Category: Literacy

A team of officials of Bangladesh Army were imparted two-week training on "Physical Protection of Nuclear Facilities" in Moscow recently.

The officials involved in the Physical Protection of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) received the training conducted by the specialists from Global Nuclear Safety and Security (GNSSI) Institute of the Rosatom Technical Academy, according to a message received here today.

During the course, participants learned about organising and building physical protection of nuclear facilities systems and got acquainted with the major international documents.

In addition to lectures, participants got involved in extensive practical work with various means and devices of physical protection at a special training ground complex in the Technical Academy of Rosatom.

They received necessary knowledge and experience that allowed them to understand specific features of each stage in building a physical protection system for a nuclear power plant.

"We have received precise theoretical and practical information on those issues that are important to us at the moment during the construction of the Rooppur NPP, and we will also be useful in the future", said Brigadier General Irfanul Islam Khan, leader of the Bangladesh team.

Bangladesh army has been creating a physical protection system for the RNPP since 2020. Russia is actively supporting Bangladesh in this regard.

The GNSSI of the Rosatom Technical Academy is the leading educational institution of the Rosatom State Corporation for advanced training and retraining of specialists of nuclear facilities, federal executive authorities, military and special departments, and other organisations on anti-terrorist support, integrated global security, including physical protection, protection of state security secrets, economic and information security.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Sewing machines were distributed among 40 trained disadvantaged women at a function in the auditorium of the District Youth Development Department office here today.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) SM Rafiqul Islam distributed the sewing machines as the chief guest this morning with deputy director of Department of Youth Development of the district Bilkis Ara in the chair.

Rotarian A Q Siddiqui, executive director of non-governmental organization of CO Samsul Alam were present as the special guests.

After a discussion meeting, free sewing machines were distributed from the Department of Youth Development among 40 trained women.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

The First National Conference on comprehensive sexual education is going to be held in the federal capital, Kathmandu, on May 24 and 25 around the theme, 'Proceeding ahead extensive sexual education to attain SDG 2030'.

It is expected that the National Conference will contribute towards the effective implementation of the various national and international policies and commitments such as the International Conference on Population and Development held in 1994, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2015, the UN resolution 2250 related to youth, peace and security, the UN resolution 1325 related to women, peace and security, the Constitution of Nepal, the National Youth Policy, Youth Vision 2025, the School Education Sector Plan 2022-23 and 2031-32.

The Conference will bring together around 300 national and international participants. The conclave will see the presentation of working papers on various topics related to extensive sexuality education in several sessions. There will also be a poster show.

The Conference will wrap up by issuing the Kathmandu Declaration. It is to be jointly organized by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Health and Population with the financial and technical support of UNFPA, the Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN) and the non-governmental organisations working in the comprehensive sexual education sector.

FPAN said discussions will be held in the Conference on access of youth to age-appropriate, scientific and rights-based comprehensive sexual education, gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights, ensuring the rights of minority groups, superstitious beliefs and practices, violence, child marriage, youth's exodus to foreign countries, teenager and youth-friendly services and environment, and various youth-targeted national policies and their effective implementation.

Source: National News Agency-Nepal

The UK-based International Academy of Sufi Scholars has conferred the incumbent imam of Maizbhadar Darbar Sayeed Saifuddin Ahmed with a honourary doctoral degree for his literary works on universal peace and brotherhood, the Islamic spiritual hub said in a statement today.

“He received his degree on his book ‘The essence of Tasawwuf,” the statement said.

According to the statement, the book highlighted the traditions of Qadiriya Maizbhandariya Tariqa or spiritual order explaining “the journey of a man through the path of Tariqa (spiritual order) towards Almighty Allah”.

It said the essence of Tasawwuf expands on the spiritual path from the beginning till the end.

The announcement came days after Syed Saifuddin Ahmed Maizbhandari attended the 'Tenth Annual Conference on Tasawwuf' in the historic land of Guelmim of Morocco with the theme being impact of Sufi Tariqas in shaping modern community in different countries.

He urged the Sufis across the globe to partake in social and civil issues to spread the sufi spirit of peace and brotherhood.

