Education
DU authority blocks prescheduled panel discussion on 'National Curriculum 2021'
Dhaka University administration on Wednesday blocked a panel discussion on "National Curriculum 2021" after allowing organisers to arrange the programme.
The panel discussion titled "National Curriculum 2021: Why Are We Concerned?" was scheduled to be held at the RC Majumdar Arts Auditorium of the Lecture Theatre building of DU on Wednesday.
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The University Teachers' Network arranged the programme to discuss several matters about the curriculum.
After the speakers and the audience gathered in front of the auditorium, Professor Dr Abdul Bashir, dean of the Faculty of Arts, called the organisers over the phone and informed them not to hold the discussion.
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When asked about not allowing the programme, Bashir said, "We gave permission in view of their written application. But I got to know at 2:00 pm that this programme may hurt the state, the government, and our nation. That's why I called the organisers and requested that they arrange it somewhere else."
Meanwhile, the University Teachers' Network held a rally in front of the Aparajeyo Bangla Sculpture, protesting the decision.
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Prof Kamrul Hasan Mamun of the Physics department of the university said, "We wanted to hold a discussion about the pros and cons of the new curriculum. Those who obstruct such a harmless programme do not want the welfare of the state. The new curriculum that has been imposed on our students is nothing but an empty shell."
Prof Nasir Uddin of Jagannath University said, "In the new curriculum, 30 percent of science activities have been kept and the rest have been removed. Art and culture, life, and livelihood subjects have been given priority, excluding science and mathematics. These may be part of technical education, not mainstream. If this continues, administrators and executives will have to be imported from abroad soon."
The protest rally was attended by the teachers of Dhaka University, guardians, and some students.
BYLC concludes its first ever job readiness programme
Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) has concluded its first ever job readiness program, BYLC Connected, for graduating students and young professionals in Bangladesh.
The program was aim at graduating students and young professionals who are looking to start or grow their careers, according to a press release.
As part of the program, BYLC's Office of Professional Development trained roughly 80 enrolled participants on resume writing, acing interviews, psychometric exams, and important soft and technical skills relevant to the present job sector throughout their 10-day training session, reads the press release.
Participants had the opportunity to network with recruiters, as well as receive placement and career counseling services.
BYLC Office of Professional Development (OPD) was launched in 2016 with a vision to respond to the systemic challenges in talent development in Bangladesh through innovative interventions.
Through their programs, OPD connects youth to jobs and employment opportunities via partnerships with renowned employers of the country, provides them with necessary skills, and gives them the opportunity to gain insights from industry leaders.
Till date, OPD has trained around 3124 and placed around 895 in employment opportunities, according to the official press release.
NUB celebrates CSE Day with focus on building Smart Bangladesh
The Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at Northern University Bangladesh (NUB) organized its CSE Day 203 on December 9, Saturday, with a focus on the role of technology in building a Smart Bangladesh.
The event, held at the university auditorium on its permanent campus in the capital, brought together distinguished guests, faculty, students, and industry leaders to celebrate innovation and discuss the future of technology in Bangladesh, according to a press release.
Member of Parliament of Dhaka-18 Constituency Mohammad Habib Hasan joined the event as the chief guest. He lauded the students for their innovative projects and expressed his confidence that they will play a vital role in fulfilling the vision of a Smart Bangladesh.
Professor Dr Abu Yousuf Md Abdullah, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of NUB said, "The times have changed, the current world is seeing new technologies almost every day. There is an endless competition of innovation around the world. To lead the country in this competition, you will be the torchbearers of the future in the knowledge industry on behalf of the country.”
EWU hosts international conference on WIS
Dr S R Lasker Library of East West University (EWU) hosted the 17th International Conference on Webometrics, Informetrics, and Scientometrics (WIS) from December 8-10 at East West University, Aftabnagar in the capital.
The three-day conference was organized by COLLNET in association with the Society for Library Professionals and Special Libraries Association, Asia Community.
The Inaugural Ceremony of the conference was held on Friday, December 8, at the Manzur Elahi Auditorium of EWU. Syed Manzur Elahi, Chairperson, Board of Trustees, EWU and Former Adviser of the Caretaker Government joined the inauguration as the chief guest.
