SSC, Equivalent Exam Results Education main tool for poverty-free Bangladesh Says Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

DHAKA NEWS

Describing education as the main tool for building a poverty-free Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said her government was firmly committed to achieving the goal.

“It is not possible to eliminate poverty without development of education. So, we are working hard to achieve this goal”, she said, while unveiling the results of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations 2012.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid handed over the results of the SSC and equivalent examinations to the PM at a simple ceremony at her official residence of Gono Bhaban.

Sheikh Hasina said her government had been working relentlessly to improve the quality of education alongside increasing literacy rate to build an illiteracy-free Bangladesh by 2014.

In this connection, she listed various steps of the government for the development of education in the country.

The measures, she said, include distribution of free textbooks among students up to the secondary level, providing scholarship to female students up to the higher secondary level, holding public examinations and announcing results within stipulated time and constitution of the Education Assistance Trust Fund for the poor and meritorious students.

The prime minister said her previous government had raised the country's literacy rate to 65 percent from 45-46 percent. “But the rate came down to 50 percent during the rule of the last BNP-Jamaat alliance government as they did nothing for the development of education”.

She congratulated the students who came out successful in this year's SSC exams and thanked the teachers for their efforts to help the students pass the exams.

Expressing satisfaction over results of this year's SSC exams, the prime minister said, “Our students are meritorious and they can do well even if they are given the minimum opportunities”.

The results are very satisfactory as the examinations were held in an atmosphere this year, which was free of unfair means, she said.

Sheikh Hasina urged the students to pay more attention to their studies for better results to establish Bangladesh as an enlightened and dignified nation in the world.

The government is working to build a hunger and poverty-free "Sonar Bangla" as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman through making Bangladesh a technologically-advanced country with modern education, she said.

Earlier, the prime minister opened the results of Barisal Zila School, Barisal Girls' High School and Barisal Technical School and College through online.

Education Secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, PM's Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad, the chairmen of the 10 education boards and senior officials were present on the occasion.

Barisal city Mayor Shawkat Hossain Hiron, parliament member from Barisal-1 constituency Talukdar Md Yunus, Barisal Divisional Commissioner Abu Hena Md Rahmatullah Munim, and heads of Barisal Zila School, Barisal Girls' High School and Barisal Technical School and College talked to the PM through videoconferencing.

While talking to the people of Barisal through videoconferencing, the prime minister said her government had undertaken massive development programmes for the uplift of the southern region, including Barisal which was neglected for a long time.

“We have undertaken massive upgradation programmes for the development of southern region as we believe in a balanced development of all regions”.

Hillary's remarks on Grameen Bank undue: Finance Minister AMA Muhith

DHAKA NEWS

Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Tuesday said the remarks of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Grameen Bank are unnecessary as the government has not been working against the microfinance organisation.

"Hillary's statement on the Grameen Bank was undue. Grameen Bank is a state-owned organisation and the government has been working for its progress," Muhith told reporters emerging from a programme at his office.

It is the first government reaction after the US secretary of state made a statement saying that the USA does not endorse any action of the Bangladesh government to undermine the achievements of Grameen Bank.

Before wrapping up her 20-hour Dhaka tour on Sunday, Hillary also said she had followed the problems stemming from a change in the management in Grameen Bank.

The finance minister also said that Hillary's statement will not change government's stance on the microfinance organisation.

Muhith said that it is not government but Yunus who locked in a quarrel with the government on the Grameen Bank issue.

He claimed that the efforts of the government made Prof Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, so successful.

The minister also claimed that the Grameen Bank is doing well after the removal of Yunus from the post of managing director of the organisation.

Stop Turag encroachment, HC asks govt

DHAKA NEWS

The High Court on Tuesday directed the authorities concerned to stop encroachment on the river Turag at Gabtoli in the capital and remove all illegal structures from that point in 24 hours.

In response to a writ petition, the court also asked to take legal action against those responsible for encroaching and constructing structures in the river area.

The BIWTA chairman and the deputy commissioner of Dhaka have been asked to submit a report after complying with order before the court by May 13.

The HC bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik and Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim came up with the order following the petition filed by Manzill Murshed on behalf of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh.

Murshed told the court that the HC in June 2009 directed the government to remove structures from four rivers around Dhaka including Turag, Balu, Shitalakkya and Buriganga and to stop all encroachment on the rivers.

But some people are encroaching on the river Turag at Gabtoli point defying the HC directives, the petitioner said.

The encroachment will have to be stopped to save the river, he said.

Govt to ease transport problem for low income group: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

DHAKA NEWS

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said a major aim of her government is to ease the availability of transport for the low income group using the facilities of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC).

She directed the authorities concerned to take necessary steps and work with devotion to this end and hoped that the BRTC would turned into a more modern and multipurpose service-oriented organisation in future.

“I never think about the plight of the rich people in the luxurious cars during a traffic jam. I always think about the sufferings of the middle income, low income and poor people on the roads,” Hasina said while inaugurating the operation of 33 double-decker buses of the state-owned BRTC at a function at the PM’s Office.

