United News of Bangladesh

Students of 2026 batch will appear for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and its equivalent examinations under new curriculum, said Education Minister Dipu Moni on Monday.“The new curriculum will be implemented fully in secondary level by 2025 and the students of 2026 batch will appear for their SSC exam under the new curriculum,” she said while talking to reporters after inaugurating Smart Education Festival-2023 at the auditorium of the International Mother Language Institute.The new curriculum was introduced in Grade-I under primary level while Grades- VI and VII of secondary level in 2023 and the students of Grades VIII and IX will be enrolled under the new curriculum in 2024. The new curriculum will be introduced in Grade X in 2025, she added.“Already the evaluation has started from this year,” said Dipu. Also read: Memorisation won’t suffice to tackle future challenges: Dipu MoniThe Department of Secondary and Higher Education organized the 'Smart Education Festival' to mark the beginning of the strategy of smart education to implement the new curriculum in a bid to build a smart Bangladesh.Twenty smart education activities will be displayed in the festival with the participation of people from all walks of life in ten seminars.Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel was present there.  

The authorities concerned expelled a Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinee for taking home the written test portion of agricultural studies after the exam in Alamdanga upazila of Chuadanga on Sunday. Also, two teachers, who were assigned as invigilators at the Exam Hall of Alamdanga Govt. Degree College, were fired for their negligence in performing duty. Ashraful Hoque and Habibur Rahman are assistant teachers of local Kumari Union High School respectively.   The rescheduled exam for agricultural education was held on Sunday as earlier the exam was deferred due to the Cyclone Mocha. Examinee Al Amin didn’t submit his written test’s papers to the invigilators after the exam and took it home. As the count of the papers didn’t match, later the invigilators detected  Al Amin’s papers were  missing. Biplob Kumar Nath, officer-in-charge of Alamdanga police station, said they in association with Hall Super Moniruzzaman recovered the written exam’s papers from the student’s house on Sunday afternoon. Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Rony Alam Nur confirmed this incident saying that the student and the teachers were expelled on separate grounds.

The Appellate Division on Monday stayed the High Court order that had suspended the effectiveness of a notice of Dhaka University’s Bangla Department asking its female students' to keep their ears and faces visible during examinations and presentations. A three-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Justice Md. Nuruzzaman,  passed the order. It also asked the High Court to dispose of the rule regarding the issue within two months. Barrister Belayet Hossain stood for the petitioner while Attorney General Abu Mohammad Amin Uddin represented the DU. On December 11, the Bangla Department of Dhaka University issued a notice that said that as per the decision of the Academic Committee of the Bangla Department, held on September 18, the students of the department must keep their faces and ears open during their tutorial/presentation, mid-term, final examinations and viva voce for their identification. Those who will not follow the order, action will be taken against them as per the university rules, it said. On 20 February, a writ petition was filed at the HC challenging the legality of the notice to keep all female students' ears and faces visible. Education Secretary, Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University, Registrar and Chairman of Bangla Department were made respondents to the writ. The writ petition also sought issuance of a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain as to why the notice should not be declared illegal and why directives should not be given not to obstruct the Muslim female students from abiding by the religious norms. It also sought a stay order on the effectiveness of the notice issued by DU. On March 28, The High Court stayed for six months the effectiveness of the notice. Following HC order, the DU authorities filed a petition challenging the HC order.              

The first ever global meeting between the UN and education ministers from around the world aiming to explore risks and rewards of using chatbots in classrooms has announced a new roadmap to chart a safer digital path for all. According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which hosted more than 40 ministers at an groundbreaking online meeting on Thursday,  less than 10 per cent of schools and universities follow formal guidance on using wildly popular artificial intelligence (AI) tools, like the chatbot software ChatGPT. The ministers exchanged policy approaches and plans while considering the agency’s new roadmap on education and generative AI, which can create data and content based on existing algorithms, but can also make alarming factual errors, just like humans. Stefania Giannini, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education, said “Generative AI opens new horizons and challenges for education, but we urgently need to take action to ensure that new AI technologies are integrated into education on our terms.” “It is our duty to prioritize safety, inclusion, diversity, transparency and quality,” Stefania added. Institutions are facing numerous challenges in creating an immediate response to the sudden emergence of these powerful AI apps, according to a new UNESCO survey of more than 450 schools and universities. At the same time, governments worldwide are in the process of shaping appropriate policy responses in a rapidly evolving education landscape, while further developing or refining national strategies on AI, data protection, and other regulatory frameworks, according to UNESCO. The debate revealed other common concerns, including how to mitigate the chatbots’ inherent flaws of producing glaring errors. Ministers also addressed how best to integrate these tools into curricula, teaching methods, and exams, and adapting education systems to the disruptions which generative AI is quickly causing. Many highlighted the vital role teachers play in this new era as learning facilitators. But, teachers need guidance and training to meet these challenges, according to UNESCO. For its part, the agency will continue to steer the global dialogue with policy makers, partners, academia, and civil society, in line with its paper, AI and education: A guide for policy-makers and Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, as well as the Beijing Consensus on Artificial Intelligence and Education. UNESCO is also developing policy guidelines on the use of generative AI in education and research, as well as frameworks of AI competencies for students and teachers for classrooms. These new tools will be launched during Digital Learning Week, to be held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 4 to 7 September, the agency said.  