“Webometrics, Informetrics, and Scientometrics are always important fields in understanding and assessing the impact and dynamics of knowledge, research, and information dissemination in the digital age. This conference will provide a valuable platform for academics, librarians, information technology professionals, and policymakers advancing research and activities in these areas,” he said at the event.
Professor Dr Shams Rahman, Vice Chancellor of EWU delivered the welcome speech at the inauguration ceremony.
Dr Bernd Markscheffel, Academic Council (Senior Researcher), Department of Information and Knowledge Management, Technische Universität Ilmenau, Germany was the special guest on the occasion.
Prof Jean-Charles Lamirel, Professor at the Dalian University of Technology, China, and the University of Strasbourg, France, delivered the Keynote Speech during the session which was ended with a vote of thanks by the Conference Chair Dr Dilara Begum, Associate Professor and Chairperson, Department of Information Studies, and Librarian (In-Charge), EWU.
Around 250 researchers, librarians, academicians and other professionals from different countries are participating in the conference, where a total of 85 research papers are being presented.
Pry teacher recruitment test: 67 detained on charges of fraud using previously unseen schema
Law enforcement agencies detained 67 individuals, including 5 women, from the northern districts of Gaibandha, Rangpur and Lalmonirhat from Thursday night to Friday morning, on charges of fraudulence in the assistant teacher recruitment test for primary schools.
In Gaibandha, members of the Rapid Action Battalion detained 35 of them people from different areas of the district including examination centres, during the examination itself on Friday morning.
Several mobiles, electronic devices and various equipment to facilitate an elaborate cheating scheme were seized, said ASP Mostafizur Rahman, commander of RAB-13, during a press conference held at the Gaibandha RAB Camp's auditorium on Friday afternoon.
Meanwhile in Rangpur, police detained 19 individuals, again from different areas of the district including exam centres and Rangpur city.
During this time, 80 mobile phones and devices were seized from their possession, Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Md Moniruzzaman said in a press briefing this afternoon.
Divulging the scheme put in use by the syndicate, the Commissioner said one group would be inside the exam centre - they would take pictures of the question papers distributed in the exam centre and electronically transfer them to their fellow conspirators outside. A few of the group outside are some of our everyday math geniuses, using modern devices to solve the problems to a T. Real candidates inside the exam centres then received these answers and in some cases removed them.
Based on a tip-off, the police started the operation from Thursday night as they already had an active investigation in this regard.
Apart from Rangpur, more members of this syndicate team have been arrested from different districts of the division.
The detainees will be interrogated in this regard, said the officer, adding that a case will be filed against them.
In Lalmonirhat, 13 examinees were detained on charges amounting to cheating in the primary assistant teacher recruitment examination on Friday.
The detainees are Ashiq Siddiqui (25), Paranjan Roy (30), Nazmun Nahar (30), Rabiul Islam (31), Sahera Khatun (31), Lovely Khatun (31), Afrin Akhtar (27), Rafia Sultana (27). Khadija Khatun (30), Tripti Rani (26), Sohagi Begum (31), Mahabooba Raihana (29) and Tuli Rani Roy (29).
Omar Faruq, officer-in-charge (OC) of Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station, confirmed the detention on Friday afternoon.
He said that the written examination for the recruitment of assistant teachers under the Department of Primary Education was held at 10am in various centers of the district.
During the examination, 13 persons were caught red handed by the invigilators while using electronic devices in the exam halls. Later, they were handed over to the police.
Legal action will be taken upon receiving a complaint, added the officer.
The first phase of the government primary school assistant teacher recruitment test held at 535 centres under 18 districts in Rangpur, Barishal and Sylhet division.
A total of 3,60,697 candidates were expected to take part in the exam.
74% university admission seekers suffer depression: Study
At least 74 percent of the country's students who are seeking university admission are suffering from depression, according to a study by Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST).
Among them, 26 percent of the students are suffering from mild depression, 26 percent of moderate depression, and 22 percent of the students are suffering from severe depression.
