United News of Bangladesh

The results of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and its equivalent examinations of 2024 will be published any day between October 15-1 7. Dhaka Education Board Chairman and Inter-education board coordinating committee Chairman Prof Tapan Kumar Sarkar told UNB over mobile phone on Thursday. This year, the HSC and its equivalent exams began across the country except in Sylhet division on June 30. The exams in Sylhet division started from July 9 as the Ministry of Education deferred the board’s exams due to flooding. After eight days of the exams, all exams scheduled for July 18 were postponed due to the situation created amid the quota reform movement. After that, the government postponed the exams three more times. Finally, after postponing all the exams, a new schedule was published starting from August 11. On August 24, the Ministry of Education decided to cancel all the remaining HSC exams. This decision came in response to demands from some students who stormed the  secretariat on that day. The Education Ministry took decision to evaluate the copies of those subjects the students appeared for the examinations this year. Besides, subject mapping method will be used for other subjects based on the SSC results. A total of 14,50,790 students from nine general Education Boards, Madrasha Board and Technical Board were expected to sit for the exams from 9,463 educational institutions at 2,275 centres across the country.

Some students of Dhaka University have protested the cancellation of the textbook revision committee and labeling Professor Samina Luthfa of Sociology Department of the university as ”anti-Islam”. A protest rally organized by general students took place at the foot of the Raju Sculpture at Dhaka University on Monday. During the rally, students voiced their concerns over labeling Professor Samina Luthfa as being “anti-Islam”. Referring to her significant contributions to the student movement, they argued that such baseless labeling hinders efforts to create a non-discriminatory and just Bangladesh. The protest followed the recent cancellation of a textbook revision committee by the Ministry of Education, after objections from certain religious organizations regarding two of its members.

Dhaka University has formed a probe committee to investigate all the violent and unexpected incidents which happened in Between July 15 to August 5 within its campus. The members of the probe have been told to submit their findings within next 30 days. Professor Ikramul Haque, acting dean of the Law faculty, has been made the convener of the probe. The other members are Dr. Nadia Newaj Rimi of Management department, assistant proctor Sehrin Amin Bhuiyan. Deputy registrar of the University Ayub Ali has been made the secretary of the probe.

The Ministry of Education has dissolved the 10-member coordination committee formed to revise and amend all textbooks prepared and printed by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB). The ministry issued an office order to this end on Saturday, signed by the Secondary and Higher Education Division Senior Assistant Secretary. Earlier on September 15, the Ministry of Education formed the committee, headed by Dr KM Kabirul Islam, additional secretary of the ministry.

The Department of Pharmacy at East West University (EWU) has recently celebrated World Pharmacists Day, in alignment with the global pharmacy community. On September 25, the university celebrated the day with the theme for this year: “Pharmacists: Meeting Global Health Needs.” The event began with a rally, featuring participation from Professor Dr Mohammed Farashuddin, Chief Adviser of EWU; Professor Dr Shams Rahman, Vice-Chancellor; and Professor Md Amirul Islam, Chairperson of the Department of Pharmacy, along with all faculty members and students. Department students carried colourful banners and festoons in this rally highlighting pharmacists' crucial role worldwide. Following this, the department arranged a seminar where the keynote speaker was Abdus Salam, Senior Director of R&D at Radiant Pharmaceuticals Ltd, who presented insightful discussions on ‘Meeting Global Health Needs Starts from Pharma R&D,’ emphasising Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical research and development in alignment with global standards. The seminar was attended by Professor Dr Mohammad Ashik Mosaddik, Pro Vice-Chancellor, EWU, who led participants to take an oath to reaffirm their commitment to contributing to the betterment of humankind through their work as future pharmacists.

The residential halls for male students of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) will reopen on October 8, said acting registrar Syed Salim Md. Abdul Qadir on Thursday. The decision was taken at an emergency syndicate meeting of the university on Wednesday afternoon. The acting registrar said, "Students will be able to move into the residential halls between October 8 and 15, and classes and exams will start from October 20. However, departments are required to complete all exam activities by November 19." Classes and exams at the university have remained suspended since May 26 due to the Eid-ul-Azha and summer vacations. The suspension was further prolonged by a teachers’ strike over a pension scheme. After student unrest, the campus remained without administrative oversight, preventing the resumption of classes. Additionally, on August 26, local residents evicted male students from the residential halls, accusing Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) members of occupying the halls. The male students have not been able to return to their halls since then. However, the residential halls for female students have remained open as usual.