Professor Dr. Kazi Shahidullah, former Vice Chancellor of National University, has been appointed chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) for the second consecutive time. The Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education issued a notification on Thursday in this regard. He will serve as the UGC chairman for the next four years, according to the notification. The appointment order will be effective from the date of his joining. Kazi Shahidullah obtained a B.A. (Honours) in 1972 and M.A. in 1973 from the History Department, University of Dhaka, securing the First Class First position in both examinations.  

Memorisation will not prepare students for future challenges, said Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni on Monday. “The ability to learn will be critical in the future for which we are training our students… a student should have communication skills, subtle thinking skills, problem-solving skills, and the ability to work with many people. And the more creative and free-thinking a student is, the more proficient the student will become in these subjects. It will not be possible to meet the challenges of the future with memorisation,” she said. Also read: Many new universities don’t have their own campus: Dipu Moni The minister was speaking as the chief guest at a prize distribution ceremony of the winners of various creative works on the national days at the International Mother Language Institute in the capital on Monday afternoon. Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel was present as the special guest. Also read: New curriculum books may contain mistakes: Dipu Moni “We have come up with a new curriculum to transform education. The evaluation system of the students has been revamped. The new curriculum will be implemented in all secondary level classes by 2025,” the minister said.

Admission seekers of Chittagong University (CU) D unit of 2022-23 sessions suffered a lot on Sunday as a shuttle train of the university carrying them went out of order in the middle of the way. The incident took place around 9:30 am on Monday when the campus-bound shuttle was crossing Baluchhara area. The shuttle train was later speedily repaired and activated within 30 minutes. As the train went out of order many admission seekers resorted to alternative transport to reach the campus. Kausar Mahmud, a third-year student of the university's Political Science department, said, “The shuttle train’s brake gear was broken. The admission seekers suffered a lot. Many of them reached the campus by buses and trucks.” Meanwhile, the university authorities started the admission test 15 minutes later due to the shuttle train failure. Professor Siraj-ud-Daula, coordinator of 'D' unit and dean of the Faculty of Sociology, confirmed the matter. "I heard that the engine of the university’s shuttle train was damaged. The exam was started 15 minutes later after informing us about the matter,” he said. University Proctor Dr Mohammad Nurul Azim Sikder said, "We heard about the problem of the shuttle train. Buses were sent and many were brought by buses.”

Dhaka University Chhatra League, today( May 21) formed a rally to protest an alleged threat to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Students and leaders from different hall units of Dhaka University Chhatra League joined the rally at the premises of anti terrorism Raju sculpture of the University around 11.30 pm. DU chhatra league president Mazarul Kabir Shoyon said, "Conspirators killed Bangabandhu and his family members brutally. There have been many attempts to kill Sheikh Hasina too. It is nothing new but it's an alarming issue. This time they dared to announce their evil will of killing prime minister Sheikh Hasina." "We will not just see if anything happens to the PM. We are ready to prevent them on the highway," he added.  

The University Grants Commission (UGC) is asking for a budget of Tk12262.78 crore for the commission and 53 public universities in the country for the fiscal year 2023-24. In the budget, Tk12185.33 crore has been allocated for public universities and Tk 77.45 crore for UGC. The main budget of the public universities has a revenue budget of Tk 6109.10 crore and a development budget of Tk 676.23 crore in favor of 31 projects at the universities. The budget was approved in the 165th full commission meeting chaired by UGC Chairman, Professor Dr Kazi Shahidullah on Sunday (May 21). UGC Secretary Dr. Ferdous Zaman presented the working papers of the meeting. The revised budget for the FY2022-23 and the main budget for the FY 2023-24 were presented in detail by Md. Abu Taher, a member in charge of the Finance and Accounts Department of UGC. In the current fiscal year 2022-23, Tk 9265.17 crore has been allocated in the revised budget of 53 public universities. In this case, the allocation for public universities in the financial year 2023-24 has increased by Tk 2920 crores. In FY 2023-24, Dhaka University (DU) received the highest revenue budget of Tk 853.80 crore and the DU also received the highest budget allocation of Tk 15 crore in the research sector. Around Tk174 crores have been allocated in the main budget for the FY 2023-24 for the research of UGC and public universities in higher education. Compared to the current financial year, the allocation for this sector has been increased by Tk 24 crore in the budget. In the revised budget of the last FY 2022-23, an allocation of Tk 150 crore was considered for the research sector. About 55 guidelines and an austerity direction in allocation and expenditure of the revised FY 2022-23 and original budget (operations) for FY 2023-24 have been issued for the universities.

The Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board authorities on Thursday deferred the examination for higher mathematics scheduled to be held on May 25 due to an unavoidable reason. A media release signed by Md Kamal Uddin, controller of the education board, said this on Thursday night.   Earlier, the board also postponed the examination for English first paper scheduled to be held on May 14 due to the cyclone Mocha. The deferred examinations of the English first paper and the higher mathematics will be held on May 27 and 28 respectively across the country simultaneously, the release reads. Also, the practical and oral tests of all subjects will be held from May 29 to June 4 next month, it said.