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
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
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
English Version Education
How English Version Education going on
To keep pace with the fast growing demand of English knowing people establishing English version school along with English medium has gained momentum in the country. So far about fifty two English version schools have been established in Dhaka, several towns and five outside the country which are run by Bangladeshi missions. How the students of this version doing, what is the overall performance of the teachers, is there any arrangement for training of the teachers teaching in this version, how are their management call for serious scrutiny.
As guardians have been inclined to giving their children better knowledge in English, People working with education sector have started opening English version schools in the city and even in some district towns. But it does not have specially developed books and curriculum. Just the translated books of Bengali medium have been used which are full of mistakes and translation is also not up to the mark in some cases. Necessary base of this version stands on a weak footing and it lacks a well thought out plan. Still it draws huge number of students but qualified teachers are not available. Some institutions of the city are fully English version based whereas some are running both English version and Bengali medium. Teachers teaching in this version don’t have English background; neither are they from English medium which contributes to poor performance in the class disseminations and making strong base of English of the students. These teachers are not experienced as well to make quality question papers and deal with the whole affair very efficiently. As they are the productions of Bengali medium, they conduct classes in Bengali. Many guardians say that their kids have been sent to English version schools to develop strong footing of English of their children but the teachers are not qualified enough. Teachers of this version are very much traditional. They give very little importance to class rather they give a huge amount of home work to the students which seem to be an extra burden to most of the English version students who expressed their dissatisfaction of some schools in the city of Dhaka. Several girl students commented thus” The students of Bengali medium can enjoy a lot, they have fun and jokes but we don’t have, we are not enjoying our classes.” Many students said that their teachers just give them ‘ work sheet ‘ and teachers ask them to memorize them to pass the examination without making the class interesting, interactive and fruitful. As a result students are losing their interest to learn anything studying the books of English version. Teachers don’t have any training and there is no such arrangement to give them training how to deal with new books and making them interesting and interactive. These anomalies make guardians frustrated.
The number of students from English version is not recorded systematically even the number of students sit for SSC examination is also not counted regularly. The list of educational institutions remains stored in Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education but it does not enlist the English version schools separately. Opening English version schools is approved by the boards and distribution of books is done by District Education officers. But they don’t prepare separate list for English version students. It is seen that the students of class six five stand thousand four hundred eighty one and 60 thousand 138 books were published for them. Five thousand 847 students of class seven 63 thousand 935 were printed. In eight for five thousand one hundred sixty eight students 56 thousand 500 copies were published. In class nine for four thousand 469 students 71 thousand 658 copies were printed. In primary level from class one to five there are eleven thousand eighty six learners but books were printed about two lakh fifty five thousand. According to this account, the number of English versions students stands as 32 thousand.
Another problem is if any teacher of English version quits the job, it is really difficult to get the post filled up immediately. Bengali medium teachers conduct classes where both mediums are available. One principal of a famous school commented that the school managing committee fails to appoint better teachers due to political consideration. Students complain that they are taught using Bengali and English and most of the time ‘work sheet’ is provided. Teachers just tell student to memorize the sheet to pass the examination. Many students and guardians seriously complained that just like Bengali medium teachers, English version students are also compelled to receive private coaching from the teachers. If they students fail to comply, they are to pay for it in various ways. The sheets provided by the teachers contain many mistakes. Teachers hardly bother about the mistakes of the sheets and when corrected by educated guardians, they don’t give importance to it.
Prof. Fahiam Khatun, Chairman of Dhaka Education Board said,’ there is no special or separate principle to teach English version in an educational institution. Just one application is enough to seek permission from the board to open English version. “ She also said that the quality English version school is very poor. Only cadet colleges and institutions outside the country are doing better. She further said that the questions are prepared by English medium school teachers who sometimes commit mistakes as they don’t have clear idea about this version. Then experts are invited to make the questions corrected.
When some journalists contacted the minister for Education Nurul Islam Nahid he said “The problems of English version schools have been going on for many years. Only our desire cannot change it overnight. Still we are trying changing it. Measures have already been taken to address some of them “ As this version is getting popular and time fitting , the ministry of education must cast a caring glance at it. An expert committee need to be formed comprising of educationists of the country to review the whole affair and start a fresh beginning of this version of education.
