United News of Bangladesh

Students of Khulna Medical College Hospital boycotted classes and held a sit-in programme in front of the college on Wednesday morning over a clash with medicine traders. At the time, the students locked the hospital director's office. Intern doctors are also on work abstention for the second day. Earlier on Monday night, a clash occurred between medicine traders and students in front of Khulna Medical College. At least 20 students and nine medicine traders were injured in the clash. Read: KMCH intern doctors call for work abstention over clash between students and medicine traders Due to the incident, the intern doctors are on a work abstention from August 15. On the other hand, the medicine traders kept their drug stores closed for the second day. Students claimed that a student of Khulna Medical College locked into an argument with a shopkeeper at a drugstore over price of medicine. At one point, several shopkeepers beat him up. When the other students learned about it, they went to the drugstore, and the shopkeepers beat them up too.  

East West University (EWU) inaugurated its newly built modern cafeteria on Monday, with the aim of serving fresh food to the students in a pleasant environment, at its permanent campus in the capital’s Aftabnagar. The cafeteria was inaugurated by Syed Manzur Elahi, chairperson, Board of Trustees of EWU. Also read: EWU Robotics Club wins ITechExpo IUBAT 2022 Prof Dr Mohammed Farashuddin, chief adviser of EWU was present at the inauguration ceremony, alongside HN Ashequr Rahman, MP, member of EWU Board of Trustees and Professor Dr MM Shahidul Hassan, the university's vice chancellor. Along with other members of the Board of Trustees, the programme was also attended by the pro-VC, treasurer, dean, chief engineer, registrar, and heads of the academic and administrative departments of EWU. Also read: EWU wins cultural competition at ULAB's 8th Inter-University Student Conference In this recently constructed cafeteria, 500 people can eat at once, according to the EWU authority. Meals can be prepared for 10,000 people every day in its newly built kitchen. Furthermore, it includes central air conditioning, artistic decoration, and an automated fire extinguishing system.

Amidst the intensifying accommodation crisis that casts a shadow over the academic pursuits of many, students of the Bangladesh-Kuwait Maitree Hall of Dhaka University (DU) have demanded the relocation of around 300 students and submitted a memorandum to DU Vice-Chancellor Dr Akhtaruzzaman. Following the memorandum handover, the students voiced their concerns and requests at a gathering hosted by the Dhaka University Journalists' Association Sunday afternoon (August 13). They collected signatures from 105 fellow students who endorsed the call for action. They also announced to stage a sit-in demonstration at the Vice-Chancellor's office premises, scheduled for on Monday. BUET students protest as Abrar Fahad's murder accused attends class Their key demands encompass the transfer of at least 300 students from the overcrowded Maitree Hall to an alternative accommodation within a one-month timeframe. Additionally, they are urging the university administration to ensure student allotment aligns with the hall's seating capacity and to maintain a conducive learning environment by limiting the room occupancy to a maximum of six students per room in the main building. During the press conference, the students conveyed that despite the limited space of Maitri Hall, the annual intake of students has consistently increased. Consequently, female students from the 2019-20 academic year still find themselves without proper accommodations even as they reach their fourth year. This predicament then cascades onto the subsequent batches, causing an acute shortage of available seats. 24 Buet students, 8 others granted bail 2 days after arrest during Tanguar Haor tour Highlighting further complications, the students pointed out that five guest rooms in the main building of the hall currently house 100 students who each pay an annual fee of TK4000. Shockingly, this arrangement is supported by only three washrooms which is severely inconveniencing the residents. Similarly, the Sikdar Manowara building declared as vulnerable, provides lodging for 110 students on its third floor, but with only two washrooms available. A mere single washroom serves a staggering 24 students residing on the second floor. An unauthorized open-air ‘library’ on Dhaka University campus raises eyebrows Commenting on the matter, Professor Akhtaruzzaman said, "I have personally visited the hall and engaged in discussions with the students. Their demands are entirely justified. Moving forward, we must curtail the student intake to ensure a sustainable housing situation. We are committed to doing everything within our capabilities." “I have already communicated the issue to the chief engineer for necessary actions,” he said. The press conference was attended by student representatives including Nusrat Imroz, Hafsa Islam Dipa, Nusrat Jahan, Ria Moni Akhtar, Rawonak Jahan, and Nishita Zaman Niha, all of whom articulated the collective concerns and aspirations of their fellow students.  

