United News of Bangladesh

Highlighting the importance of education system's reform, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday said the country's education system must foster creativity to create a generation of entrepreneurs in the country. "We should reform the education system in a way that it creates a generation of entrepreneurs. We need education, which helps students become creative people. Our young people must fulfil their creative potentials," the Chief Adviser said when he visited the Education Ministry at the Secretariat. He said humans are born entrepreneurs. "Yet, our education system creates job seekers. It is a flawed education system." The Chief Adviser chaired his first Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat and later visited the Education Ministry. Prof Yunus said Bangladesh should not create an education system that emphasises only test scores. "The perception that test score is everything must go," he said. The Chief Adviser also called for narrowing generational gaps in Bangladeshi society, saying the country must understand the language of the new generation—their aspirations and their thought process. "We must understand the language and the thought process of the youth. We need to know how the older generation can share their experience with the younger generation," he said. "The distance between young and old generations gets bigger; it will create troubles. We must minimise the idea gaps between generations," the chief adviser said.," the chief adviser said. He also stressed the need for fostering family values in our national curricula. Education Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud and Education Secretary Siddiq Jobaer were present during the Chief Adviser's meeting with senior education ministry officials.    

A section of students of Jahangirnagar University on Wednesday locked the university's main gate and staged a sit-in there to protest the death of Afsana Karim Rachi, a first-year student, in a campus accident. Afsana, a marketing department student, died on Tuesday after being hit by a battery-run rickshaw near the arts building of the campus.  Residents protest govt decision on Saint Martin’s tourism The protest is being held by students of 53 batch and the protesters vowed to continue it until the authorities accept their 8-point demands, including punishment to the culprit and ensuring safety of the students on the campus. No vehicle is being allowed to move in and out of the campus during the protest.

At least 10 people have been injured after students of  Law Department and Marketing Department of Rajshahi University (RU) clashed over sledging during an interdepartmental football match. The violence occurred on Monday evening, authorities said. The injured were Mahfuzur Rahman, a law teacher and nine students of two departments, including Tanjil and Tofail. Dr. Saeeda Anju, Chairperson of the Law Department, said on Tuesday , "I am currently at Rajshahi Medical College with the injured teacher and students. Several of them, including our teacher, sustained serious injuries." Special committee formed to review political activities on DU campus Abu Saleh Shoaib, RU correspondent of Bonik Barta, was beaten up while covering the clash. He alleged that the students of the marketing department snatched his phone, forced him to delete the video and tore his ID card. Several other journalists were attacked. Later, Police have been deployed on the campus to calm the situation. Eyewitnesses said the clash erupted on Monday evening during a Round-16 match of the university's interdepartmental football tournament, in which the Marketing Department defeated the Law Department by one goal. During the game, spectators from both sides exchanged chants, accusing each other of being "frauds," which led to verbal altercations. After the game, the Law Department team left the stadium first, followed by the Marketing Department. However, the dispute reignited at the stadium gate between some students from both sides, escalating into stone-throwing and chasing with sticks.