Md. Masum Billah
To keep pace with the fast growing demand of English knowing people establishing English version school along with English medium has gained momentum in the country. So far about fifty two English version schools have been established in Dhaka, several towns and five outside the country which are run by Bangladeshi missions. How the students of this version doing, what is the overall performance of the teachers, is there any arrangement for training of the teachers teaching in this version, how are their management call for serious scrutiny.
As guardians have been inclined to giving their children better knowledge in English, People working with education sector have started opening English version schools in the city and even in some district towns. But it does not have specially developed books and curriculum. Just the translated books of Bengali medium have been used which are full of mistakes and translation is also not up to the mark in some cases. Necessary base of this version stands on a weak footing and it lacks a well thought out plan. Still it draws huge number of students but qualified teachers are not available. Some institutions of the city are fully English version based whereas some are running both English version and Bengali medium. Teachers teaching in this version don’t have English background; neither are they from English medium which contributes to poor performance in the class disseminations and making strong base of English of the students. These teachers are not experienced as well to make quality question papers and deal with the whole affair very efficiently. As they are the productions of Bengali medium, they conduct classes in Bengali. Many guardians say that their kids have been sent to English version schools to develop strong footing of English of their children but the teachers are not qualified enough. Teachers of this version are very much traditional. They give very little importance to class rather they give a huge amount of home work to the students which seem to be an extra burden to most of the English version students who expressed their dissatisfaction of some schools in the city of Dhaka. Several girl students commented thus” The students of Bengali medium can enjoy a lot, they have fun and jokes but we don’t have, we are not enjoying our classes.” Many students said that their teachers just give them ‘ work sheet ‘ and teachers ask them to memorize them to pass the examination without making the class interesting, interactive and fruitful. As a result students are losing their interest to learn anything studying the books of English version. Teachers don’t have any training and there is no such arrangement to give them training how to deal with new books and making them interesting and interactive. These anomalies make guardians frustrated.
The number of students from English version is not recorded systematically even the number of students sit for SSC examination is also not counted regularly. The list of educational institutions remains stored in Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education but it does not enlist the English version schools separately. Opening English version schools is approved by the boards and distribution of books is done by District Education officers. But they don’t prepare separate list for English version students. It is seen that the students of class six five stand thousand four hundred eighty one and 60 thousand 138 books were published for them. Five thousand 847 students of class seven 63 thousand 935 were printed. In eight for five thousand one hundred sixty eight students 56 thousand 500 copies were published. In class nine for four thousand 469 students 71 thousand 658 copies were printed. In primary level from class one to five there are eleven thousand eighty six learners but books were printed about two lakh fifty five thousand. According to this account, the number of English versions students stands as 32 thousand.
Another problem is if any teacher of English version quits the job, it is really difficult to get the post filled up immediately. Bengali medium teachers conduct classes where both mediums are available. One principal of a famous school commented that the school managing committee fails to appoint better teachers due to political consideration. Students complain that they are taught using Bengali and English and most of the time ‘work sheet’ is provided. Teachers just tell student to memorize the sheet to pass the examination. Many students and guardians seriously complained that just like Bengali medium teachers, English version students are also compelled to receive private coaching from the teachers. If they students fail to comply, they are to pay for it in various ways. The sheets provided by the teachers contain many mistakes. Teachers hardly bother about the mistakes of the sheets and when corrected by educated guardians, they don’t give importance to it.
Prof. Fahiam Khatun, Chairman of Dhaka Education Board said,’ there is no special or separate principle to teach English version in an educational institution. Just one application is enough to seek permission from the board to open English version. “ She also said that the quality English version school is very poor. Only cadet colleges and institutions outside the country are doing better. She further said that the questions are prepared by English medium school teachers who sometimes commit mistakes as they don’t have clear idea about this version. Then experts are invited to make the questions corrected.
When some journalists contacted the minister for Education Nurul Islam Nahid he said “The problems of English version schools have been going on for many years. Only our desire cannot change it overnight. Still we are trying changing it. Measures have already been taken to address some of them “ As this version is getting popular and time fitting , the ministry of education must cast a caring glance at it. An expert committee need to be formed comprising of educationists of the country to review the whole affair and start a fresh beginning of this version of education.
