Education
Schools, colleges asked to prepare for reopening, guidelines issued
The education authorities have issued some guidelines as part of preparations to reopen educational institutions which have remained closed since March last year due to Covid pandemic.
The teachers of primary schools have been instructed to return to their work places from Tuesday.
Read:SSC, HSC exams either in Nov or Dec next: Education Minister
The Primary Education Directorate asked the upazila/thana education officers to inspect the schools their jurisdiction within a week.
Besides, it also gave instructions to keep the institutions clean and tidy by taking utmost care to prevent dengue.
The primary school authorities were instructed to prepare their wash block accordingly.
Besides, the Directorate of Secondary & Higher Education (DSHE) asked the regional directors to take necessary preparations to reopen schools and colleges.
According to education ministry sources, most of the teachers and staffers of the educational institutions have been vaccinated.
Read:Educational institutions to remain closed until July 31, says govt
Besides, sources within the University Grants Commission claimed that around 80 % students of Dhaka University got their Covid jabs.
However schools will reopen only after the covid positivity rate comes below 5 %, said a source of the education ministry.
In that case, the closure of schools might be extended again.
Director of DSHE professor Shahedul Kabir Chowdhury said the regional directors were asked to inspect and submit a report on the final preparations on resuming academic activities at educational institutions.
Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education Alamgir Md Mansurul Alam said teachers have been told to return to schools.
Read:WB approves $191mn credit for Bangladesh’s education sector
"We also instructed our officials to visit institutions and submit a report on preparations to reopen. Failure to do so will result in administrative actions," he added.
The government shut down educational institutions on March 17, last year after the country reported its first Covid-19 cases on March 8.
Then the closure was extended several times until August 31 this year.
KL Deemed-to-be University, India announces Counselling for Engineering and Non-engineering
VADDESWARAM, India, July 19 (UNB/AsiaNet) - KLEEE Results announced for 40,000+ students appeared for KL Deemed-to-be University's online proctored Engineering Entrance Exam 2021.
- Counselling from 19th July for Engineering, Management, Science & Humanities,
Lateral Entry and all Programs at its two Campuses in India
- USD 6 Million Scholarships for International students
KL Deemed-to-be University [https://www.kluniversity.in/], one of the leading universities in India for graduation and higher education, has announced the results of KL Engineering Entrance Exam 2021 (KLEEE-2021) and will conduct Counselling from 19th July for all undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the University.
Read: How to Pick a College or University Abroad for Higher Education in 2021
The results were presented by Dr. N.Venkatram, Incharge Vice-Chancellor, Dr. K Ramakrishna, Convenor, Admissions Committee, Dr. J Srinivasa Rao, Director, Admissions and Dr. M Kishore Babu, Dean, Management, Humanities and Sciences.
Dr. J. Srinivasa Rao mentioned that 40,000+ students from India and various countries have appeared for the entrance examinations for Engineering and other courses of management, humanities and sciences, and the institution will be giving high priority to students from International countries.
To encourage and nurture talent, KL Deemed-to-be University has announced an allocation of USD 6 Million of Scholarships for international students. "To enable a strong platform for talent coming from other countries with high potential, KL Deemed-to-be University will be offering 50% scholarships for its undergraduate and postgraduate programs that include Engineering and Non-engineering streams," said Dr. N. Venkatram.
Scholarships through exemptions in fees will be provided to the students attending the online counselling.
The details are available on https://www.kluniversity.in/IR.
About KL Deemed-to-be University
Founded in 1980 as KL College of Engineering, KL Deemed-to-be University, India brings an academic legacy of 40 years. It was accredited by NAAC with A++ grade and Category-I Institution by UGC, MHRD, Govt. of India in 2019.
Read: WURI Ranking 2021: ULAB among global top 100 innovative universities
Ranked 41st in the NIRF 2020 rankings of top Universities of India, it is situated in a spacious 100-acre campus in Vijayawada and has another world-class campus in Hyderabad. The University has collaborations with 64 foreign Universities across 16 countries providing students international exposure through internships and exchange programs. The intellectual resources include 1,200+ faculty members, with 700+ Ph.D. faculty members. The University also rejoices an impeccable placement track record of placing 20,000 students in reputed companies so far.
For more details please visit https://www.kluniversity.in.
