She tasted the state power first in 1991 in the Narosima Rao’s government as a state minister for Human Resources Development, Youth Affairs and Sports and Women and Child Development. Her party won eight and seven seats in the Lok Sabha polls in 1998 and 1999 respectively and joined hands with BJP seen in party circles as disastrous move in hindsight. During NDA rule under the Atal Behari Bajpayee government, Mamat was Railway Minster in 1999 and for Coal and Mines in 2004 . She was also a minister without portfolio for brief period in 2003 and 2004. She had been a relentless fighter against the CPI(M).She gained much popularity when the controversial land acquisition issue in Nandigram and Singur issue appeared on the political scene in 2008. She took the farmers’ side, traveled extensively in the villages and really fought for the farmers’ cause and interest. She proved herself since then that she has been a leader of the poor and rural, minorities and rural have-nots.
So, she reacts at the polls result thus, “The result reflects a 34-year ‘freedom struggle’ and a victory for the people.” She continues, “We want to dedicate our victory to our people and motherland. We will give people and motherland a good administration, not autocracy.” Trinomool and its ally Congress had led an aggressive campaign in the mostly rural state, hammering the communist led government for economic stagnation, agricultural malaise and industrial decline. The people responded to their call which has become apparent in the election results. Trinomool Congress and Congress secured –three fourths majority in West Bengal while India’s ruling Congress headed by Sonia Gandhi retained power for a third consecutive term in Assam. Out of 294 assembly seats in West Bengal Trinomool Congress and its ally Congress won 226 seats while CPI(M) and its allies were reduced to just 60 seats from more than 200 seats won in the previous elections. Trinomool alone got a very comfortable majority in the assembly with 184 seats while Congress secured 42 seats and the remaining eight seats were occupied by other parties.
Now which factors contributed much to end the 34-year rule of the Communist who developed a strong hold in the state? Actually, Mamata has led her unwavering campaign against the communists since she formed Trinomool Congress in 1998. She successfully made the people of West Bengal understand the gaps and shortcomings of the CPI(M). Her party filled the space of a credible opposition to the left, the space which Congress lost because of its dalliance with the Left from time to time including from 2004 to 2009.Congress had a layered relationship with the Left . While in West Bengal politics , Congress was sworn rival of Left . Over the years this has harmed politically as far as their credibility was concerned, although Congress has enjoyed fruits of power at the centre with the Left help. Mamata on the other hand, was steadfast in her fight against credibility.
The long thirty- four years in power itself is a negative point for the Communist. It actually led them to be autocrats in some fields inviting the present doom. Anybody in any field who was not ideologically with the Marxists were steamrolled in all sorts of ways and dissent in and out of the party was put down with iron hands. Definitely it goes against democratic or communist ideology.
A section of CPI(M) leaders embroiled themselves in corruption. They a led a luxurious lifestyle which they have always preached against. As this section sent a wrong image of the party, Mamata on the other hand, led a simple life wearing her trademark plain cotton sari and a pair of chappals, and living in a tiled-roof house in one of the most congested localities of Kolkata. All this represented the poverty of the West Bengali in general and poverty of the rural people in particular. Finally, she could win the hearts of the hungry, minorities and the suffering farmers. She strongly supported the farmers who were against the establishment of industries on their arable fertile land. The Communist government not only gave the TATA Company to build car industries but also shot the farmers who protested against it. This incident seriously damaged the party image. Car is the symbol of the wealthy people. Farmers are the friends of the communist. Against the ideology of the communist, the farmers were killed by the state police. Mamata did not make delay to stand beside the farmers. That very day actually made a wide road for her victory.
CPI (M) aggressive trade union wing CITU worked as a stumbling block to private industries and investment and information technology sector in West Bengal , the sunrise sector in other parts of India. That led to large scale unemployment and anger among the educated and technology skilled youth in West Bengal. They voted for change and it is a reality.
The so-called land reform policy which the CPI(M) started just after coming to power in 1977 created a special wealthy class. The landless got money and land through the policy which made them greedier to grab more and more land and money. From the party there was no such control or monitoring to see how things were going on in the villages and whether the real needy people were getting benefit out of the system. Due to this loophole of the system, a class was developed to cheat the poor and began to lead a pompous life inviting much anger from the commoners and sufferers.
