The Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences of Dhaka University is going to organise an international conference on earth and environment sciences and technology (ICEEST).

Opening ceremony of the five-day conference will be held on Saturday at the capital’s Intercontinental Hotel.

President Md Abdul Hamid is scheduled to address the conference on the second day on January 26, Prof Dr ASM Maksud Kamal told a press conference at the university.

Thirty-nine sessions will be conducted throughout the conference from January 25 to January 29 with secretaries of the concerned ministry in the chair, added Kamal, Dean of the faculty and also president of Dhaka University Teachers Association (DUTA).

He also said the aim of the conference is to bring all leading academic scientists, researchers, and policymakers to share their skills and expertise in order to increase collaboration both in the scientific and development strategies using state-of-the-art technologies.

The conference will proceed based on the following sub themes - Blue Economy: Global and Bay of Bengal Perspective; Geo Resources: Exploration, Development, and Management; Disaster Resilience and Sustainability; environment perspective on population dynamics and regional development; meteorology, weather forecasting; and delta processes and development, Prof Maksud Kamal said.

This conference will help improve the geo-resources development and overcome natural calamities with lots of tactic on the direction and flow of technology in the subsequent decades.

Thus, the conference not only gives the opportunity to fulfill the desires of local contexts but also the chances are greatly improved while sharing regional and global issues, he added.

President Abdul Hamid on Thursday urged the University Grants Commission (UGC) to take strong measures for ensuring the standard of education in the country’s universities.

"Rules and regulations must be followed from student admission to recruitment of teachers, from preparing question papers to evaluating answer scripts, and from curricula introduction to fixing tuition fees. UGC will’ve to take stern steps for ensuring the standard of education alongside the specific work plan upon consultation with trustee board members, parents and experts, if needed," he said.

The President was delivering speech at the first convocation of Fareast International University (FIU) at the city’s Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.

Hamid said the UGC, the Education Ministry and all concerned will have to come forward to make sure that every university runs their activities without any interference, and no student gets cheated in the name of higher education.

"We want the expansion of education, but we don’t want certificate-based higher education. So, every university must ensure the congenial environment of education," he said.

Praising the role of private entrepreneurs in expanding higher education in Bangladesh, Hamid, also the Chancellor of the university, said though a few universities are playing a laudable role in the expansion of education but all universities and entrepreneurs are not running their institutions following the rules and regulations properly.

Terming the private investment in education sector as a praiseworthy initiative, he said universities will be the centres of acquiring knowledge and its expansion, where students will get the opportunity of practicing sports and cultural activities alongside acquiring knowledge on contemporary issues.

"But many universities are running their activities in limited [small] commercial buildings which is a big obstacle to free practice of knowledge,” he added.

President Hamid said the entrepreneurs who have the intention to run a university will have to follow the rules and regulations as education is not a commercial product.   

"There’re many sectors to invest for the profit-mongering entrepreneurs. You should invest there as you’ll get huge return there and will be able to contribute to socio-economic development of the country,” he also added.

The President asked the students to raise awareness against social degradation to save the future generation.      
 
UGC Chairman Prof Kazi Shahidullah and Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hasain Chowdhury were present as special guests while Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain as the convocation speaker.

Secretaries concerned to the President were also present. 

The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Thursday decided to introduce a uniform entry test in all public universities across the country from  academic year 2020-21.

The decision came from a opinion exchange meeting between the Vice-Chancellors of public universities and University Grants Commission, said a press release.

UGC Chairman Prof Dr Kazi Shahidullah presided over the meeting.

UGC member Prof Dr Dil Afroza Begum placed the ‘concept paper’ of the uniform entry test at the meeting. UGC members Dr Muhammad Alamgir and Prof Dr Md Sazzad Hossain were , among others, present.

Prof Dr Kazi Shahidullah said, ‘Details discussion regading admission test will be held soon with Vice-Chancellors of some selected universities and four universities established under 1973 Ordinance.”

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed their desire over holding a uniform entry test at public universities several  times, the UGC Chairman said adding “UGC has now decided to hold uniform entry test.”

“There’s no scope of disagreement over holding uniform entry test as it is  the desire of the nation,”  he said adding, “The people of the country  will congratulate us if we can hold the exams through this system.”

Students who passed their HSC or equivalent examinations will be eligible to participate in the admission test.

Students of Dhaka University’s tourism and hospitality management department brought out a procession on the campus on Thursday protesting against the torture of four students by Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leaders at Zahurul Haque hall.

They also sought exemplary punishment of the attackers.

Around 60 students brought out the procession from the Faculty of Business Studies and marched through main points of the campus. They ended their procession in front of Anti-terrorism Raju memorial sculpture, where Mukim Chowdhury, one of the victims and a second-year student of tourism and hospitality management has been observing a sit-in protest since Wednesday.

Read also: DU student on hunger strike protesting against BCL assault

“I was never involved with Chhatra Shibir. The BCL men intentionally tortured us. They have no right to torture any students of the university,” Mukim told UNB. “I want expulsion of those who assaulted us. I’ll continue my protest until my demands are met.”

Apart from Mukim, BCL men on Tuesday night allegedly assaulted three other DU students at Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall suspecting them of being involved with the politics of Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir. 

A Dhaka University (DU) student, allegedly beaten up by Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists on suspicion of being a member of Islami Chhatra Shibir, started a hunger strike Wednesday protesting against the assault.

Md Mukim Chowdhury, a second-year student of tourism and hospitality management, began the strike in front of the ‘Raju Sculpture’ in the evening.

BCL activists had allegedly beaten up four DU students suspecting them of being Shibir activists.

The other victims are – Sanwar Hossain, a third-year student of political science; Minhaz Uddin, a second-year student of Islamic history and culture; and Afsar Uddin, a second-year student of Arabic.

Meanwhile, Santrash Birodhi Chhatra Oikya, an alliance of 12 student organisations, held a protest rally on the campus protesting against the incident and demanded immediate punishment of those involved in it.