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To the Editor
"A Vision for Higher Education"
Sir, A feature-article titled "A Vision for Higher Education" published in The Dally Star on 7th October. 1997 is a thought-provoking write-up by Mr Munir S Kazi. But he. being an expert in Bangladesh affairs, should have formulated positive measures against tyranny and violence in the academic institutions. Unless political leadership is harmonised with the spirit of excellence in education, it is difficult to nourish a broad vision for higher education.
Education is the power to unite, and not divide the interests of the nation ^th ..the hopes and aspirationa£of the ; common peopK-Jn of
politics, divisions Jpil iu6-Svi-sions are being' ftta^e‘among the common masses without any patriotic zeal for the country to which we all belong.
A broad vision for higher education with a strong sense of national awareness is vitally needed to use the benefits of education against illiteracy, poverty, social injustice, population boom and other ills in every walk of national life. The people working in this direction have poor response from the corrupt circle of people. Bad luck for us. indeed I
Abul Ashraf Noor Uttara. Dhaka
Willes Little Flower School
Sir, The Willes Little Flower School with more than 4000 students in two shifts of Bengali and English mediums has been experiencing problems for a decade now. The prevailing situation is adversely affecting the quality and standard of teaching and hence the first and real victims are the students — our future.
The school has been ran by ad hoc committees dominated by a group of persons for the last 11 years. Mismanagement, lack of transparency, highhandedness and widespread dissatisfaction among the general rank of the teachers have brought the affairs of the school to a sorry state.
An election to the managing committee to put an end to mis situation was called for and this is going to be held soon. But to our utter dismay and worry, we find that the same group is busy manipulating the election process to its advantage to continue the stranglehold on the management.
Will the authorities concerned look Into the matter and take necessary actions to save the school from degradation? R A Hussain Chowdhury House* 19/1 Road*4 Dhanmondt, Dhaka
Archaic Aricha development
Sir, The persistent problems at Aricha (and other ferry ghats) are refusing to go away. Once again recently we heard about the repeated pileup of 1800 vehicles; this time the ferries cannot ply due to lam below the water surface (silting). Nature is incapable of conspiring, hence the political pundits have to look for other excuses. Humans have to be in tune with Nature, and not vice versa
Perhaps development funds are withheld for expansion and modernisation (BMRE) of the relevant ferry ghats in anticipation of the opening of the Jamuna Bridge next year. The Jamuna Bridge teething problems will take a couple of years to subside (infrastructure support services, including parallel and diversionary highways). In addition, alternative ferry services have to be maintained at key sites for local use and
emergency needs. With the population approaching 150 million during the next couple of decades, any surplus development can be absorbed easily at no loss to the exchequer.
Ours is a deltaic region criss-crossed with hundreds of inland waterways, hence we cannot afford to be niggardly in respect of the development of IWT. We cannot maintain our railway system. but feel confident ofrunning an atomic power station in an undisciplined society. Perhaps we are walUng for the Ganges Barrage to stabilise our river banks. Anyway, even with development growth rate at six to seven per cent per annum. our transport network and support services have U? be expanded several times to cope with the traffic demands during the next two or three decades in the next century. That's the future; what about the current problems?
When the national development is fast and steady, it is always too late to make a start, as Malaysia found out (heavy expenditure on infrastructure development for a decade, plus huge consumerism, and then the recent financial crash). Now perhaps we had to go for another Incremental devaluation to keep in the race. Let us train ourselves how to overcome the transport communication gap at the many Arichas that we cannot do without, (but not neglecting the Railway).
AZabr Dhaka
Car rampage
Sir. An easy target of all sorts of aggressive movements of various quarters would they be students, political workers, factory workers or garments workers is private cars. Innocent car owners fall as easy prey in trap of hooligans' holy justified activities.
1 don't have statistics whether the so-called and ruthless assignment bring them any sort of benefit or fulfill their demand but I believe as a citizen of Bangladesh that it is not the right way of showing anger and frustration. Whoever they are but It is obnoxious way of compelling the government or the concerned quarter to stoop to any demand by creating anarchy in the society.
Now the question is why letting off steam of anger at the cost of innocent car owners — Is it a crime to own a car if a person can afford one? Today, the society is in the grip of musclemen and they are dictating their rules as they wish. All political parties should know now to behave on the streets. In the name of street-protest — violence, snatching and creating panic cannot be accepted. Political workers are working for the benefit of the country — so why not ask the field workers not to destruct any citizen's property during their street procession?
I believe political leaders also do not support street violence or is It the only way of doing welfare to the society? Mohammad Shahid Jamal Montpurt Para, Dhaka
"Save the Sugarcane Research Institute11
Sir. It is highly appreciated that the DS boldly published the facts in its opinion column —- "Save the Sugarcane Research Institute" on 28/10/97. This is a supplementary information In order to save BSR1 and the potential sugarcane industries (sugar, gur, paper and other by product industries) situated in the industrially backward region of the country.