Finally it can be said that change is the go of nature. People prefer change. They have been sticking to the same party for more than three decades which made them tasteless. Again, the absence of Joyti Basu, the charismatic leader of the party also played much to draw this conclusion. The election results not only say goodbye to the 34-year rule of the communist but also the state will see its first woman chief minister who has not got married. Obviously it is a new chapter in the history of West Bengal.
Masum Billah
Monday, May 2, 2011
Regional Disparity in Education
Regional disparities in education
Regional disparities in education have evinced this year’s Education Watch report as a key factor lying in the educational arena of our country. They targeted Sylhet division which is characterized by affluence and poverty, plain land and haor , tea estates and sophisticated urbanity. Very interesting pictures have come out through the research and recommendations made by the organization will provide ample food for thought for the policy makers in the field of education of our country.
Both in the primary and secondary levels the enrolment in Sylhet proves much lower than the national average. They stand 80.5% at primary and 64.2% in the secondary level whereas the national figures show 86.4% and 77.7% respectively. In terms of literacy rate also it lags far behind the national average. The literacy rate for 7+population is 40.7% and for adult population it is 44.4% but the national rates are 48.5% and 52.1% respectively. It was also found that there 30.8% households which don’t see any literate person but this figure for the whole Bangladesh stands as 11.5%. These figures at the basic levels of education call for a serious concern for the national policy makers.
Economic deprivation and social inequalities arising from their geographical isolation keep their children away from school and education. Although the overall economic situation is better than the rest of Bangladesh, there is a likelihood that due to the geographical reasons the inequality in income distribution gets worse in Sylhet. Compared to 38.5% overall in Sylhet division , more than half of the haor communities (54% under study) had only kancha road. The head teachers reported that over a fifth of the students had to face bad transportation during dry season which doubled in the wet season. The situation proves worse in rural Sunamgonj and in the haor areas. The practice of child labour stands as a major reason for drooping out from schools.
Generally children of these areas start going to school late compared to other parts of the country, they also drop out earlier than others. The age-specific enrolment rates in Sylhet are lower for all ages compared to the national averages. 65% of children of age six are enrolled in schools in other parts of the country on an average but it is 52% in Sylhet division. Many parents are not aware at all about age of admission to school .By the age of 15 years half of the children of the plane lands, 60% of those of haro areas and 73% of those in the tea estates/ hills/ forests are out of school. The comparative national figure is less than 40%. A portion of the parents are unable to bear the cost of education and other children engaged in income earning activities too early. Poor teaching leaning provisions and lack of care in schools are also important reasons for leaving school which the study unveils.
Per capita availability of primary level educational institution in Sylhet is not less if we compare it with other parts of the country but it Is not the case for secondary education. Against, 6.$% of the student population at both the levels, Sylhet contains 7.8% of the primary level institutions and 3.9% of the secondary level institution clearly showing inadequacy of secondary education provision in Sylhet and it indicates lower institutional investment in education. Like other parts of the country primary educational institutions of this region lack electricity and drinking water facilities ,cleanliness of walls and floors and good quality blackboards. Though they show similar pictures comparing to other parts, these pictures show rather depressing in the region.
Shortage of teachers in both the levels is also lower than average number of teachers of the country. The average number of teachers in the primary schools of this region is 4.4 and 12.8 in the secondary schools. These figures at the national level are 5.1 and 14.3 respectively. In terms of teachers’ qualification and training hardly any variation is available. But it is mentionable a quarter of the rural school teachers live in urban areas. This is because of financial solvency and no good living place available adjacent to school like other parts of the country.
Absenteeism and late arrival in an early departure from school all are significantly higher among the school teachers in Sylhet area. The average loss of time for this is 56mintue per day for primary teachers and 48 minutes for secondary teachers. Primary school teachers in the haor areas and in Sungamjong district are least punctual . Their average loss of time per day is 76 minutes for haor teachers and 80 minutes for Sunamgonj teachers. Thus good amount of contact hours is lost contributing to ineffective classroom teaching , incomplete lesson , producing poor quality students and creating negative idea about education of the people of these backward areas. The uapzilla education officials are also less proactive in addressing the key issues of school operation. Some educational institutions are not visited at all throughout a year or visited once or twice which is really inadequate. It was found in the study that 72.5% of the primary schools did not see any visitor in 2009. Per capita availability was not less for primary schools in Sylhet but it is significantly less for secondary schools, compared to the rest of the country . Sylhet sees 6.4% of the school aged children but it has only 3.9% of the secondary educational institutions. The study of Education Watch discovered that that 42% of the villages don’t have any primary schools at all. When our education policy gives much emphasis on education and promises uniform education, it is really a matter of serious concern for all of us. The above description of Sylhet region clearly shows a paradoxical situation: a relatively good economic condition but worsening social indicators. There must be a good coordination a good coordination between them to promise a uniform education and development of this region.