EU to strengthen education system in Bangladesh; provides EUR 46.12mn
The European Union (EU) has provided EUR 42 million or Tk 423 crore to the government of Bangladesh to support key national reforms in the education sector.
With this grant, the EU recognises and supports the government’s commitment to the development of human capital, the eradication of poverty and inequalities, along with its commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, said the EU Embassy in Dhaka.
This is the second disbursement under the EU sector budget support ‘Human Capital Development Programme 2021’, which focuses on strengthening the education and skills sector of Bangladesh with specific focus on primary, as well as technical and vocational education and training.
Also read: EU launches TEI GET in Bangladesh to invest in renewable energy
In line with the National Education Policy and National Skills Development Policy, the EU support aims to contribute to government of Bangladesh’s own reform agenda and institutional capacity towards a comprehensive education and skills development approach.
"Education is fundamental for the economic growth of a country and remains at the core of the EU's development cooperation. Reaping the maximum benefit of Bangladesh’s demographic dividend will largely depend on an inclusive and equitable quality Primary Education and Technical and Vocational Education system designed to cater to the future job market and employment generation,” said EU Ambassador Rensje Teerink.
She said the EU is, however, concerned about the continued school closure as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Once the pandemic situation allows it and when effective precautionary measures can be taken, the reopening of schools must proceed as soon as possible, in particular because access to alternative distant schooling solutions remains a challenge for a large number of students, especially the marginalized ones,” she added.
Also read: Germany to provide EUR 339.54 to Bangladesh under two deals
The support programme to education reforms intends to provide a total of EUR 217 million as budget support linked to jointly-agreed performance indicators.
The programme addresses core elements of system strengthening and policy development.
Technical assistance is also available to support the cluster of institutions responsible to coordinate and deliver education reforms.
The disbursement of this second payment comes after a positive decision of the Budget Support Steering Committee of the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development in May 2021.
Aga Khan Academy set to develop future leaders for Bangladesh
The Aga Khan Academy in Dhaka will soon begin its journey with “globally-minded but locally rooted” diversified students to develop future leaders for Bangladesh, officials said on Wednesday.
“I’ve visited many educational institutions across the world. I can tell you, amazing things are going to happen on this campus,” said Theodore John Coburn, the Founding Head of the Academy in Dhaka, while describing the goal and facilities of the Academy to a small group of journalists.
The goal of The Aga Khan Academy Dhaka is to develop future leaders for Bangladesh who are equipped with the skills to compete in a highly interconnected, competitive, and globalised world.
Read: Bangladeshi Marina Tabassum in Aga Khan Award for Architecture’s Steering Committee
“In addition to providing a rigorous academic and leadership experience, the Academies help students develop ethical and pluralistic behaviours through community engagement and service,” said Coburn who spent many years in the USA.
He said global as well as local perspectives are reflected in the curriculum, and students’ study in both English and Bangla languages, with a high percentage expected to graduate with a bilingual IB Diploma.
Admission process will start next month for the academic year starting from July 2022 when the Academy will be welcoming the first cohort of students, said the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).
Read Govt to set up National Judicial Academy: Law Minister
Award-winning and designed to international standards, the Academy in Dhaka, what they say an educational centre of excellence, will be the fourth in the network of 18 Aga Khan Academies globally, joining those in Mombasa (Kenya), Hyderabad (India) and Maputo (Mozambique).
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen who visited the Academy campus in Dhaka recently said the investments made by AKDN in the country and the establishment of this landmark project in Dhaka is in part a result of the cordial bilateral relations between the AKDN and the government of Bangladesh.
“The Ministry looks forward to facilitating and supporting all such worthy investments specially to help educate future global Bangladeshi leaders,” he said.
Read:Dhaka urges UN to take immediate steps to resolve Rohingya crisis
AKDN’s Resident Diplomatic Representative Munir M Merali said the Academy will have diversity in the classrooms with students from various parts of the country.
“Education remains a key area of interest for the Network in Bangladesh,” he said acknowledging the support of the government.
Huawei organizes Asia-Pacific Higher Education Innovation Forum on smart education tools
Huawei organized recently the Asia-Pacific Higher Education Innovation Forum through live streaming with the theme Embracing the New Era of Intelligent Education.
The forum invited industry experts from UNESCO ICHEI, NUS, Open University, Thammasat University, National University of Malaysia, and PwC, including 450 informatization directors, partners, and business luminaries.