A team of researchers led by Dr. Jamal Uddin, Professor of Statistics Department of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet, conducted a survey titled 'Prevalence of depression and its associated factors among undergraduate admission candidates in Bangladesh: Anation-wide cross-sectional study' on about 5,000 university admission candidates of 2021-22 HSC session in the divisional cities of Bangladesh.
Also read: DU undergraduate admission process to begin from December 18
Through this survey, the researchers divided the severity of depression among the university admission seekers into three categories.
The study was published on Nov. 30 in the international multidisciplinary Q1 journal PLOS One (Impact Factor: 3.7, 2022).
Regarding the study, Dr. Jamal Uddin said, "Factors have been identified behind both the increase and decrease of depression. Gender, blackmail, family problems, serious illness, Covid-19 diganosis, academic results, and psychological problems have been identified as factors behind the increase in depression."
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"On the other hand, confidence in preparing for admission tests, exercise, study time, religious practice, play a role in reducing depression. Although family income and social media use have been identified as the catalyst for depression, their impact is not very strong [in these cases]. In addition, the study also revealed that there was no relation between the habit of smoking, marital status, love affairs and religious beliefs with the depression among the admission candidates."
Another author of the study, Md. Abu Bakar Siddique, said that female students are almost twice as likely to suffer from moderate depression as boys.
The correlation between recent experiences of blackmail and familial issues in students often leads to a significantly higher likelihood of experiencing severe depression, often two to three times more than their peers.
He emphasized that genuine companionship and a supportive family environment are irreplaceable when it comes to alleviating depression among students.
"Simultaneously, fostering awareness about physical fitness and religious discipline proves influential. It's crucial to prioritize not just the students' physical health but also their mental well-being. Beyond academic success, a collaborative effort from families, educational institutions, society, and the government is imperative to nurture a resilient generation, both physically and mentally," saod Abu Bakar.
Md. Nafiul Hasan and Al Mahmud of Department of Statistics at SUST, Munmun Sarker, a student of the Department of Microbiology of Dhaka University, Mahmudul Hasan Milad, a student of the Department of Public Health of the University of Birmingham, UK, Akher Ali, a student of the Department of Statistics, Jahangirnagar University, and Jubayer Ahmed, assistant professor of the Department of Economics and Banking, Islamic University, Chattogram also contributed to the research.
DU undergraduate admission process to begin from December 18
The online application process for admission to Dhaka University's undergraduate programme for the 2023–24 academic session will start on December 18.
The online application procedure will start at 12 pm on December 18 and continue until 12 am on January 5. Applicants will be able to download their admit cards from February 8 until the exam date.
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The decision was made in the DU admission committee's meeting held at Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Building of Dhaka University on Tuesday which was presided over by DU Vice Chancellor prof. Maksud Kamal.
This year, four admission tests will be held under four individual units. The units are Fine Arts unit, Science unit, Business education unit and 'Arts, Law and Social Science unit'.
The admission test for Arts, Law and Social Science unit has been scheduled to be held on February 23; the date for the Business Education unit has been scheduled for February 24; and the test for the Science unit will be held on March 1. These three tests will be held in eight divisional districts of the country.
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The test(Drawing and MCQ) for the Fine Arts unit has been scheduled to be held on March 9 at Dhaka.
The duration of all the tests will be one and a half hours and will start at 11 am and end at 12.30 pm on the scheduled dates.
Applicants to the Science, Business Studies, Arts, Law, and Social Science units will be given 45 minutes for MCQs and 45 minutes for written tests.
While 30 minutes for the MCQ exam and 60 minutes for the written(drawing) exam have been allotted for the fine arts unit's test.
Students will be evaluated on the basis of a total 120 marks in the admission test. Out of this total 120 marks, 100 will be counted from the test and 20 marks from SSC and HSC GPA.