Education Watch has made a series of recommendations putting emphasis on strong political commitment accompanied with pragmatic strategies to minimize the disparities of education lying in Sylhet region. They Consider that the broad geographical diversity of Sylhet division and variations within, a general principle of educational development strategy will not fit for the whole region. Recognizing the fact and the principle of equality mentioned in the Education Policy of 2010 it is important to flag on decentralized education planning and implementation. Children of haor areas are at risk of not attending schools due to unique geographical reality there, which has different effects in dry and wet seasons. Considering the mode and strength of water flow during wet season new roads can be constructed wherever possible and existing roads can be reconstructed. Special water bus services for the students and teachers can be introduced specifically during the wet seasons in haor areas. The government and NGO activities should be expanded in the haor areas and tea estates. To address the issue of drop out stipend program should be extended and ‘school feeding’ program may encourage the parents to send their children to school. It is important to appoint more education officials in all upazillas of Sylhet division especially in the remote and hard to reach upazilas. Each of them should be given the responsibility to look after a small number of schools so that they can give due attention to each school. Part time teachers should be engaged along with more regular teachers and teachers should be given incentives /hardship allowances so that they become interested to work in these backward areas. For raising awareness among the vulnerable guardians, regular parent-teacher meeting can be arranged.
A mechanism can be found out to encourage the non-resident Bangladeshis to contribute more for educational development of Sylhet . Space should be created so that a collective initiative can be taken. The government can initiate creating a special education fund for Sylhet division in which both the government and the NRBs can contribute . To uphold the prestige of gender parity in student participation and teacher’s recruitment must be given a meaningful glance. Rasheda K. Choudhury , Executive Director, CAMPE rightly says, “Strong political commitment accompanied with pragmatic strategies, sufficient resources and continuous monitoring will be required to prepare our next generation particularly the disadvantaged to contribute to nation building activities and enable them to perform well in future in the era of globalization and competitive, market oriented human resource development all over the world. However, we believe that providing basic education is a state responsibility and all development actors like the government, political parties, and CSO and development partners must come forward to play their role in national development. “
Md. Masum Billah
Regional disparities in education have evinced this year’s Education Watch report as a key factor lying in the educational arena of our country. They targeted Sylhet division which is characterized by affluence and poverty, plain land and haor , tea estates and sophisticated urbanity. Very interesting pictures have come out through the research and recommendations made by the organization will provide ample food for thought for the policy makers in the field of education of our country.
Both in the primary and secondary levels the enrolment in Sylhet proves much lower than the national average. They stand 80.5% at primary and 64.2% in the secondary level whereas the national figures show 86.4% and 77.7% respectively. In terms of literacy rate also it lags far behind the national average. The literacy rate for 7+population is 40.7% and for adult population it is 44.4% but the national rates are 48.5% and 52.1% respectively. It was also found that there 30.8% households which don’t see any literate person but this figure for the whole Bangladesh stands as 11.5%. These figures at the basic levels of education call for a serious concern for the national policy makers.
Economic deprivation and social inequalities arising from their geographical isolation keep their children away from school and education. Although the overall economic situation is better than the rest of Bangladesh, there is a likelihood that due to the geographical reasons the inequality in income distribution gets worse in Sylhet. Compared to 38.5% overall in Sylhet division , more than half of the haor communities (54% under study) had only kancha road. The head teachers reported that over a fifth of the students had to face bad transportation during dry season which doubled in the wet season. The situation proves worse in rural Sunamgonj and in the haor areas. The practice of child labour stands as a major reason for drooping out from schools.
Generally children of these areas start going to school late compared to other parts of the country, they also drop out earlier than others. The age-specific enrolment rates in Sylhet are lower for all ages compared to the national averages. 65% of children of age six are enrolled in schools in other parts of the country on an average but it is 52% in Sylhet division. Many parents are not aware at all about age of admission to school .By the age of 15 years half of the children of the plane lands, 60% of those of haro areas and 73% of those in the tea estates/ hills/ forests are out of school. The comparative national figure is less than 40%. A portion of the parents are unable to bear the cost of education and other children engaged in income earning activities too early. Poor teaching leaning provisions and lack of care in schools are also important reasons for leaving school which the study unveils.