Syed Saifuddin was accompanied by his son Sayeed Mashuk Mainuddin.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Minister for Foreign Affairs, NP Saud, has said the education based on employment creation is the need of the hour.

In his address to the 32nd anniversary of Baneshwor Multiple Campus here today, the Minister said the education be focused on making graduates capable to explore job opportunities within the self instead of forcing them to wander for employment with the academic certificates.

Acknowledging the contribution of the campus graduates to bringing positive change in the society, the Minister said, "At present, the youth population is the highest in Nepal and the nation could take its maximum advantages in a sustainable way if they are trained and mobilised as per the need of the nation."

As the Minister said, the government wants the youth population to seek a career within country itself and it is effortful to create job opportunities for them.

Source: National News Agency-Nepal

Cluster admission test of 22 general and science and technology universities for the 2022-2023 academic sessions was held at Khulna University sub-center here today peacefully.

At least 98.89 percent of admission seekers out of 5,210 students attended the first day's examination from 12.00 pm to 1.00 pm today.

The admission seekers took part in the examination under the humanity group, 'Kha' unit, said a KU press release.

Meanwhile, Vice-Chancellor of KU Dr Mahmud Hossain visited the KU center during the admission test.

He also thanked the government and all the 22 university authorities for taking admission tests outside the capital for avoiding hassle-free examinations, the press release said.

The admission test for the 'Gha' unit (Business Faculty) will be held on May 27 while the 'Ka' unit (Science Faculty) will be held on June 3, the press release added.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Sah has inspected community schools within the metropolis. Sah on Friday visited Shivapuri Secondary School, Maharajgunj and Padma Kanya Secondary School, Dillibazaar, and took stock of teaching and learning methods and vocational skills, it has been said. As part of it, he last week inspected Durbar High School.

It may be noted that Sah has been prioritising reforms and development in education since assuming office. On his part, he on every Fridays is scheduled to sit with students and chat about educational activities.

"We on Friday morning inspected Shivapuri Secondary School in Kathmandu. I got an opportunity to sit with students and learn about educational activities through the 'skill-based programme. I also got an opportunity to learn about participation of students and teachers through the 'book free Friday' programme. I during the inspection also took an opportunity to learn about the impacts of the skill-based programme on the future of children. I have taken information about current situation of the school, required infrastructures, human resources and other needs for the school for the holistic development of children", he opined.

The KMC has launched the book free Friday programme since 25 April, 2023. There are a total of 89 community schools operational within the KMC (59 secondary and 30 primary) where at least 52,000 children have been enrolled, according to available data. Similarly, 540 private schools are in operation where at least 150,000 children have been enrolled.

Source: National News Agency-Nepal

The University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ), Australia, has conferred certificate of Emeritus Professor Award on Dr Shahjahan Khan, currently serving as the vice-chancellor (VC) of Asian University of Bangladesh (AUB).

Emeritus Professor Dr Shahjahan Khan earlier served at the Southern Queensland University, Australia as the founding professor of statistics, and after 37 years he decided to come back to Bangladesh to serve his beloved motherland, said a press release.

UniSQ Chancellor John Dornbusch presented the award to Professor Dr. Shahjahan Khan at AUB campus in Dhaka yesterday (Thursday). The chancellor carried his academic gawn and the certificate with him for this occasion.

The function was attended by Professor Ren Yi, pro-vice-chancellor of UniSQ, Dr Muhammad Jafar Sadeq, chairman of AUB Board of Trustees, AUB Treasurer Professor Md Nurul Islam and AUB Registrar AKM Enamul Haque.

In another unprecedented recognition of his outstanding contribution, UniSQ, Australia has introduced Professor Shahjahan Khan Scholarship for international students, especially for the students of UniSQ of Bangladesh origin.

A world-class scientist, Professor Khan is a statistician with expertise in statistical inference, multivariate analysis, public health, evidence-based decision-making and meta-analysis.

He is an elected expatriate Fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (BAS), and Fellow, Royal Statistical Society, UK; Elected Member, International Statistical Institute (ISI), Netherlands; Member of Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS), USA; and Statistical Society of Australia.