Applicants seeking admission must have to pass the Secondary/Equivalent examination in-between 2018 to 2021 and Higher Secondary/equivalent examination in 2023 . for 'Science Unit' GPA-sum of two board exam(SSC and HSC including 4th subject) have to be minimum 8 and GPA 3.5 separately in each exam ', for 'Arts, Law and Social Science Unit' GPA-sum of two board exam have to be minimum 7.5 and separately GPA 3.0 in each board exam , Business Education Unit' must have minimum GPA-sum of 7.5 and separately GPA 3.0. And any student who has a total GPA of 6.5 and separately 3.00 in SSC and HSC can apply for the Fine Arts admission test.
Also read: Single entry test for public universities not from next year: UGC Chairman
Prof. Humayun Kabir made new JnU treasurer
Professor Dr. Md. Humayun Kabir Chowdhury has been appointed as the treasurer of Jagannath University (JnU) for the next four years.
The Education Ministry issued a circular in this regard on Tuesday.
According to the circular, Professor Dr. Md. Humayun Kabir Chowdhury has been appointed as the treasurer of the university according to Section 12(1) of the Jagannath University Act 2005.
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He will perform the duties of the treasurer as per subsections 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Section 12 of the Jagannath University Act 2005.Dr. Humayun is the Professor of the Department of Marketing at Jagannath University. He previously served as Dean of the Business Faculty of Jagannath University and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of South East University.
Professor Dr Mohammad Ashik Mosaddik joins EWU as new Pro-VC
Professor Dr Ashik Mosaddik joined as the new Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the East West University (EWU) on Monday.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin, the Chancellor of the University, appointed him for the next four years.
Professor Mosaddik previously served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Varendra University, Rajshahi. He was a first-batch student of the Department of Pharmacy at Rajshahi University (RU), where he completed his Bachelor's in 1993 and Master's in 1994.
Read: Vested groups spreading falsehood about new curriculum: Dipu Moni
Afterwards, Mosaddik joined the Department of Pharmacy of Rajshahi University as a lecturer in 1998.
He received his PhD from Southern Cross University, Australia. Later, he completed his postdoctoral research in South Korea from 2008 to 2010.
Meanwhile, he served as the Chairman of the Department of Pharmacy at BRAC University from 2011-2012. Besides, he was a Research Professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia from 2017 to 2019.
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In 2011, he received the 'Young Scientist Gold Medal' for his research contribution from 'Developing Countries and Bangladesh Science Academy'.
Prof Mosaddik has already published over 150 research articles in international journals as an expert in 'Natural Products' and 'Nano Medicine'. Globally renowned publishers Elsevier Science and Academic Press published his three books.
Read: Prof Sadeka Halim becomes new VC of Jagannath University
Recognised as one of the world's top 2% scientists consecutively from 2020 to 2023 by Stanford University and Elsevier Science, Prof Mosaddik is also serving as the Chairman of the Pharmacy Affairs Committee in Bangladesh Accreditation Council.
Dr Harun-or-Rashid assumes 'Bangabandhu Chair' at National University
Prof Dr Harun-ur-Rashid, former vice-chancellor of National University, has been appointed as 'Bangabandhu Chair' of National University (NU).
The appointment decision was made at the 252nd syndicate meeting of the university on Saturday, said a press release.
The 'Bangabandhu Chair' position has been introduced for the first time in the National University, it said.
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Dr Rashid completed his BA (Hons) and MA in Political Science Department from Dhaka University and obtained PhD degree from London University in 1983 with Commonwealth Scholarship.
He did post-doctoral research at the University of London, Uppsala University in Sweden and Ryukoku University in Japan.
He started teaching as a lecturer in the Political Science Department of Chittagong University in 1979.
Later he joined the Political Science Department of Dhaka University.
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Dr. Rashid won the 'Bangla Academy Literary Award-2021' for his research on Bangabandhu. In 2016, he was awarded the Best Book Gold Medal by Bangladesh University Grants Commission for Best Publications.
Dr. Rashid has written 19 original research books so far. His 100 research articles have been published in journals at home and abroad.
He recently served as 'Bangabandhu Professorial Fellow' at the Bangladesh Chair of the South Asian Institute at Heidelberg University, Germany.
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He was also selected for the "Bangladesh Chair: Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Professorial Fellowship" at the South Asia Institute of Heidelberg University, Germany.