She said the existing system of special bus services during various important events in the country including Eid vacation and Biswa Ijtema would be strengthened further in the future.

The prime minister said the standard of BRTC service is increasing day by day through the introduction of e-ticketing and prepaid card system in the big cities which would be extended across the country in phases.

She underscored the need for massive training for the drivers to avoid accidents. At the same time, she asked the Home Ministry and the BRTA to take joint initiative to create mass awareness about the traffic rules and signs through Bangladesh Betar, BTV and other private channels.

Hasina said the inter-district commuter train service should be strengthened to reduce the pressure on roads.

She said the present government attached priority on railway and river communications to reduce travel cost, save time and ensure safe journey.

The prime minister mentioned that the 33 double-deckers, which are put into operation on Tuesday, are part of the 290 buses purchased from India under a US$ 24 million project in a bid to ease transport crisis in the capital and other parts of the country.

Besides, she said, import of 100 single-decker air-conditioned buses and 50 articulated buses from India is under process while 500 trucks would be added to the BRTC’s truck fleet.

Hasina said students of 26 educational institutions will now be able to go to their schools safely as 14 BRTC buses have been pressed into service on the streets of Dhaka. The number of buses would be increased further in phases.

She said female bus service has been introduced in the capital for the convenient of working women, while 125 staff buses have been pressed into service on the streets for the convenient of the office goers.

She mentioned that 275 single-decker CNG buses were imported from China, while 255 modern AC and non-AC CNG buses were procured from South Korea, which are plying on different routes of the capital.

The prime minister directed the BRTC authorities to realise the arrears of the organisation through arbitration and legal methods.

She said that after taking office this time, her government has been working to turn BRTC into a more effective organisation by addressing the problems left behind by the four-party alliance government.

She noted that international bus service has been introduced on Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka and Dhaka-Agartala-Dhaka routes, while discussion is underway to introduce bus services on Dhaka-Kathmandu-Dhaka, Dhaka-Shillong-Dhaka, and Dhaka-Guwahati-Dhaka routes.

Hasina said her government has given priority to the development of the communication sector.

The construction work of a number of flyovers and elevated expressway is going on to remove the nagging traffic jam in the capital, while the construction work of the 11 big bridges were completed in different districts, she added.

Communications Obaidul Quader, Roads Division Secretary MN Siddiqui, acting Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Sanjoy Bhattacharya and BRTC Chairman Major MM Iqbal also spoke on the occasion.

Teacher Sent to Jail for Torturing Madrasa girls

BANGLADESH NEWS

A madrasa teacher landed in jail on Tuesday hours after police arrested her in the capital on charge of torturing girl students.

A metropolitan magistrate also refused a police request for placing Jesmin Akter, 38, a teacher of Talimul Quran Mahila Madrasa at Namashyampur in the capital's Kadamtali area, on a seven-day remand.

At the court, she admitted searing the legs of 14 girls with hot spatula to demonstrate lessons of hell.

On May 1, Jesmin seared legs of the students, aged between eight and 12, with a hot spatula in her punitive attempt to make them feel the “agony of fire in hell” as they were "irregular" in their prayers.

Acting on a tip-off, the arrest was made at Nawabganj in Old Dhaka around 2:30am, said Shafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Kadamtali Police Station.

Describing the arrest, Shafiqul Islam told  that they raided her relative's house at Nawabganj based on information that Jesmin took shelter there after a case was filed against her in connection with inflicting torture on the girls.

Abdul Jalil, father of eight-year-old victim Jannatul Ferdous, filed the case with the police station on May 1 after the teacher seared her leg with spatula.

Jesmin went into hiding after the case was filed against her, the OC said.

Wonderland eviction illegal: Management

DHAKA NEWS

The Wonderland amusement park authorities claimed on Tuesday that Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakhha (Rajuk) demolished a portion of the park on Monday without any legal basis.

The High Court asked Dhaka City Corporation and the Rajuk to provide an alternative site for Wonderland before eviction but the drive was carried out without complying with the HC’s direction, said GM Mostafizur Rahman, managing director of the Wonderland park.

The managing director was addressing a press conference at Jatiya Press Club in the capital, a day after Rajuk demolished a boundary wall of the park to free around 4-acre area of Gulshan central playground.

The DCC leased out the portion of Gulshan central playground to M/s Via Media, the owner company of Wonderland, admittedly through an anomalous process in 1990 to develop the commercial amusement park.

Rahman said on Tuesday that then city mayor Mohammad Hanif leased out the land through a tender and that the deal was renewed every three years until the DCC refused to renew the lease further in 2005.

As Rahman filed a writ petition for renewal of the deal, the court said DCC's lease was without legal authority. On May 24, 2007, it ordered the Wonderland authorities to remove all its establishments within six months.

The court also directed the DCC and the Rajuk to provide the lease holder with an alternative site before eviction.

Rajuk became a party in a public interest litigation filed by a Gulshan resident against commercialisation of a playground and public nuisance by the Wonderland authorities.