Dhaka University (DU) has officially lifted its ban on admitting students from Pakistan, marking a significant policy shift aimed at fostering academic cooperation between the two nations. The decision was made during a syndicate meeting chaired by Vice-Chancellor Professor Niaz Ahmad Khan on November 13, said Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Admin) Prof  Sayma Haque Bidisha. Under the revised policy, Pakistani students will be allowed to enroll at Dhaka University, and Bangladeshi students will also have the opportunity to pursue higher education in Pakistan. University officials expect that the move will strengthen collaboration in education, culture and other areas of mutual interest. Explaining the decision, Prof Bidisha said that while ties with Pakistan had been severed in the past, the university recognised its responsibility as an academic institution to facilitate opportunities for students. “At one point, ties with Pakistan were cut, but Dhaka University is an academic institution. Many of our students need to visit Pakistan for scholarships or academic conferences. We resolved this issue through discussion to restore normal relations,” she said. Chhatra Dal activists demonstrate at Dhaka University The decision was made purely from an academic perspective and did not involve any discussions on sensitive political matters, such as Pakistan’s denial of the 1971 genocide. “This is about academic cooperation, not political dialogue,” Bidisha added. The ban had been in place since December 2015, when an emergency syndicate meeting led by then-Vice-Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique imposed the restriction. The move followed Pakistan’s refusal to acknowledge the genocide and atrocities committed during Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971. At the time, Prof Arefin Siddique said, “As long as they do not acknowledge the genocide and atrocities, this institution will not maintain any relationship with them. Our students will not go to Pakistan for higher education, nor will we admit any of their students.” The recent policy shift comes after a significant diplomatic gesture in September 2024, when Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Syed Ahmed Maroof, met DU Vice-Chancellor Prof Niaz Ahmad Chowdhury. It was the first such visit in nearly a decade and is seen as paving the way for renewed academic ties. The syndicate meeting, which approved the decision, was attended by Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education) Prof Mamun Ahmed and other members of the university administration.

James Goldman, the British Deputy High Commissioner and British Development Director in Bangladesh, said on Friday that the British government is eager to invest further in the education of young people in Bangladesh. He made the remarks at the opening of the Second IHSB Inter-School Business Carnival, which is being held at the International Hope School Bangladesh (IHSB) in Uttara, Dhaka, from November 15 to 17. The carnival, organised by the IHSB Business Club and supported by OkoTex, promotes business and entrepreneurship among students. Goldman said, "The British government is investing in education in Bangladesh. Yesterday, I visited a school for underprivileged children funded by the British government. Today, I am here at the IHSB Business Carnival, and we are keen to invest further in the education of young people. It’s great to see Sterling Education here. Partnerships like this between the UK and Bangladesh add value and foster collaboration." The event features over 600 students from 50 prominent schools in Dhaka. Timothy Donald Fisher, CEO of Sterling Education, who also attended the event, emphasised Sterling Education’s commitment to supporting education in Bangladesh and creating opportunities for teachers and students. He added that IHSB’s initiatives, such as the Business Carnival, Bangla Olympiad, and STEM Fest, aim to develop entrepreneurial and self-reliant students who contribute to the nation’s growth. The carnival includes three competitions: "Friedman’s Fallacy," where students address economic issues; "Pitch Perfect," where they present business plans; and "Marketing Mania," which tests business skills. Biman Bangladesh Airlines will reward the best business idea with a special gift. In addition to the student competitions, there will be an exhibition and fair featuring products from 20 top business groups. The fair, open to the public from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM on Friday and Saturday, will offer business advice and showcase student-run stalls with food and other items. The closing ceremony on November 17 will feature a welcome address by the school principal, Roksana Zarin, and speeches from special guests, including Dilruba Tonu, Managing Director of Hi-Tech Park, and Golam Samdani Don, a corporate entrepreneur and trainer. The event will end with a cultural performance by the band Shunno.

A special committee has been established to provide recommendations and guidance to the university administration on the nature and extent of political activities at Dhaka University. This initiative is in response to a directive from the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dr Niaz Ahmad Khan, said Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, acting director of DU’s Public Relations Office. The committee will be chaired by retired Supreme Court Appellate Division Justice Md Abdul Matin. Its members include Dr. Z.N. Tahmida Begum, former Chairman of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission and retired Professor of Botany at Dhaka University; Dr. Abul Kasem Fazlul Haque, Chairman of the Bangla Academy and retired Professor of Bengali at Dhaka University; and Dr. S.M. Shamim Reza, Professor of Mass Communication and Journalism at Dhaka University. The committee also has the authority to co-opt up to three additional members if necessary.

