& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Irina Bokova's first visit to Dhaka

Quazi Faruque Ahmed
FIRST of all, I welcome Ms. Irina Bokova, the first woman Director-General of Unesco, also the former foreign minister of Bulgaria, on her first visit to Dhaka. The visit is linked with the three-day meet of cultural diversity ministerial forum, which begins on May 9, and conferring of "Doctor of Laws" by Dhaka University. Delegates from 30 Asia-Pacific countries will participate in the cultural diversity programme. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate it at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre and Irina Bokova will attend the ceremony as guest of honour. Bangladesh and Unesco have joindy organised the programme. International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) of Unesco and Bangladesh government are funding it. There will be a joint statement titled, "Dhaka Declaration," on the concluding day, with a special call for strengthening cultural cooperation in the perspective of sustainable development in the region.
Irina Bokova took over the rein of Unesco as Director General from Mr. Koichuru Matsuura in 2009. In her words: "My accession to this high office gives confidence to all women wherever they may be. It is a signal that they must have access to knowledge and power so that they may bring their contribution to society and take part in running world affairs." She
of our children to international standard.
For improving the quality of teaching-learning situation in the classroom we need to strengthen the professional capacity of teachers through preservice and in-service training. We are to identify national teacher competency, reform training materials and redesign training programmes. In fact, we need to develop a comprehensive teacher training policy for all categories of teachers in line with the National Education Policy 2010. The government has already initiated this process. Unesco can provide professionals and expertise in this area also, like its support to other countries in this field.
As per recommendations of the new Education Policy 2010, the Bangladesh government recently introduced pre-primary education formally in primary schools. For developing child- friendly, attractive learning materials and teacher-friendly training materials, the support of international experts through Unesco can be very useful. On the issues related to service training of teachers: exchange of teachers/expert for specialised institutions like NAEM, National Academy for Primary Education (NAPE), HSTTI, IER, Dhaka University, National University, and NCTB can render positive contributions. The support from Unesco in developing the research and evaluation capacities of these organisations can help immediately.
In our country we do not have the means to provide this to our secondary and higher secondary teachers. In primary
education, such opportunities exist at the subdistrict level (upzilla). For secondary and higher education it is very much a local necessity. Training centres there can not only conduct training programmes, but will also be in a position to conduct local training and develop training materials suitable for the teachers of the locality. These may be treated as resource centres equipped with labs, library, ICT facilities. There may be some facilities for the local community to use the centre for interaction with teachers. Unesco can render technical support in designing and setting up these centres considering the local need.
I am convinced that the Unesco will be run properly under her able leadership. I draw the attention of Ms. Irina Bokova to the development of quality education along with facilitating the expansion of science education, preservation of our rich heritage and the on-going programmes for empowerment of women in Bangladesh. I wish her all the best and hope her Dhaka visit will be a memorable one.
stated her intention to spread the message that gender equality was indispensable for development. She said: "Globalisation calls for watchfulness because, while it liberates and helps millions get out of poverty and destitution, it also risks reducing our world of rich diversity into uniformity." She spoke of her intention to promote "new humanism." "For me, humanism means aspiring to peace, democracy, justice and human rights. For me, humanism means aspiring to tolerance, knowledge and cultural diversity," she said.
During my last visit to Unesco head office in 20111 met Mr. Tang Qian, Assistant Director General in-charge of Education in the absence of Irina Bokova. I submitted a few written proposals which included curriculum revision and development along with teachers' training. My submission was that Unesco can provide technical support in the areas of curriculum revision, curriculum dissemination, text book development. It is usual to revise the teachers training curriculum when the national curriculum is revised. Technical support of Unesco is possible in this area. It may be mentioned here that the prime objective of our national curriculum is to ensure quality education
The writer is Chairman, Initiative for Human Development (IHD) and Member, Bangladesh National Education Policy Implementation Committee. E-mail: ihddhaka@hotmail.com