The government has approved the publishing the results of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and its equivalent examinations. A process is on to publish the HSC results by October, Professor Tapan Kumar Sarkar, Chairman of Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board told UNB on Wednesday. The Education Ministry took decision to evaluate the copies of those subjects the students appeared for the examinations this year. Besides, subject mapping method will be used for other subjects based on the SSC results. However, the date of publishing  the results has not been finalised yet. The HSC and equivalent exams began across the country on June 30. A total of 14,50,790 students from nine General Education Boards, Madrasha Board and Technical Board appeared for the exams from 9,463 educational institutions at 2,275 centres. After eight days of exams, all exams scheduled for July 18 were postponed due to the situation created amid the quota reform movement. After that, the government postponed the exams three more times. Finally, after postponing all the exams, a new schedule was published starting from August 11. According to that, the written exams were supposed to end by September 8. On August 24, the Ministry of Education decided to cancel all the remaining HSC exams. This decision came in response to demands from some students who stormed the  secretariat on that day.

A four-member US delegation led by Stephen F. Ibelli, Public Affairs Counselor at the US Embassy in Dhaka, met with Dhaka University (DU) Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Niaz Ahmed Khan on Wednesday. The discussions centered on strengthening joint academic and research programs, increasing scholarship opportunities, and promoting student exchanges between DU and US universities, according to a press release. Other members of the delegation included Scott Hartmann, Raihana Sultana, and Jonatha Gomes from the embassy. DU officials present included Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic) Prof. Dr. Mamun Ahmed, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Administration) Prof. Dr. Sayema Haque Bidisha, and Treasurer Prof. Dr. M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury. During the meeting, they explored opportunities for enhancing ongoing collaborative academic and research initiatives between the University of Dhaka and various US institutions. They also addressed bilateral issues, such as establishing an American Corner at DU, enhancing the Fulbright scholarship program, and developing entrepreneurship and English language skills programs to bolster the employability of DU students. The participants emphasized the importance of exchanging faculty and students between DU and US universities, as well as sharing data and information between the American Center and Dhaka University. DU VC Prof. Niaz requested financial support and collaboration from the delegation to construct a new residential hall for female students at DU. The delegation assured the VC that they would consider the request positively.

Prof. Dr Kazi Rafiqul Islam, a faculty member at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), has been appointed as the ninth Vice Chancellor (VC) of Patuakhali University of Science and Technology (PUST). The Ministry of Education issued a gazette notification regarding this appointment, signed by Deputy Secretary Rokhsana Begum on Wednesday. Rafiqul completed his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and Master of Science (MS) in Pharmacology at BAU in 1994 and 1998, respectively. He joined the same department as a lecturer on September 27, 2002. He completed his PhD at Kagawa University in Japan and obtained a post-doctoral degree in Pharmacology in 2014. He has published over 100 research papers both domestically and internationally and was promoted to the position of professor on July 7, 2016. Notably, he actively participated in the recent student-led movement that led to the ousting of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5. When contacted, the newly appointed VC stated that he has received his appointment letter and will join the position very soon.

Professor Nakib M Nasrullah, law faculty member of Dhaka University, has taken charge as the new vice-chancellor of Islamic University in Kushtia on Tuesday. President Mohammed Shahabuddin, also the chancellor of the university, appointed him as the VC on September 23 for a four-year term. IU's Theology and Islamic Studies faculty dean Professor ABM Siddiqur Rahman Ashrafi, acting registrar HM Ali Hasan, among others, were present on the occasion. . While addressing, the new VC sought cooperation from all to work for the improvement of the university’s ranking in the international arena and maintain transparency and accountability in all sectors. Later, the VC placed a floral wreath at the university’s central memorial monument at around 5pm.