The digital file (D-file) system on Sunday was introduced in 10 more public universities as a part of the move to establish paperless offices in the country. Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni inaugurated the D-file system in the universities through a ceremony arranged by University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh here in the city. The 10 public universities are Jahangirnagar University, Islamic University, Sher-e Bangla Agricultural University; Jagannath University; Bangladesh University of Professionals, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology; Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Jashore Science and Technology University; Barishal University and Rangamati Science and Technology University. Earlier, the D-file system was introduced in eight public universities. With the eight institutes, now a total of 18 public universities introduced the D-file system. Read: Ctg and Madrasa Board announce fresh dates for deferred HSC exams Addressing the function, the education minister said the D-file system will bring mobility, transparency and accountability in office work. “It is creating the culture of transparency and accountability and reducing scopes of corruption,” she said.Dipu Moni asked the other public universities to implement the D-file system.Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury asked all to ensure the maximum use of digital technology shunning the traditional mindset. He put emphasis on imparting ICT related practical knowledge to the students alongside the classroom teaching. UGC Chairman Dr Kazi Shahidullah presided over the function, while UGC member Dr Md Sazzad Hossain, Vice-chancellor of Jahangirnagar University Dr Md Nurul Alam and UGC Secretary Dr Ferdous Zaman spoke on the occasion, said a press release. Read: Racket earned hundreds of crores of taka through medical admission test question leak in 17 years: CID The eight universities where the D-file system was introduced in February last are Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Khulna University, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University and Sheikh Hasina University.

The Chattogram Education Board and Bangladesh Madrasa Education Board announced the new dates for the HSC and Alim examinations which were postponed due to flood. The decision was announced this afternoon, said a notice, signed by Narayan Chandra Nath, Controller of Chattogram Education Board. According to the new schedule, the HSC Bangla first paper will now be held on Sept 27, the Bangla 2nd paper exam will be held on Oct 1, the English first paper on Oct 3, and the English 2nd paper on Oct 5. However, the other exams will be held as per the previous schedule. Meanwhile, the first four subjects of Madrasa Education Board's Alim exams will be held October 1, 3, 5 and 8, reads the notice. The Quran Mazid examination scheduled for August 17 will be held from 10am to 1pm on October 1. The Arabic 1st paper -205 and Arabic Literature-223 examinations will now be held from 10am to 1pm on October 3. Apart from this, Bangla First Paper-236 examination will be held on October 5 and Bangla Second Paper-237 examination will be held from 10am to 1pm on October 8. In the face of heavy rain and flooding in the Chattogram Division, the Chattogram Education Board, the Bangladesh Madrasa Education Board, and the Technical Education Board deferred the HSC and equivalent exams by 10 days. The education boards in Bangladesh were set to start the HSC exams on Aug 17, but the dates for the three boards were then rescheduled to Aug 27. A total of 13,59, 342 students—6,88, 887 boys and 6,70,455 girls--- expected to appear in this year’s HSC examination, 1,55,935 more than the previous year as a total of 12,03, 407 students sat for the exam last year. The HSC exams will be held at 2,658 exam centres and 9,169 educational institutions. Among the total students, 11,08,594 students will appear for the exam under the nine general education boards, 98,031 under the Madrasa board and 1,52,717 under the Technical Education board.

At least 80 active members of a racket have earned hundreds of crores of taka by illegally admitting hundreds of students to medical colleges in the last 17 years. CID chief Mohammad Ali Mia, additional inspector general of police, said this at a press conference at the CID Headquarters in Malibagh on Sunday. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested 12 people, including seven doctors, in connection with leaking question papers of the medical college admission test. Read: HSC exams to be held on schedule: Dipu Moni Among the arrestees, four were associated with the BNP and one with the Jamaat-e-Islami, said the CID chief. Mohammad Ali said that around 15 lakh students from all over the country will take part in this year' HSC exams scheduled to start on August 17. Every year, a gang becomes active when public examinations start and leaks questions in various ways, he added. Read: Scholastica takes national level top honors in British Council's 'Your World' video competition “We have already identified many fraud members involved in the question paper leak of SSC, HSC, Dhaka University admission test and BCS and brought them under law.” Recently, the cyber police of the CID found a huge syndicate that regularly leaks questions in the admission tests of the medical colleges of the country. Following this, CID conducted drives and arrested them, he added.