The forum focused on topics such as smart campus, online education, and smart classroom and discussed the development trend of education ICT and the challenges and opportunities for education informatization in the post-pandemic era.
READ: Huawei's largest cybersecurity, privacy protection transparency centre launched
At the opening ceremony, Nicholas Ma, President of Huawei Asia Pacific Enterprise Business Group, shared Huawei’s understanding of ICT development in higher education in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as its vision of smart higher education in the future.
Professor Zhao Jianhua, Senior Specialist of UNESCO ICHEI, shared his insights on the exciting new trends in education. According to Prof. Zhao, today’s education industry is being shaped by five major digital technologies: AR, personalized hybrid learning, gamification, AI, and IoT. What’s more, there will be five new applications in the education industry: a more efficient learning system, mental health monitoring, personalized distant education, automated data processing, and personalized collaborative education.
Read Women continue making amazing contributions in STEM fields: US
The recent disruptions to the world in the last 18 months have severely affected university education around the world. Many teachers and students can no longer go to school like they used to. During the panel session of this forum, the panellists explored how universities in the Asia-Pacific region use ICT to offset this impact, what plans and visions they have for future teaching and management models, and how to accelerate the digital transformation of universities.
Assoc. Professor Dr. Nurhizam Safie (Deputy Dean (Networking & Alumni), IST Faculty Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) stressed that the critical success factor for digital transformation in higher education is to embrace the new online pedagogy and it’s really about effective change management and managing the transition to online learning.
Read Huawei brings financial aid, free service for Asia-Pacific SMEs
Many universities are facing similar problems, such as a lack of teacher-student-classroom interaction, the insufficient sharing of education resources, difficult management due to scattered school services, high energy consumption, and low decision-making efficiency. It has become a priority for education administrators and teachers to tackle such challenges.
At this forum, Shi Ri, Huawei APAC, introduced the Huawei Smart Campus Solution and Smart Classroom Solution designed for higher education.
Huawei has been working in collaboration with industry-leading partners and is leveraging its cloud platform to provide E2E smart education solutions that cover smart devices, converged networks, and teaching and management applications for university customers in multiple countries, including South Africa, Italy, and UAE.
READ: Huawei joins Responsible Business 2021
3 new national professors appointed
Three eminent educationists have been appointed as national professors for five years.
They are-- Professor Emeritus and former vice chancellor of Chattogram University, Alamgir Mohammad Sirajuddin, Diabetic Association of Bangladesh President (BADAS) Professor AK Azad Khan, and president of Bangladesh Gastroenterology Society and Gastro liver Foundation, Bangladesh, Professor Mahmud Hasan.
A gazette notification was issued on Thursday by The Ministry of Education.
It announced their appointments in line with the National Professor (appointment, conditions and facilities) Resolution of 1981.
It said that the educationists will fulfil the duties and enjoy various facilities of national professors in accordance with the resolution.
The issued order will be effective soon, the notice said.
Amid lockdown, uncertainty looms over American higher education aspirants
As coronavirus cases continue to rise alarmingly from mid-March, the government imposed an apparently loose nationwide lockdown for one week from April 5 as part of its move to contain its spread. Later a stricter lockdown was declared from April 14 to 21 and then April 22 to 28, and as a result, thousands of students who earned their admission and scholarship at different universities abroad, especially in the United States, are counting days in anxiety.
From April 5, the US embassy in Dhaka cancelled previously scheduled visa interviews and also stopped providing any new visa appointments for the near future, saying this would be the scenario until the lockdown and travel restrictions get lifted - and many students fear that they will lose funding opportunities and will ultimately have to cancel their admission to desired universities.
Read Modernise higher education system: President
As the lockdown got extended due to the ongoing massive spike in the daily infection and mortality rate related to COVID-19, and also considering the devastating scenario in India, the uncertainty rather increased among the visa aspirant students.
One of the top countries in the world for the quality education system, the United States contains most of the prolific and top-ranked universities which offer full scholarships, fellowships and fundings to the most meritorious students around the world. So, the visa aspirants have already proven themselves as scholars with higher degrees from top universities of the country and aspiring advanced research-based knowledge on the evolution of technology, health sectors, economics and other fields, only to face the same extreme frustration and anxiety regarding the visa dilemma - once again this year, after suffering in 2020.