Md. Masum Billah
May Day 2011
Let us take pragmatic steps for workers on May Day
May Day representing working class people’s right to work with honour and dignity has been observed across the globe since 1886 when some other workers died by police firing in Chicago when they were demonstrating to establish their rights to work eight hours a day instead of sixteen hours. Since 1886 the status, significance and condition of workers have undergone a tremendous change and have taken different shapes and forms in different countries. In Bangladesh perspective , the days has got some special significance in terms of garment workers, domestic workers, slum workers , the floating workers of the metro-politician cities , agricultural works and the migrant workers working outside the country and sex workers who sell their bodies to survive in this mundane world.
Garment industry, the second most vibrant sector of our economy, has seen serious labour unrest for the last several years without any tangible solutions except police repression when the occurrences take place. The reasonable rise of their salaries, owner worker relations, forming trade union, job security are the unresolved issues which invite unrest in these sector from time to time. Sometimes even the innocent ones become victim of circumstances. The owners also find it difficult to deal with the situations because of worker unrest. On this day of May we must find some solutions so that the owners and workers can really dedicate to this sector in the greater interest of the nation. Probably a third party is involved in creating chaos in this sector. Without identifying it properly, innocent workers also sometimes harassed which calls for serous scrutiny. Our migrant workers are our ambassadors and they keep the wheel of our economy running but they are not treated well by the missions of Bangladesh. They are not treated humanely in the airports. We must not forget their contribution to our economy which they do at the cost of their honest sweat.
The issue of domestic workers has become a debated topic in small urban areas in general and Dhaka city in particular with the increasing march of urbanization. Husband wife have become service-holders to satisfy the increasing financial crisis and to cope with the changing pattern of the society. But it seems ironical that girls getting educated do job for empowering women but the women working as domestic helpers are getting confined to the four walls and left on the mercy of the mistresses. They cannot apply their own will and desire, just to depend on the dictates, orders and wills of the owners. Though the owners and the serving women cannot do without the domestic workers, they inflict torture on these workers. Many of them even meet death as a result of inhuman torture. They remain mentally starved and physically tortured. Agricultural society’s seasonal work, poverty and desire to lead a better life, these workers march from villages to metropolitan cities but many of their dreams remain unfulfilled due to the modern slavery. On this day of May how can we ensure these workers’ mental peace and psychological easiness? Though the neo-modern and metropolitan women doing jobs cannot do without the help of domestic workers, many harrowing scenes and pictures of torture get published in the newspapers and very few of them are shown on TV screen which make us cry as the minor girls who don’t have any knowledge of this cruel world to satisfy the hearts of modern women by their artificial behavior and sincerity are subjected to forced slavery. These girls come to the city from the villages through some broker women. The inhuman torture sometimes makes them maimed and even cause death. When will this brutality will come to an end? How can we change the mindset and attitude of these women? How can we make their hearts change towards the innocent and poverty-stricken domestic workers? What programs do we have for them on this day?
Rickshawpullers don’t have any training either to pull rickshaws or to maintain their usual life. They can develop cooperative society to bring a change in their life and present a beautiful city and ensure a secure life for them and for their future generation. But who will give them this advice and guide them? We don’t have actually any such program or manifesto to guide them to the secure life. Who cares for it? The day remains limited to only some ceremonial functions. Can’t we come out of it?
Agricultural workers have become scarce in villages particularly in the harvesting season. A lot of crops get damaged due to their non-availability. Workers come to the cities and towns to ensure a perennial flow of income everyday as agricultural work is seasonal. There should be a good coordination and well-planned migration so that the harvesting and crop cutting season can see a good flow of agricultural workers and labourers as our country is still agro-based.
What do we think of sex-workers on this day? Do we have any program for them? These women don’t have family life, social life, and peaceful life, don’t have day or night, perhaps don’t have time limit to offer their bodies to the customers at the cost of social, psychological, mental and physical humiliation. Exploitation and complex social fabric have forced them to take up this heinous profession. The more complicated web of this flesh trade cannot allow them to go out of the profession even though they desire. What program do we have to bring them back to normal life except some NGOs have arranged a little bit educational facilities for their kids? On this day of workers we must think of them, their future and bringing them back to normal life.