The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and its equivalent exams will start from August 17 as per the schedule, said Education Minister Dipu Moni  on Friday. The only exceptions may be in disaster-hit areas, if any.  The minister said this after inaugurating the upwardly extended academic building of Lady Pratima Mitra Girls' High School in Chandpur this afternoon. "We have a system that if the examination has to be stopped in any place due to natural calamity during the examination period, the examinations stop locally. And the rest of the places which educational institutions are not affected, conduct the exams as per the schedule," she added. Read: Jahangirnagar University's exam irregularities raise concerns among students Regarding the students' movement, the minister said that some candidates always think before the exam that if they get some time, they can prepare well. Only for them, we can not postpone the examinations of so mony students. "It is a public exam, it is important to take it on time, so there is no chance of postponing the exam," Dipu Moni said. The minister also asked the protesting students to go back to their study table. "If they prepare without wasting time, I believe they will do well." Read: No scholarship exam to be held in class five: Ministry Sadar Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Mo Hedayet Ullah, District Awami League Leader Advocate Ranjit Roy Chowdhury, Municipal Awami League General Secretary Aminur Rahman Babul were also present at that time. Earlier, the minister inaugurated Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Chatwar at Puran Bazar Degree College in the town. A total of 13,59, 342 students—6,88, 887 boys and 6,70,455 girls--- expected to appear in this year’s HSC examination, 1,55,935 more than the previous year as  a total of 12,03, 407 students sat for the exam last year, she said. Read: Freshers' Reception and orientation held at Southeast University  The HSC exams will be held at 2,658 exam centres and 9,169 educational institutions. Among the total students, 11,08,594 students will appear for the exam under the nine general education boards, 98,031 under the Madrasha board and 1,52,717 under the Technical Education board.

The British Council wrapped up yet another successful ‘Your World’ video competition this year with Cau Giauy Secondary School in Vietnam being announced the global winner; having created an outstanding video entry. The winning video showcased the students’ social action project addressing Good Health and Well-being. Lahore Grammar School, Johar Town in Pakistan was awarded the regional winner, having competed with other British Council Partner Schools across the South Asia region. Scholastica, Mirpur was awarded the title, ‘National Winner’ in this year’s competition competing with other British Council Partner Schools in Bangladesh. Sydney International School and The Radius International School have jointly secured the first runner-up position, and Yale International School took home the 2nd runner-up award in the competition. The Your World video-making competition is a flagship activity for British Council Partner Schools across the global network. Participating in the competition is a fantastic opportunity for students to use their creativity, problem-solving and digital skills to compete globally while also providing a window into their own lives, communities, and experiences. The competition is open to students aged 14 to 17 years studying in British Council Partner Schools. Now in its seventh year, the theme for Your World 2022-23 was ‘good health and well-being’, linking directly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number three. Students drew upon their knowledge of subjects studied at school, such as science, business studies and global studies to produce exceptional video entries. These videos demonstrated students’ ability to work collaboratively to solve real life problems in their own communities, putting both their skills and learning to practical and positive use. This year the submissions counted to more than 750 video entries, with over 3500 students taking part from our Partner Schools across the global network. Utsob Sarker, a student of Grade-12 in Scholastica school and a team member of the winning team said, “Working on this video taught us 21st century skills of teamwork, collaboration, problem-solving, creativity, and digital literacy. In addition, we learned hard work and above all, perseverance, and resilience.” By participating in this competition students develop core skills which enable them to grow into well-rounded, creative and critical citizens, ready to engage with job markets and shape the future for themselves and future generations. Through Your World, the British Council hopes to inspire students to be drivers of positive change. Talking about the positive impact of taking part in the competition, Fidia kamal, Academic Programme Manager, Grade-10, Scholastica School shared her thoughts, “I encourage other Partner Schools to participate in the competition, this is because the rationale behind the competition is not just to win awards, but to challenge the creative abilities of students to showcase their talents and compete with their peers from around the world to find solutions to the climate crisis confronting us and win the fight against climate change’. Tom Miscioscia, Director Bangladesh, British Council said, "In preparing for their A levels, O levels and IGCEs, not only do the students at British Council Partner Schools receive a world-class education but through extra-curricular activities and joint classroom projects - such as the Your World video competition - they are also connected to peers from around the world to explore solutions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and grow into responsible global citizens."