Per capita availability of primary level educational institution in Sylhet is not less if we compare it with other parts of the country but it Is not the case for secondary education. Against, 6.$% of the student population at both the levels, Sylhet contains 7.8% of the primary level institutions and 3.9% of the secondary level institution clearly showing inadequacy of secondary education provision in Sylhet and it indicates lower institutional investment in education. Like other parts of the country primary educational institutions of this region lack electricity and drinking water facilities ,cleanliness of walls and floors and good quality blackboards. Though they show similar pictures comparing to other parts, these pictures show rather depressing in the region.
Shortage of teachers in both the levels is also lower than average number of teachers of the country. The average number of teachers in the primary schools of this region is 4.4 and 12.8 in the secondary schools. These figures at the national level are 5.1 and 14.3 respectively. In terms of teachers’ qualification and training hardly any variation is available. But it is mentionable a quarter of the rural school teachers live in urban areas. This is because of financial solvency and no good living place available adjacent to school like other parts of the country.
Absenteeism and late arrival in an early departure from school all are significantly higher among the school teachers in Sylhet area. The average loss of time for this is 56mintue per day for primary teachers and 48 minutes for secondary teachers. Primary school teachers in the haor areas and in Sungamjong district are least punctual . Their average loss of time per day is 76 minutes for haor teachers and 80 minutes for Sunamgonj teachers. Thus good amount of contact hours is lost contributing to ineffective classroom teaching , incomplete lesson , producing poor quality students and creating negative idea about education of the people of these backward areas. The uapzilla education officials are also less proactive in addressing the key issues of school operation. Some educational institutions are not visited at all throughout a year or visited once or twice which is really inadequate. It was found in the study that 72.5% of the primary schools did not see any visitor in 2009. Per capita availability was not less for primary schools in Sylhet but it is significantly less for secondary schools, compared to the rest of the country . Sylhet sees 6.4% of the school aged children but it has only 3.9% of the secondary educational institutions. The study of Education Watch discovered that that 42% of the villages don’t have any primary schools at all. When our education policy gives much emphasis on education and promises uniform education, it is really a matter of serious concern for all of us. The above description of Sylhet region clearly shows a paradoxical situation: a relatively good economic condition but worsening social indicators. There must be a good coordination a good coordination between them to promise a uniform education and development of this region.
Education Watch has made a series of recommendations putting emphasis on strong political commitment accompanied with pragmatic strategies to minimize the disparities of education lying in Sylhet region. They Consider that the broad geographical diversity of Sylhet division and variations within, a general principle of educational development strategy will not fit for the whole region. Recognizing the fact and the principle of equality mentioned in the Education Policy of 2010 it is important to flag on decentralized education planning and implementation. Children of haor areas are at risk of not attending schools due to unique geographical reality there, which has different effects in dry and wet seasons. Considering the mode and strength of water flow during wet season new roads can be constructed wherever possible and existing roads can be reconstructed. Special water bus services for the students and teachers can be introduced specifically during the wet seasons in haor areas. The government and NGO activities should be expanded in the haor areas and tea estates. To address the issue of drop out stipend program should be extended and ‘school feeding’ program may encourage the parents to send their children to school. It is important to appoint more education officials in all upazillas of Sylhet division especially in the remote and hard to reach upazilas. Each of them should be given the responsibility to look after a small number of schools so that they can give due attention to each school. Part time teachers should be engaged along with more regular teachers and teachers should be given incentives /hardship allowances so that they become interested to work in these backward areas. For raising awareness among the vulnerable guardians, regular parent-teacher meeting can be arranged.
A mechanism can be found out to encourage the non-resident Bangladeshis to contribute more for educational development of Sylhet . Space should be created so that a collective initiative can be taken. The government can initiate creating a special education fund for Sylhet division in which both the government and the NRBs can contribute . To uphold the prestige of gender parity in student participation and teacher’s recruitment must be given a meaningful glance. Rasheda K. Choudhury , Executive Director, CAMPE rightly says, “Strong political commitment accompanied with pragmatic strategies, sufficient resources and continuous monitoring will be required to prepare our next generation particularly the disadvantaged to contribute to nation building activities and enable them to perform well in future in the era of globalization and competitive, market oriented human resource development all over the world. However, we believe that providing basic education is a state responsibility and all development actors like the government, political parties, and CSO and development partners must come forward to play their role in national development. “
Md. Masum Billah
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