United News of Bangladesh

Forty-two students of the Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia have won the Science and Technology Fellowship 2022-23 for special research under the Ministry of Science and Technology. Twenty-nine students from the biotechnology and genetic engineering department, six from applied chemistry and chemical engineering, and three students from mathematics received the fellowship, IU acting registrar HM Ali Hasan said on Thursday. Also, two students from the electrical and electronic engineering department and one each from the statistics and applied nutrition and food technology departments were selected for the fellowship, he added. Each student will get Tk54,000 under the fellowship programme, Ali said.  

Dhaka University (DU) and the Istanbul University of Turkey have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in teaching and research, exchange of academics and students, and partnership in scholarly publications.   DU Vice-Chancellor Professor Md Akhtaruzzaman and Istanbul University Rector Professor Mahmut AK signed the agreement Wednesday. Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen was also present at the online programme. Masud Bin Momen said: "The results of such initiatives are very positive and far-reaching, which can help further accelerate the political, economic and educational cooperation between the two countries." Professor Mahmut said: "Many Bangladeshi students are now studying at Istanbul University. The signing of the MoU will increase the educational and research cooperation between the two universities, which will elevate the friendly bilateral ties a step further." Read more: DU, UPSI sign MoU to set up Centre for Malay Studies Mohammed Nore-Alam, consul general at the Consulate General of Bangladesh in Istanbul, hoped that Bangladesh-Turkey ties would be further deepened and strengthened through the initiative.

Education Minister Dipu Moni on Wednesday said that the paper and printing quality of the free textbooks distributed among students of pre-primary, primary and secondary levels is good. “The paper quality of the textbook is not bad, the brightness is a bit low. But the quality is good,” she told the reporters after distributing calves among the fishermen registered in the hilsa resource development and management project at Chandpur Sadar Upazila Parishad premises. Read more: Students of four classes to receive new curriculum books on trial basis: Dipu Moni Although the color of the paper is slightly different, it is not newsprint, she added. “If the printed paper is too white it is not good for eyes, it can cause harm to eye sights.” After the pandemic and the global recession, the textbooks have been handed over to the students at the beginning of the year after overcoming various hurdles, said Dipu Moni. The remaining books will be distributed among students within the next two weeks, assured the minister. Read more: New curriculum to be introduced in 2023: Education Minister The Textbook Festival, marking the distribution of free textbooks among students was held on Sunday (January 1). Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the textbooks distribution programme at a ceremony at her office through handing over books to students of primary and secondary levels on December 31. Nearly 33.91 crore new textbooks will be distributed among 4.09 crore students this year.

10 Minute School, an e-learning platform of Bangladesh, has launched Online Batch 2023, a comprehensive year-long study program for students of classes 6-10. Online Batch 2023 (https://10minuteschool.com/online-batch/) will cover the entire National Board curriculum, through 800+ live classes conducted throughout the year on the 10 Minute School app where students will be able to learn without any distractions, according to a press release. Read more: 10 Minute School courses: bKash offers 20% cashback on payment State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak inaugurated the programme at the BCC Auditorium of Dhaka's ICT Tower on Tuesday. Classes will be taken by teachers with years of offline and online teaching experience, who studied in some of the most prestigious universities of Bangladesh, including BUET, Dhaka Medical, and Dhaka University. A total of six subjects will be taught to students to complete their full syllabus in eight months. Students of classes 6-8 will have 22 live classes every month, 6 days a week while students of classes 9-10 will have 40 live classes every month, five days a week, reads the release. Read more: Robi-10 Minute School launches exam preparation course for grades 6-9 10 Minute School started its journey in 2015, and has taught over millions of students in the country through various academic, skill development and job preparation courses.

