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)
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
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
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