He is the founding chief editor of the Journal of Applied Probability and Statistics (JAPS), USA since 2005.

He received prestigious Q M Hossain Gold Medal from Bangladesh Statistical Association (2012), 4th recipient since 1997, and ISESCO-ISOSS Gold Medal (2001), and ISOSS Gold Medal (2007) for his outstanding research contributions and international professional leadership.

He obtained his PhD (1992) and MSc degrees in Mathematical Statistics from the University of Western Ontario (UWO), Canada; and BSc (Hon) and MSc in Statistics from Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. He started his academic career as a lecturer at Dhaka University, Bangladesh in 1980, and was awarded Commonwealth Scholarship in the UK.

As the president of the Islamic Countries Society of Statistical Sciences (ISOSS) 2005-20011, he organized international statistics conferences in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Egypt, Qatar, Indonesia, and Pakistan. In 2011, ISOSS organised an international conference in Lahore in honour of Professor Khan.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today called upon the Hajj pilgrims and Alem-Ulema (Islamic scholars) to move forward to contribute in building a modern and knowledge-based developed nation by keeping the children away from militancy and terrorism.

"I urge you (Hajj pilgrims) and Alem-Ulema to stand boldly against militancy and terrorism so our children can stay aside from it and equip with modern-technology to build a developed Bangladesh," she said.

The premier made this call while inaugurating Hajj Programme-2023 (1444 Hijri) at the Hajji Office in the capital's Ashkona area as the chief guest.

She said Islam is a religion of peace and it is always a religion of welfare of people which ensures the rights of people.

Mentioning that Islam is being denounced because of few people, who perpetrate militancy and terrorism in the name of Islam, she said, "Actually those people who create militancy and terrorism they have no religion."

Sheikh Hasina noted that the people who are creating militancy and terrorism exist in all religions.

"If someone thinks they will go to heaven by killing innocent people, it will never happen. Almighty Allah didn't say it, and our Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) also didn't say it," she said.

Sheikh Hasina continued that "Our Islam is the best religion of the world and these few people are becoming the reason for denouncement of Islam."

She opined that everybody has to take initiative to stop these people from doing this (heinous) job.

"All of us have to be aware of our children," she added.

The Prime Minister also sought doa from the hajj pilgrims for her younger sister Sheikh Rehana and other family members.

"My biggest demand to you (hajj pilgrims) is that you people will pray for my people of Bangladesh so that none could play ducks and drakes with the fate of them," the premier said.

She also urged the hajj pilgrims to pray for keeping Bangladesh and its people protected from any manmade or natural disaster.

"I would like to request you to pray so that any disaster or crisis -either it manmade or natural- can't damage Bangladesh and the people of Bangladesh," Sheikh Hasina said.

The Prime Minister said manmade disaster alongside natural calamity happens in Bangladesh as the people are killed here by resorting to arson violence and setting transport vehicles on fire.

She asked the pilgrims to pray so that the development and the current progress of Bangladesh would continue in the future.

The first hajj flight is scheduled to depart from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for Saudi Arabia at 3:20am on Sunday morning.

This year, a total of 122,221 pilgrims from Bangladesh are going to perform the holy hajj. The number of hajj pilgrims from Bangladesh was 60,000 last year due to Covid-19 restriction.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, 127,198 pilgrims from Bangladesh performed hajj in 2019.

The Hajj is expected to be held on June 27 depending on the sighting of the moon.

State Minister for Religious Affairs Md. Faridul Haque Khan, MP, presided over the function while secretary of the ministry Kazi Enamul Hassan delivered welcome address.

State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali, Habib Hasan, MP, Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Yussef Essa Al Dulaihan and president of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) Shahadat Hossain Taslim also spoke on the occasion.

At the outset of the ceremony, a video documentary on Hajj Management was screened.

The Prime Minister said that her government by working tirelessly day and night today has been able to bring Bangladesh in a position where the people of the country at least can eat food.