Minister for Education Dr Dipu Moni has disclosed that students belonging to classes 1, 2, 6, and 7 will be provided books as per the new curriculum on trial basis in the coming year. She said this while addressing a Meet the Press-style program organised by Chandpur Press Club at its auditorium, where she was the chief guest on Friday evening.      The education minister said amendments will be made if any mistakes are found in the books printed for distribution. Urging all to cooperate to make the initiative a success, she informed that books with new editions for four more classes -3, 4, 8 and 9 - will be available in 2024. The remaining two classes i.e. 5 and 10, are expected to receive their new editions in 2025. Also Read: Dipu Moni urges Dhaka University to adopt an academic master plan Replying to a question from the journalists, the minister said that above all, academic qualifications, merit and capability are taken into consideration, when recruiting newly enlisted MPO teachers as trainers.   There are many experienced teachers who don’t have the capability of training others, she said.  The aim, she said, is to transform education in the country through highly skilled, trained teachers.  Urging people of her constituency to vote for her, Dipu Moni said Banaganbandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s daughter Sheikh Hasina is  working relentlessly on her new vision to turn Digital Bangladesh into Smart Bangladesh.    

Minister for Education Dr Dipu Moni has disclosed that students belonging to classes 1, 2, 6, and 7 will be provided books as per the new curriculum on trial basis in the coming year. She said this while addressing a Meet the Press-style program organised by Chandpur Press Club at its auditorium, where she was the chief guest on Friday evening. The education minister said amendments will be made if any mistakes are found in the books printed for distribution. Read: New curriculum to be introduced in 2023: Education Minister Urging all to cooperate to make the initiative a success, she informed that books with new editions for four more classes -3, 4, 8 and 9 - will be available in 2024. The remaining two classes i.e. 5 and 10, are expected to receive their new editions in 2025. Replying to a question from the journalists, the minister said that above all, academic qualifications, merit and capability are taken into consideration, when recruiting newly enlisted MPO teachers as trainers. There are many experienced teachers who don’t have the capability of training others, she said. The aim, she said, is to transform education in the country through highly skilled, trained teachers. Urging people of her constituency to vote for her, Dipu Moni said Banaganbandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s daughter Sheikh Hasina is working relentlessly on her new vision to turn Digital Bangladesh into Smart Bangladesh.  

Bangladesh University Grants Commission (UGC) on Wednesday stressed the need for a quick solution to the ongoing crisis over the cluster-based admission tests of 22 general and science & technology (GST) public universities. The call came from a daylong workshop held at the UGC office to face the challenges of the 4th Industrial Revolution. The Innovation Wing of UGC arranged the workshop titled "Knowledge Dominates the Period of 4IR and IoT Business Applications," said a press release. “An unexpected crisis regarding the cluster admission test has created. The authorities of the 22 universities will have to find an effective solution to this crisis,” said UGC member Prof Muhammad Alamgir while addressing the event as the chief guest. Read: Pvt universities’ permanent campuses: UGC to go tough as deadline ends on Dec 31 He said the ongoing crisis can be solved if the admission process includes student-friendly aspects and the proper use of modern technology. Dr Alamgir requested the committee concerned to take appropriate steps to complete the entire admission process smoothly soon so that the students do not suffer any untoward suffering. He suggested the vice-chancellors of the universities for making efforts to ensure that a good system like such admission test won’t face question. Talking about the 4th industrial revolution, the UGC member urged the university teachers to produce graduates suitable for the 4th industrial revolution as now it is the time for frontier technology. He said the officers and employees of higher education institutes should be trained to be adapted to the technology.  “In the 4IR era, skilled people will replace unskilled people and there will be a massive change in the type of jobs,” said Dr Alamgir. Director of the IMCT Department of the Commission Mohammad Maksudur Rahman Bhuiyan presided over the workshop, while Dean of Science and Engineering School of Canadian University of Bangladesh Prof Syed Akhtar Hossain was the resource person in the event. The admission seekers fell into a trouble as the authorities have stopped the migration process from the sixth merit list of the cluster-based test. Read: UGC set to formulate policy for new public universities Since the migration process continued till the fifth merit list, the students who got chances in more than one university now have fallen into troubles to migrate to upper tier universities even though the seats are vacant. The High Court has recently issued a rule upon the authorities concerned to explain within 10 days as to why the decision of stopping migration process should not be declared illegal.