Read UGC chairman for ensuring good governance at universities
Statistics says that every year, more than 3,000 students from Bangladesh go to the United States of America which is considered as the hotspot of advanced education and cutting edge research, to study in different universities with honorary scholarships and fellowships. They compete against the graduates from the best and most advanced universities around the world and are playing a significant role in the advancement of science, arts and engineering.
Through the dedication and efforts of these talented students, the reputation of Bangladesh is spreading beyond the borders, and past honoraries with these higher study opportunities are already playing significant roles by utilizing their immense potentials for the further development and progress of Bangladesh.
Also read: New scholarship for Bangladeshi teachers announced by US embassy
In American universities, students are usually admitted into three sessions each year - Spring (January), Summer (May) and Fall (July-August). While most students usually prefer the Fall semester, most of the Fall 2020 students were not able to join their scheduled sessions due to the non-availability of visa because of the pandemic.
The problem is, if a student fails to attend the university before the start of class, then the admission including scholarship offers will be cancelled - according to the university admission policy in America. Considering the situation, some lucky students were able to defer their admission to the Spring session and attend their universities in January 2021 and some were also able to hold their admission and scholarships for the Summer 2021 and Fall 2021 sessions, based on individual university policies.
Read Women continue making amazing contributions in STEM fields: US
As a result, the visa demand for the Summer 2021 and Fall 2021 session was already more than regular, but unfortunately, the US embassy in Bangladesh has cancelled all the scheduled visa interviews starting from April 5, 2021, after the decision of lockdown was announced. Although the embassy has scheduled an emergency interview date on May 11, that is only for the immediate Summer aspirants while the visa schedule is urgent for the Fall aspirants as well.
Though emergency services, industries, banks, markets and inter-city public transport were allowed to continue operating upon following the government rules and law-enforcement regulations, the US embassy is not accepting any new applications and said that the resuming of the process depends on when the government instructs them based on the improvement of the current pandemic scenario - but when the neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and even China have given high priority to student visa, the US embassy in Bangladesh is yet to undertake any such specialized process.
Also read: Chevron continues scholarship support for local students
As there is no option of delaying the admission offers for the same person and the same reason in two consecutive years, all of the US higher education aspiring students are now on the verge of losing their hard-earned admission and prestigious scholarships, fellowships and assistantship offers. Many US universities are already acting reluctant to offer scholarships to Bangladeshi students.
Additionally, there is a possibility that students from other Asian and South Asian countries can override the achievement of Bangladeshi students in advanced studies and research sectors by grabbing the opportunity of their absence. If the situation continues, the reputation of Bangladesh in the advanced education and research sector will also be damaged alongside the personal loss of these students.
Read Covid-19: No ‘O’ level, ‘A’ level exams in 2020-21 session
Case Studies:
Jyotirmoy Saha, a student VISA aspirant who graduated from Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) said, “I had my funding in Fall 2020. Due to this coronavirus pandemic, the university deferred me twice, first in Spring 2021, then Fall 2021. My fund is in PhD, and I can’t be enrolled in such a program with self-funding. My professor considered my situation, he was kind enough to me but for how long? If not in Fall 2021, I am going to lose it. This is a devastating situation for me right now.”
Another deferred candidate Roushney Fatima Mukti, shared: “I got accepted for a PhD program in the Medical University of South Carolina, with a Doctoral Fellowship and Dean’s Scholarship, for the Fall 2020 session. I was supposed to work on Cancer Biology with a large group of international researchers but I was the only one who couldn’t join the lab due to visa complications.”
Read 4 engineering universities sign MoUs with Walton to foster talent
These stories depict the situation of thousands of students, and the same stories of anxiety and frustration will continue if proper steps are not being taken.
Assuming a student applies for five to six universities on average for every session, the whole admission procedure to a US university costs more than BDT 300,000 including application fee and score submission fee, standardized exam fees like GRE, TOEFL, and IELTS (costing BDT 17,000 each which remain valid only for a limited time). Apart from the aeroplane ticket, the SEVIS fee and VISA scheduling fee together cost around BDT 45,000.