The SRTI Management
Committee (legal authority) in its meeting held on 10/4/96 chaired by M Akthar All, the then secretary of MOA did not agree with the unlawful claim of Erfan All. The management committee decided that the exchange of manpower between SRTI and BSFIC after 11/10/89 was legal and status quo was to be maintained. The committee further decided to absorb Erfan All in the set-up of SRT1/NARS (national agriculture research system) considering him as a regular officer of BSFIC. This decision was not lawful as it was against the provision of the Surplus Govt. Employees Absorption Ordinance 1985. As per provisions of the ordinance, a regular officer of one organisation. cannot be absorbed in another organisation unJess one is declared surplus by the parent organisation. BSFIC in a letter to MOA dated 21/5/96 opposed the said absorption as he was not declared surplus rather again requested to send him back to BSFIC. The Joint Secretary (Research), MOA sent a summary to Law Ministry on 6/8/96 seeking legal opinion about the absorption of Erfan All. Law Ministry Officials opined that Erfan All was an officer of SRTI and his service in BSFIC from 5/6/90 onwards (after his transfer from SRTI on 21/5/96) would be treated as deputation. It is strongly believed that MOA suppressed two major facts In that so-called summary: i) Erfan All's application to chairman. BSFIC. dated 27/3/90 (lying with BSFIC) and ii) that Erfan Ali was given promotion In the setup of BSFIC on 26/11/91.
If these facts were elaborated in the summary, officials of the Law Ministry could definitely give legal opinion — that Erfan Ali is a regular officer of BSFIC for the reasons that he opted for. BSFIC and became a regular officer by way of his promotion.
An officer while on deputation to a different organisation if receives promotion outside his parent organisation his lien to the substantive post Is automatically suspended (BSR 16 and 20 and Fundamental Rules 14). There was decision of absorption of Erfan Ali and not to revert him back to his earlier parent post in SRTI. So the present initiative of MOA to revert Erfan Ali back to SRTI is a clear violation of the decision taken by the SRTI management committee on 10/4/96.
Advocate Abdur Rahman Bangladesh Supreme Court Dhaka
Stock market
Sir, So the stock market is crashing, crashing and crashing! It was quite predictable, to laymen like us. We don't know what experts predicted, but as laymen we knew it would. I even said that to my uncle — an MP of the present government — when it crashed first after an abnormal soaring up, which was so unnatural that it was unbelievable. But he was very confident after the first crash and even wrote an article in one of the dailies that it was a normal phenomenon and it happens in all countries and the market revives again after a slump. But after we came to know the reason of the abnormal rise and then crash was corruption mainly, we had a hunch that it will never revive again. Because most people belong to middle class and once bitten twice shy" applies here. For now with their meager resources and being hit once by this corrupt market, they are too afraid to invest In it again. However much the experts may console and encourage them to invest. They have lost their confidence In the stock market, only because of manipulation of the market by a rich few.
Why do people who are so
fabulously rich do things like this — which will hurt their poor countrymen, is beyond uB to comprehend. They are already so rich and powerful, what more can they ask for? In fact they should now try to help their poor countiymen, rather than fleece them. For what good is a man's wealth If he cannot help his countrymen or his country? God has given them money and power — a golden opportunity to serve their country. but sadly enough they don't avail this opportunity.
Dr Sabrina Rashid Dhaka Cantt
CHT Peace Treaty :and BNP’s stand
Sfr, We know that after a heavy blood shed for many years the present government seemed to nave been very much sincere in bringing peace In the hill districts of Chittagong. After a long series of meetings with the PCJSS Committee since the AL government came to power about one and a half year ago. both parties have come to position to reach a peace agreement which may end the decade-long conflicts between the tribal and nontribal inhabitants of the hills.
However, the BNP has been opposing the peace treaty seriously since its initiation for the 'cause of the sovereignty' of the country. Begum Zia always warns the government not to make such a treaty which is. according to her. totally against the sovereignty of the state. She clearly terms this treaty antistate, and blames the present AL government in making such treaty with a view to selling the hill areas of the country, even the greater Chittagong, the India. Majority of people never believe such a propaganda which is the only slogan of BNP to confuse people about the history of Awami League which led the Independence War in 1971 that freed the country from the claws of the Pakistani military junta through the unparallel leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. I firmly believe that even a mentally handicapped person does not want to sacrifice an inch of his own land to others. Whereas the party under whose leadership we earned our independence. is blamed of selling out the country to others — what a great lie is itl ■
We know that some of BNP's MPs are also members of the Peace Treaty Committee along with the MPs of the ruling party. But they never attended any meeting of the Committee; rather they have been making chaos against it.
When all of their efforts to refrain the government from bringing peace in the disputed area seemed to be in vein, Be-£m Zia has now called for a y-long hartal on the 16th of November which is the probable date of signing the Agreement. This is absolutely ridiculous, and people never want any more hartal forcefully imposed on them.
However, the government also has the responsibility to let people know everything what is going on with the said treaty. Each and every citizen of the country has the right to know clearly the terms and conditions of the agreement, especially when the major opposition terms It anti-state.
I, therefore, the government of Sheikh Hasina to publish ins and outs of the agreement in the media so that everybody can know that there is nothing in it against the sovereignty of the state or of discipline, rather it's a milestone in the history of Bangladesh.
M Sira/ul Islam Molta 84/1 Mohakhall South Para, Dhaka 1212