United News of Bangladesh

The examinations for Junior School Certificate (JSC) and Junior Dakhil Certificate (JDC) for the 2022 and 2023 sessions have been cancelled, and the two exams will no longer be held  as the government of Bangladesh has moved to implement the new curriculum A press release, signed by Deputy Secretary of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Division Akther Unnisa Shiuly, confirmed this on Monday (January 16, 2023). Also read: New curriculum books may contain mistakes: Dipu Moni “No provision was kept for holding the JSC, JDC or board exams in line with the ‘National Curriculum Outline-2021’, in hence the decision to suspend the exams (JSC, JDC) can be considered,” the release said. Apart from this, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved the decision, it added.  Read More: 18 CU students suspended over clashes, vandalism and harassment of journalists

Education Minister Dipu Moni has said that the new books provided this year under the new curriculum are on a trial basis, conceding they may contain mistakes. She said this while addressing a discussion meeting on the distribution of educational gifts to students and the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution of the 21st century and building a Smart Bangladesh organized by the Bangladesh Chhatra League at Swoparjit Independence Square of Dhaka University, where she was the chief guest on Saturday evening. The education minister said trial version books have been provided to 33000 institutions across the country this year, but the books under the new curriculum that have been handed over to the students of classes 1, 2, 6 and 7 may contain errors. Constant feedback will be received from teachers, students, parents and educators and based on their feedback, amendments will be made throughout the year if any mistakes are found, she added. Read: Paper, printing quality of free textbooks good: Education Minister She urged all to cooperate to make the initiative a success, if any disagreement, discomfort or objections with the content are found. “We have formulated a felicitous curriculum aiming to achieve 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) which is our international commitment. Education is at the center of the 17 goals of this sustainable development goal. If we can achieve quality and inclusive education, then we can easily achieve the remaining 16 goals," added the minister. The education minister said that Bangladesh is going to become a developed and prosperous country by 2041 under the leadership of Bangabandhu's daughter Sheikh Hasina. "Bangabandhu did what he said and his daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also did what she said. She said she would build a digital and middle-income Bangladesh, and she did it. Today we have become a developing country under her leadership and by 2041 we will become a developed, prosperous and smart Bangladesh under her leadership," she promised.  

Chittagong University (CU) suspended 18 students for separate terms following several incidents including clashes, vandalism and harassment of journalists on the university campus. The CU authorities suspended them on Monday night after a virtual meeting of the Board of Residence Health and Disciplinary Committee of the university, said the university's Proctor Dr Rabiul Hasan Bhuiyan on Tuesday at midnight. Of them, Md Jobayer Hossain, an activist of Chhatra Adhikar parishad, was suspended for two years. The others are: Tasfia Jasarat, deputy information and research secretary of CU BCL unit; Arshil Azim Niloy of the Public Administration department; Shoaib Mohammad Atik of the Anthropology department; Hasan Mahmud of Sociology department; Shahidul Islam of Education and Research department; Anik Das of Sanskrit department; Ayan Kanti Sarkar of Islamic History department; Labib Saeed Fayyaz of Economics department; Sifatul Islam of History department; Md Mobarak Hossain, Nahidul Islam of Islamic History department; Amirul Haque Chowdhury of Finance department; Ikramul Haque of History department; Nayan Debnath of Philosophy department; Sakhawat Hossain of Bangla department; Mahmudul Hasan of Islamic History department and Mohammad Fahim of Botany department.

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.