Md Mohsin, a Dhaka University graduate shared his struggling story: “My family was never in a position to manage the expenses of the entire US admission process. So, every month I saved some amount from what I earned from private tutoring. In Fall-2020, after completing all the procedures, I managed full funding in a PhD program from a US university and also secured a visa interview slot.”
Read 5,000 educational institutions to get 85,000 laptops
“However, it got cancelled several times during May-June last year. My fund was given to another international student. I had to defer my admission to Fall-2021 with no guarantee for funding. With enormous frustrations, I decided to not apply anymore - but then, luckily, in Fall-2021, I got full funding from the same department. This year, the same scenario is snatching away my opportunity once again. Being already denied once and losing the job due to COVID-19, life has already become a bottomless pit.”
Similarly, the students who got admission to MIT, Stanford University and Harvard University, considered three of the elite educational institutions in the world, are now suffering this undeserving despair. As per the situation, several US universities have requested the US Department of State to consider taking online interviews due to the ongoing global pandemic.
Read Huawei brings financial aid, free service for Asia-Pacific SMEs
The general students expressed, “We understand the lockdown is important to stop the spread of the COVID-19. However, if the Bangladesh government doesn’t keep the US embassy student visa appointments out of the lockdown protocol - the present and future of thousands of brilliant students will end in smoke.”
Even before the lockdown, only very limited interview slots were available, and now it is totally closed. “Only the Bangladesh Government can save us from this situation. We seek the attention of the Honorable Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education and the US Embassy in this matter.”
Read Huawei brings financial aid, free service for Asia-Pacific SMEs
With desperate measures, a delegation of the higher education aspiring students contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs personnel to push the US Embassy for swift actions and although they were assured that the issue would be looked at, any meaningful actions are yet to be seen.
In these bizarre and unfortunate circumstances, only the concerned government departments and the US embassy need to take swift, well-thought, and collaborative steps that can save the dreams of all these talented young scholars, who are the future of the nation.
Read Bangladesh children: The silent victims of the virus
Dental colleges entry tests rescheduled for June 11
The admission tests to all dental colleges across the country for the academic year 2020-21 have been rescheduled for June 11.
The previous date of intake tests was on April 30.
Also read: Buet admission test: Application deadline extended to May 3
The admission test for all dental colleges and dental units has been rescheduled due to the surge of Covid-19 cases in the second wave of pandemic, said a notification signed by Dr AKM Ahsan Habib, director of Directorate General of Health Services (Medical Education).
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Women continue making amazing contributions in STEM fields: US
US Deputy Chief of Mission JoAnne Wagner has joined local STEM educators and students to inaugurate the 2021 “STEM Olympiad for Girls” competition and a discussion programme to encourage young women and girls to pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineer, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
During the two-day virtual event, funded by the Embassy’s Public Affairs Section and in partnership with RoboLab, more than 200 middle school, high school, and undergraduate students from all eight divisions completed STEM challenges and quizzes, participated in mentor discussions with female Bangladeshi scientists and engineers, and celebrated their achievements in an awards ceremony held recently.
Read STEM education for girls: New project launched in Bangladesh
Bangladesh children: The silent victims of the virus
With schools shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, most children are now confined to their homes. But many of them are still the victims of the virus, as they are spending maximum time in front of screens these days -- be it mobile phones, laptops, or TV, say experts.
According to the experts, children and their gadgets are inseparable today, and this could be dangerous for their mental and physical health. Add to this: prolonged isolation due to lockdown-related restrictions that are forcing them to stay indoors. And the urban children are the most affected.
Read Covid-19: No ‘O’ level, ‘A’ level exams in 2020-21 session
"Feeling isolated can lead to poor sleep, poor cardiovascular health, lower immunity, depressive symptoms, and impaired executive function,” the American Psychological Association said in a recent study on the mental health of children, in a post-Covid world.
In Bangladesh, the government ordered the closure of all educational institutions on March 17 last year after the country confirmed its first Covid-19 cases on March 8. The closure has been extended several times in the past one year, most recently this month, to protect the students from the virus.
Also read: Working for children’s better future: PM Hasina
As education boards across the country could not hold exams, all the students were promoted, based on the evaluation of their previous test results.
But parents claim their stay-at-home wards have become addicted to gadgets over the past one year, keeping in touch with their friends on social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, studying and playing games on laptops or computers, or connecting with acquaintances on mobile phones -- all at the cost of their health.
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