Md. Masum Billah
May Day representing working class people’s right to work with honour and dignity has been observed across the globe since 1886 when some other workers died by police firing in Chicago when they were demonstrating to establish their rights to work eight hours a day instead of sixteen hours. Since 1886 the status, significance and condition of workers have undergone a tremendous change and have taken different shapes and forms in different countries. In Bangladesh perspective , the days has got some special significance in terms of garment workers, domestic workers, slum workers , the floating workers of the metro-politician cities , agricultural works and the migrant workers working outside the country and sex workers who sell their bodies to survive in this mundane world.
Garment industry, the second most vibrant sector of our economy, has seen serious labour unrest for the last several years without any tangible solutions except police repression when the occurrences take place. The reasonable rise of their salaries, owner worker relations, forming trade union, job security are the unresolved issues which invite unrest in these sector from time to time. Sometimes even the innocent ones become victim of circumstances. The owners also find it difficult to deal with the situations because of worker unrest. On this day of May we must find some solutions so that the owners and workers can really dedicate to this sector in the greater interest of the nation. Probably a third party is involved in creating chaos in this sector. Without identifying it properly, innocent workers also sometimes harassed which calls for serous scrutiny. Our migrant workers are our ambassadors and they keep the wheel of our economy running but they are not treated well by the missions of Bangladesh. They are not treated humanely in the airports. We must not forget their contribution to our economy which they do at the cost of their honest sweat.
The issue of domestic workers has become a debated topic in small urban areas in general and Dhaka city in particular with the increasing march of urbanization. Husband wife have become service-holders to satisfy the increasing financial crisis and to cope with the changing pattern of the society. But it seems ironical that girls getting educated do job for empowering women but the women working as domestic helpers are getting confined to the four walls and left on the mercy of the mistresses. They cannot apply their own will and desire, just to depend on the dictates, orders and wills of the owners. Though the owners and the serving women cannot do without the domestic workers, they inflict torture on these workers. Many of them even meet death as a result of inhuman torture. They remain mentally starved and physically tortured. Agricultural society’s seasonal work, poverty and desire to lead a better life, these workers march from villages to metropolitan cities but many of their dreams remain unfulfilled due to the modern slavery. On this day of May how can we ensure these workers’ mental peace and psychological easiness? Though the neo-modern and metropolitan women doing jobs cannot do without the help of domestic workers, many harrowing scenes and pictures of torture get published in the newspapers and very few of them are shown on TV screen which make us cry as the minor girls who don’t have any knowledge of this cruel world to satisfy the hearts of modern women by their artificial behavior and sincerity are subjected to forced slavery. These girls come to the city from the villages through some broker women. The inhuman torture sometimes makes them maimed and even cause death. When will this brutality will come to an end? How can we change the mindset and attitude of these women? How can we make their hearts change towards the innocent and poverty-stricken domestic workers? What programs do we have for them on this day?
Rickshawpullers don’t have any training either to pull rickshaws or to maintain their usual life. They can develop cooperative society to bring a change in their life and present a beautiful city and ensure a secure life for them and for their future generation. But who will give them this advice and guide them? We don’t have actually any such program or manifesto to guide them to the secure life. Who cares for it? The day remains limited to only some ceremonial functions. Can’t we come out of it?
Agricultural workers have become scarce in villages particularly in the harvesting season. A lot of crops get damaged due to their non-availability. Workers come to the cities and towns to ensure a perennial flow of income everyday as agricultural work is seasonal. There should be a good coordination and well-planned migration so that the harvesting and crop cutting season can see a good flow of agricultural workers and labourers as our country is still agro-based.
What do we think of sex-workers on this day? Do we have any program for them? These women don’t have family life, social life, and peaceful life, don’t have day or night, perhaps don’t have time limit to offer their bodies to the customers at the cost of social, psychological, mental and physical humiliation. Exploitation and complex social fabric have forced them to take up this heinous profession. The more complicated web of this flesh trade cannot allow them to go out of the profession even though they desire. What program do we have to bring them back to normal life except some NGOs have arranged a little bit educational facilities for their kids? On this day of workers we must think of them, their future and bringing them back to normal life.
Md. Masum Billah
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