Md Nurul Huda, chairman of Rajuk, told  Monday that they carried the eviction drive in light of final verdict of Appellate Division.

Regarding the alternative site, the chairman said there was no available land at their disposal.

Rajuk tore down main entry gate and frontal boundary wall of Wonderland on Monday, allowing the Wonderland authorities a two-day time to remove expensive rides and machineries from inside the park.

151st birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore The maestro's palette The multi-faceted influences in Tagore's work

BANGLADESH NEWS

When Tagore came to Rajshahi and Kushtia (1890) to take charge of his property, it seemed miles away from a life he was used to. The setting was a sharp contrast to Kolkata. But shortly he settled down to the different lifestyle, and spent long stretches of time watching the panoramic scenery from his boat on the river Padma. The seasonal variations enthralled him. On a rainy day he would watch the lightning darting across the dark clouds, listen to the thunders echoing over the plains. In summer, the unruffled peace and tranquility, the truant boy who played the flute on the sultry afternoons, all enchanted him. And most importantly, the young 30-year old zamindar became increasingly fascinated by the folk melodies of the bauls, fakirs and bhaisnabas (folk artistes).

There is however, a misconception that Tagore came in contact with Lalon himself, but in fact Lalon had already passed away by then and it was in fact, Lalon's disciple that Tagore met.

The talented disciple, Gagan Harkara, added a fresh dimension to Tagore's rich exposure to Indian and European music.

Tagore was deeply moved by the lyrical beauty, so vividly expressive of the deep-rooted philosophies in a language so simplistic and rhythmic. The spiritual romanticism in the Baul philosophy influenced Tagore so deeply that he went as far as calling himself "Rabindra Baul". Later, he even played the role of a blind baul in his play Falguni.

According to late Dr. Mridulkanti Chakravarti, "It was Tagore who first collected 20 of Lalon's songs and had published it in the monthly Probashi. Folk literature was printed in the section titled Haramoni. In the Bangla month of Baishak in 1322, the collected song of Gagan Harkara, Ami Kothaye Pabo Tarey was published for the first time in the magazine. Our National Anthem, Amar Shonar Bangla, was composed and based on this baul tune on August 07, 1905.”

Later, Tagore collected Lalon's collection of songs from Cheuria village. The book contained some 283 authentic Lalon songs and are now exhibited at the Tagore Museum at Shantiniketan.

In fact, different forces influenced Tagore's composition in different stages of his life. His life as a composer spanning 61 years can be categorised in three different phases.

In the first phase (1881-1900) Tagore was mostly devoted to composing bhanga gaan or songs modeled on existing Hindi songs. In the second phase (1901 to 1920) he experimented his compositions on the musical structure of the ragas. This was the stage the marked the beginning of Tagore's unmistakable individualism. Most of Tagore's patriotic songs were composed during this period as he began to increasingly focus on folk music. In the third phase (1921 to 1941) Tagore started to combine poetry with melody and folk with classical melodies.

His compositions of nearly 2,300 songs are seen as falling mainly into four groups -- Spiritualism, Patriotism, Romance, and Nature. Even though Tagore composed roughly 60 patriotic songs mostly during the 1870's- it earned him a great amount of recognition during the Swadeshi movement. Besides his vast collection of songs that have become an everyday part of Bengali culture, historians also point to his tremendous contribution in visual arts and in introducing seasonal festivals.

Tagore had spent almost 11 years in East Bengal. He traveled to Shilaidaha, Shajadpur and Potishar. Often he would go to back to Kolkata and Shantiniketan and would return to the then East Bengal. He traveled in his boat in the Padma, Jamuna, Boral and the Nagar rivers. During the monsoon, Tagore was drawn to the jari, shari and bhatiali songs of the boatmen. Many of Tagore's composition came to reflect this period, depicting the life of the working class.

Some of the memorable songs were directly influenced by the regional songs from several Indian provinces he traveled to: Baro Asha Korey, Aaji Subho Din-e and Sakatare Oi Kandiche (Kannada) and Anandaloke Mangalaloke (Mysore).

During this period, many of his work also mark the Western influence in his songs. Some remarkable examples include Katobar bhebechinu, Purano Sei Diner Katha etc. Most of these songs were aptly used in his lyrical plays viz., Balmiki Pratibha, Kalmrigaya and Mayar Khela.

Though influenced by the baul songs, Tagore added his own touch. In baul songs the four stanzaic patterns (asthai, antara, shanchari and abhog) of Dhrupada style are sung in the same tune. However, Tagore would compose a different tune in the shancharii giving the song a completely new flavour. Among his repertoire of songs of devotional ((Puja) are Ami Kotaye Pabo Tarey, Ami Kaan Petey Roi, Amar Mon Jokhon Jagli Narey, Tomar Khola Haowaye, Kon Alotey Praner Prodeep among others.

Tagore's legacy of songs undermines his receptivity to the changing settings and culture he came in contact with. Whether it be the influence of the classical songs, the bauls, regional or western music, Tagore's touch worked as a timeless prism, blending all into one unique sparkle, transforming the ordinary to a masterpiece.