United News of Bangladesh

Chittagong University (CU) has started all academic activities from Sunday after being closed for three months. This comes after CU authorities, for the first time in almost eight years, allocated seats in the university’s residential halls on September 29. The decision to reopen the university followed shortly after this arrangement. On Sunday, many departments held inauguration ceremonies for the new session, officially marking the start of academic activities. According to reports, classes and examinations at CU had been suspended since July 1 due to work abstention by teachers and officials demanding the cancellation of the pension scheme. Subsequently, on July 17, the university was declared closed in response to the quota reform movement, during which students were instructed to vacate the halls. After the government's fall on August 5, an emergency syndicate meeting was held on August 7 where it was decided to reopen the university. The residential halls were scheduled to open on August 18, and classes were set to resume on August 19. However, due to student protests, these decisions were postponed. As a result of the demands, Vice-Chancellor Professor Md. Abu Taher, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Benu Kumar De, and Md. Sekander Chowdhury, along with the heads of 14 residential halls and the Director of Student Guidance, stepped down from their positions. On September 18, retired Professor Muhammad Yahya Akhtar from the Department of Political Science was appointed as the new Vice-Chancellor. It has been reported that CU has now successfully allocated seats in all its residential halls after a gap of seven years. While previous attempts under former Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Shireen Akhtar had failed to allocate seats, the new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dr. Yahya Akhtar, managed to resolve the issue within 17 days of taking office. He also initiated several other activities, including restarting classes and exams and implementing a clean campus initiative, demonstrating his administrative efficiency. Professor Dr. Kamal Uddin, CU’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Administration), said that the university did not have the luxury of time to thoroughly address the seat allocation process before resuming classes and exams. Therefore, they followed the old allocation policies. However, acknowledging the students' complaints, he assured that an inclusive seat allocation policy would be developed soon.

Wahiduddin Mahmud, adviser to the Ministry of Education, has expressed concern over the “unplanned nature” of the country’s education system, saying that while universities have been established across various districts, corresponding job opportunities have not been created. As a result, the nation is witnessing a significant increase in educated unemployment. The adviser made these remarks during a discussion held at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium to commemorate World Teachers’ Day. "The celebration of World Teachers’ Day is meant to honor teachers. I extend my deepest respect to them," he said. The adviser emphasized that he willingly took on the responsibilities of the Ministry of Education and was not coerced into the role. Having dedicated his life to teaching, he accepted this position in the interim government. Family planning, not microcredit, drove women’s workforce participation in the 1980s: Adviser Wahiduddin He highlighted the pressing issue of the country's low revenue collection, which is currently below international standards. This financial constraint hampers proper investment in essential sectors such as education, health, and social security. He noted that reducing corruption in government spending could potentially allow for increased funding in these areas, although he acknowledged that significant changes would take time. The Education Adviser further discussed the challenges facing the school curriculum, emphasizing the need to integrate recent historical movements and the concept of nation-building into the curriculum. While he acknowledged that this inclusion could not be achieved in time for the next academic year due to the tight timeline for revising textbooks, he assured that it would be addressed in future updates. He also stressed the necessity of a well-planned national education policy and expressed hope that the next elected government would take steps in this direction. He proposed that each university should have a code of conduct for students and faculty, allowing institutions to develop their own guidelines based on their knowledge and circumstances. The event was chaired by Dr. Sheikh Abdur Rashid, Senior Secretary of the Ministry, and attended by Dr. Bidhann Ranjan Roy Poddar, Adviser to the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Professor Dr. S.M.A. Faiz, Chairman of the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh, and Dr. Susan Vize, Head of the UNESCO Dhaka Office.

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.