Nahid Islam, adviser to the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology has assured to fulfill the five-point demand of Jagannath University students within the next three days. "All the demands of the students are justified. I agree with them,” he said while addressing the students after they besieged the Secretariat on Monday. JnU students besiege Secretariat "The students of Jagannath University endure a lot of hardship. They don’t have a hall. Their demand for a second campus is completely justified. I fully agree with the students' demands. We cannot provide a hall within three days, but we can hand over the second campus project to the Army. However, for that, we will have to have meetings. Within three days, we will work to transfer the new campus project to the Army,” said Nahid. Regarding an incident involving a secretary "insulting" the students at the Secretariat, he said that the secretary and others involved will apologise.

Thousands of Jagannath University (JnU) students have besieged the Secretariat to press home their five-point demand including construction of  university’s second campus by the army and increasing the university’s budget allocation. The students took position in front of the education building on Monday and later a 12-member delegation of students entered the Secretariat with a memorandum to submit it to the Education Secretary. As the Education Secretary did not meet them, the students continued their siege programme. The 12-member delegation includes their spokesperson Tausib Mahmud Sohan, organisers AKM Rakib, Raisul Islam Noyon, Asadul Islam, Abu Bakr Khan, Naushin Nawar Joya, Sohan Pramanik, Masud Rana, Nur Nabi, Omar Faruk, Ferdous Sheikh, and Apu Munshi. The students demanded that  the Project Director appointed during the autocratic regime for the conduction of 2nd campus must be brought under legal scrutiny, and within seven days, this responsibility must be handed over to army, immediate steps must be taken to acquire the remaining 11 acres of land, and all agreements regarding the old campus made during the autocratic regime must be cancelled. The demanded inclusion of Jagannath University in the recently announced pilot project by the University Grants Commission (UGC), minimum annual budget allocation of 500 crore BDT for the university. Jagannath University student Naushin Joya said, “We came to the Education Secretary with the memorandum. We were kept standing inside the iron gate and asked to send our demands through representatives. We were not allowed inside. The Secretary has conveyed that he has no time to speak with us. We will remain here until the Adviser arrives. Since we have come outside, we won’t go back. The Education Adviser must come to us.” Tausib Mahmud Sohan, said , “We entered the Secretariat with the memorandum to meet the Education Secretary. However, instead of meeting us personally, the Secretary sent a representative to speak with us. We do not accept this. Now, our demand is that the Education Adviser comes and listens to us.”

Dr Peyar Ahmed, a professor from the mathematics department of Jagannath University, has been appointed as the new vice chancellor of Chandpur Science and Technology University (CSTU). An official notice was issued in this regard by the Ministry of Education on Thursday. Dr Ahmed has held various roles at Jagannath University, including dean of the Faculty of Science, Syndicate Member, and Academic Council Member. His academic background spans over 11 universities in Bangladesh and abroad, including the International Islamic University (Dhaka Campus), Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, and Japan's Yamagata University. Ahmed's contributions to academia include over 40 research papers published in renowned journals and several textbooks.

Some students of Dhaka University have burst into protest after Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal's (JCD), student wing of BNP, put up posters on the campus to mark the National Revolution and Solidarity Day. Students from Bijoy Ekattor Hall first brought out a protest rally at 9:30 pm on Wednesday and they were later joined by students from Muktijoddha Ziaur Rahman Hall, Kobi Jasimuddin Hall, Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall and other dormitories. They marched across the campus protesting what they said JCD's political campaign in violation of a recent ban on student politics in the university. During the protests, students chanted slogans such as "Posters on walls, misfortune ahead," "Student politics has no place here," and "2024, no more student politics." The students stated that they would continue their protest until the university administration removed the posters put up by Chhatra Dal from the walls of halls. Protester Mir Muhammad Asif said, "Despite the campus ban on student politics, Chhatra Dal has put up posters here. They are attempting to bring back student politics in the halls. We will continue our movement to prevent this." Read: Hidden hardships students from lower middle-income families endure in public universities