Authorities of the Islamic University in Kushtia have failed to complete its construction works under a mega project within the stipulated time though the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the allocation of Tk 537 crore for the university four years ago. Nine buildings, five residential halls, two official and staff residential quarters and an academic and administrative building are to be constructed under the project. The project implementation committee had extended the time for completing the construction works twice. The current term for the construction works under the mega project will expire on December 31, IU engineering office officials said on Tuesday. Campus sources said that ECNEC had allocated Tk 537 crore for the infrastructural development of Islamic University in Kushtia in 2018 for the first time ever in the history of the university. Although there is an obligation to complete the work within the stipulated time, only 32 percent of the work has been completed over the four years. Read: BGMEA urges BEZA to speed up garment village construction at Mirsarai According to the concerned departments, sluggish implementation of the project was due to failure in tendering on time. No tenders were invited in the first two years and eight months except for 10 tenders for upward expansion. “If we had started the construction works by tendering at the beginning, the work would have been done on time,” IU acting chief engineer Munshi Shahid Uddin Mohammad Tarek told UNB. “Due to COVID-19, the works were suspended for several months and as the price of goods rose, the contractors stopped working hoping subsidy by the government,” he said. They also applied for a two-and-a-half year extension to complete the work to the project implementation committee and the ministry concerned. “Hopefully, we can finish the work by this time,” he said. Meanwhile, the land development work under the mega project is yet to start. A company named Galaxy Associate Majumpur, Kushtia got the tender for the work at the cost of Tk 61 lakh but the company did not start working even in nine months after receiving the work order. Read: Metro Rail: DMP to provide security till specialised unit is formed When asked about the land development work, IU planning division director M Nawab Ali said that they had sent several letters to the contractor. He did not respond to the letter, he said, adding that his work order would be cancelled soon. IU vice-chancellor Professor Shaikh Abdus Salam said that the work could not be finished on time due to major restrictions and obstacles including the Covid-19. Final approval process for the extension of two years was underway. “We do not want to go for an additional two years, unless there are major obstacles, we hope to finish the work before then,” he said.  

The written tests of Arabic and Islamic studies modules for the 44th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations will be held on January 11, 2023. Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC) issued a press release on this regard on Monday. The written tests for Arabic  (131) and Islamic Studies (201) of all the candidates will be held from 10 am to 2 pm on that day at Dhaka center  of BPSC 71 Auditorium located at Agargaon, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, said the notice. Read: High Court asks government to urgently appoint five recommended BCS cadres Exams of these two subjects will not be taken at the regional office of BPSC. The results of 44th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) preliminary test (MCQ type) were published on June 22 this year. Altogether 15,708 candidates qualified for participating in the written examination. The preliminary test for the 44th BCS was held on May 27 this year.

The Bangladesh Internet Governance Forum (BIGF) will host the 7th Bangladesh School on Internet Governance from February 23 to 25, 2023, in Dhaka. The fellowship application for the seventh edition of the Bangladesh School of Internet Governance 2023 opened Monday. The application window will close on February 2, 2023. The three-day course covers the political, legal, economic, sociocultural, and technical dimensions of internet governance. The curriculum includes academic lectures, case presentations, and breakout sessions for interactive discussion, as well as a multistakeholder practicum on governance, internet governance and digital governance, and the history of internet governance. It will also cover emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, blockchain, AR, VR; Metaverse, big data, machine learning, deep learning,  cyber security, digital law, international fellowship, human rights, Smart Bangladesh; future challenges, perspectives, and digital diplomacy. The Bangladesh School on Internet Governance offers a multidisciplinary programme for youth and youth women, including professionals from the private sector, government, academia, civil societies, and media.