Jahangirnagar University, Aug 8 (UNB) -  Jahangirnagar University’s corridors are now echoing with discontent as a series of violations of examination rules have come to light, leaving students and faculty in dismay. Students are alleging that teachers are dedicating more time to personal pursuits and university politics rather than focusing on their classrooms. This has led to a pattern of delayed result publication and disrupted academic routines, contrary to the university's central examination regulations. According to the Office of the Controller of University Examinations, several departments of the university, including Bangabandhu Comparative Literature and Culture, Urban and Regional Planning, Law and Justice, Bangla, and Pharmacy, have been affected by these issues. Notably, the Bangabandhu Institute of Comparative Literature and Culture is currently conducting final exams for fouth-year students of the academic year 2017-18 (batch 47) without having published the results for the previous year. This delay has been attributed to a shortage of teaching staff within the institute. The Department of Law and Justice has also faced criticism for conducting post-graduation exams for both the 2016–17 (batch 46) and 2017–18 (batch 47) academic years simultaneously, starting on July 25. This move was prompted by the fact that these batches had previously undergone graduation exams together. Also read: Jahangirnagar University  students attacked Unfortunately, this decision resulted in a significant number of students failing—9 from batch 46 and 8 from batch 47. Instead of availing the usual option of a quality improvement examination, these students were required to undertake a special examination, costing TK14,000, which posed a financial challenge for many. Associate Professor Tapas Kumar Das, the Dean of the Faculty of Law and Justice, defended the simultaneous examinations, citing student requests and the urgency to expedite their education. On the contrary, the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, with an equal number of teaching staff, has managed to publish student results promptly without any regulatory violations. Although the university's examination rules do not explicitly permit such an arrangement, he asserted that the necessary permissions were obtained from the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) to proceed accordingly. In response to the criticism surrounding the special examination costs, he said that students didn’t pay any extra fees. Although the students of the department said they had to bear the expenses themselves. Delays in releasing results have plagued the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, which led to the completion of post-graduation exams for the 2016–17 academic year before the results for the previous year were released. Also read: Daylong bird fair at Jahangirnagar University Friday Professor Dr. Anisha Noori Kankan, the department chairman, attributed the holdup to the time-consuming process of evaluating theses at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The university's Examination Rules of 2003, clause 20(iii), stipulates that teachers should be allocated one day for every five exam copies for evaluation purposes. Additionally, clause 26(iii) mandates that exam results be published within 75 days of the conclusion of written examinations. The rules also dictate that theses must be submitted within three months of theory exam completion. Clause 30 states that thesis must be submitted within three months of completion of theory examination. Another glaring case of delay was witnessed in the Bengali department, which commenced the final exams for the 2017-18 academic year while the results for the previous year, 2016-17, remained undisclosed. Similarly, the Pharmacy department carried out fourth-year exams without releasing the third-year final exam results from the academic year 2016–17, causing a nearly two-year delay in result publication. Professor Dr. Mostafa Feroze, the current Pro Vice Chancellor (Education), said that he had engaged with the respective faculty deans to assess the status of results and streamline the academic session. He said that conducting exams for two academic years simultaneously was not feasible. He asserted that the existing guidelines, which grant one day for every five exam copies, provide ample time to publish results within the prescribed 75-day window. Regarding the Bangabandhu Institute of Comparative Literature, he expressed his disapproval of disregarding regulations and sought cooperation from both students and teachers to restore order to the university's academic calendar.

The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and its equivalent exams will start from August 17 as per the schedule, said Education Minister Dipu Moni  on Tuesday. The minister said this at a briefing on the HSC examinations at the International Mother Language Institute in the capital. Besides, coaching centres will remain closed across the country from August 14 to September 25 due to the exams, she added. Also read: Next year's HSC exam on revised syllabus: Education Minister Dipu Moni announced that all educational institutions in Bandarban, Cox's Bazar, Khagrachhari and Chattogram districts will remain closed on Wednesday and Thursday due to the ongoing flood caused by heavy rains. A total of 13,59, 342 students—6,88, 887 boys and 6,70,455 girls--- expected to appear in this year’s HSC examination, 1,55,935 more than the previous year as  a total of 12,03, 407 students sat for the exam last year, she said. The HSC exams will be held at 2,658 exam centres and 9,169 educational institutions. Also read: HSC 2023: Exams to begin from Aug 17, routine published Among the total students, 11,08,594 students will appear for the exam under the nine general education boards, 98,031 under the Madrasha board and 1,52,717 under the Technical Education board. Like previous year, students have to enter their respective examination halls  30 minutes before the examination starts, said the minister. The Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board released the routine of the exams for all education boards on June 8. According to the routine, HSC written exams will begin on August 17 and will continue till September 25. Also read: SSC, equivalent exam results 2023: Girls outshine boys Practical exams will be held from September 26 to October 4, according to the routine. HSC exams will be held for three hours from 10 am to 1 pm and 2pm to 5pm. This year's HSC exams will kick off with the Bangla first paper.