Mentioning that not a single person of Bangladesh will be homeless or landless, she said, "I am implementing the dream of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman."

Wishing the pilgrims good health during the hajj, Sheikh Hasina said that you people are going to the House of Allah as guests of Allah as well as to Makkah-Madinah Sharif. "We pray that you may perform Hajj in a safe, healthy and beautiful manner as well as you can return to your country in good health."

She said that they have introduced "e-hajj management" to reduce the suffering of hajj pilgrims.

Now, all the activities of hajj such as pre-registration, registration, refund, Makkah road service, e-health, e-visa, flight, help desk, call centre, agency profile management are being done under e-hajj management, she said.

The premier said hajj related notification is being provided to each hajj pilgrim through SMS alongside the call centre 16136 from here and the pilgrims can know everything through dialing call.

She also mentioned that they have enacted Hajj and Umrah Management Act-2021 which has made the hajj management easier.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board authorities today rescheduled the examination for higher mathematics scheduled to be held on May 25 due to an unavoidable reason.

"The examination for higher mathematics scheduled to be held on May 25 has been postponed due to unavoidable circumstances," said a statement signed by Exam Controller of Madrasah Education Board Md Kamal Uddin this evening.

The board, earlier, postponed the examination for English first paper, which was scheduled for May 14, due to the cyclone 'Mocha'.

The postponed examinations of the English first paper and the higher mathematics will be held on May 27 and 28 respectively across the country simultaneously, the statement said.

It also said that the practical and oral tests of all subjects will be held from May 29 to June 4.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

The Secondary School certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations postponed due to cyclonic storm Mocha will be held on May 27 and 28 respectively.

The decision was taken today in an emergency meeting of the inter-education board coordination committee, said a notice signed by Dhaka Education Board Examination Controller Professor Md. Abul Bashar.

Earlier, the government postponed the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations scheduled for May 14 (Sunday) under six education boards in view of approaching cyclonic storm 'Mocha'.

Besides, Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations scheduled for May 15 (Monday) under all educational boards was also postponed in another notification of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairperson and former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has viewed that the students should take the lead for new cultures and values in the society.

At a programme organized on the occasion of 59th Students Day here today, leader Nepal opined that the students should move ahead by defeating the extreme individualistic tendency.

"Individualism has developed in extreme form lately. There is a tendency of jeopardizing the organization and betraying the citizens and country if one does not get the position they want. The warriors of the student unions should move forward leading the new culture and values"

Underscoring the need to win the confidence of people, he spoke of the need to instill a new sense of confidence among public.

According to him, politics is meaningless without citizens. The major objective of establishing the communist party was to protect nationalism, develop patriotism and establish citizens' rights.

He claimed that the leftist forces could only deliver on the expectations and aspirations of the citizens and said it was established that those are patriotic and sacrifice their lives for democracy are the communists in true sense.

Expressing his concern that the republic system, democracy, federalism and constitution were in crisis, he urged all the communists that it was the right time to make themselves more responsible.

Terming youth students as the "rays of rising sun", he asserted that the future of the whole world and Nepal is in the hands of students. He called for leveraging experiences and knowledge of the senior citizens and skills of the youth to cope up with any challenges.

Similarly, CPN (Maoist Centre) Vice-Chairperson Agni Prasad Sapkota said that the students should move ahead to develop new perspective and ideologies.

The former Speaker of the House of Representatives admitted that although many people made sacrifices and did penance during the political movements, political parties could not help uplift the living standards of the people.

Likewise, Nepal Communist Party General-Secretary Netra Bikram Chand called for unity among the student unions for the safeguarding the country now mired in a tumultuous condition.

Rastriya Janamorcha's Chairperson Chitra Bahadur KC pointed out the need for active role of youths to safeguard nationalism, sovereignty as well as to gain right to education, health and employment.

Nepal Socialist Students Union Chairperson Netra Chapagain said all students should be united against the injustices and anomalies prevailing the country.

Student leaders Devendra Kunwar, Prakash Shahi and others said that frustration was flaring up among the students for the political leadership and called to curb brain drain.

Source: National News Agency-Nepal