Source :The UK will press world leaders to agree to an ambitious action plan to get the Millennium Development Goals back on track for 2015. The plan is to target six countries—including Bangladesh—which are home to half of all undernourished children in the world.

International development secretary Douglas Alexander launched the new strategy at a conference in London on Friday.

The meeting took place ahead of the publication of an international assessment of what is needed to achieve the MDGs of the UNDP. The report is expected to lay out in stark terms the areas where progress has been weak and set out concrete action to achieve the goals by 2015.

The conference organised by the Department for International Development is aimed at tackling the most off-track MDGs – agreed in 2000 – including hunger and nutrition, maternal and child mortality and education. It is estimated that up to two-thirds of countries could fail to meet these crucial targets.

Alexander used the gathering of development experts to put forward a number of bold proposals that will be incorporated into the international negotiations ahead of a key UN summit in September.

“There has been some real progress towards the Millennium Development Goals but we must accelerate progress if we are to realise them by 2015″, Alexander told the conference.

“Business as usual is not enough. We need leaders from all countries around the table to endorse a global action plan which will benefit hundreds of millions of people in the developing world.

“We are now just five years from meeting the MDGs – it’s not too late but time is short”.

“I firmly believe there is more the international community can do and that is why I am using today’s conference to identify how best we can work together to get the goals back on track.”

He proposed doubling of aid for basic education and health services for mothers and children. He also underlined Britain’s commitment to playing its part to achieve the goals with funding for new vaccines that will protect children from pneumonia and diarrhoea in over 40 countries, saving 800,000 lives over the next five years.

The new strategy will address the devastating impact that malnutrition has on life-expectancy, health and long-term productivity, and will have a direct impact on the life chances of 12 million children by 2015.

Under the new strategy, efforts will be focused on Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. Each country will draft an action plan to address the particular challenges of local conditions. The efforts will first focus on India, a country which is home to 40 percent of the world’s malnourished children.

DFID will invest an additional £110 million over the next five years in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, where every second child is underweight. The plan will set out how to save two million children from malnutrition.

Douglas Alexander said at the conference that the UN Summit in September must be used as a turning point towards achieving the MDGs.

This conference will set out proposals for:
-International partners to double aid for basic education in low-income countries from $3 billion to $6 billion per year;

• a global programme to tackle malnutrition;

• the global community to increase levels of aid to fragile countries from the current 30 percent to 50 percent by 2015; and,

• a doubling of global aid for maternal, newborn and child health from $4 billion to $8 billion per year.

Alexander said that the UK would continue to identify new and innovative programmes that would maximise aid efforts.

He announced a package of measures to help developing countries tackle issues such as immunisation, climate change, lack of access to financial services, malnutrition and maternal health:

The package includes:

• New vaccines against pneumococcus in 42 countries and a vaccine against rotavirus in 44 countries, potentially saving 800,000 children’s lives by 2015 from the biggest child killers – pneumonia and diarrhoea. An amount of £150 million would go to the GAVI Alliance (formally the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) for the purpose.

• To fight global malnutrition, a new strategy will target 12 million undernourished children, whose lives would otherwise be blighted by physical stunting, reduced mental ability, and poorer prospects in education and employment. Measures to swiftly address malnutrition will include vitamin and mineral supplements for pregnant women and infants; promotion of breast feeding for newborns; providing zinc to combat the effects of diarrhoea and promoting better hygiene.

• A push for more free healthcare in the developing world, by providing financial support and expert advice to help countries to deliver free healthcare for women through a new (£5m) Centre for Progressive Health Financing. Through UK support, Sierra Leone will launch free health care next month.

A Bangladeshi school teacher has been accused of caning eight of her pupils so hard for forgetting to bring their pencils to class they needed hospital treatment.

The two girls and six boys, aged between 10 and 12, were treated for bruises to their arms and backs in the town of Feni.

Police said they were investigating complaints against teacher Ratna Roy lodged by the children’s guardians and parents.

Teachers in Bangladesh often resort to physical punishment, such as caning and slapping, to discipline pupils despite a 1995 government order banning it.

Many parents condone the practice and it is unusual for police to investigate such complaints.

A Unicef study last year found that one out of 10 school children in Bangladesh suffer physical punishment from teachers.

Population is a prime and significant element to form a state as well as an asset of a nation. But over population in comparison with land space is a big threat to the social development and principle obstacles in the way of advancement, development and enlightenment of a country. Population programs and activities are jointly a major part of development programs in every state of the world. Human beings are inseparable part of our society and society has a pragmatic and positive influence over its population. Therefore social influence as well as social partnership needs to be integrated to make a holistic approach with a view to creating spirit in sustainable population control programs and activities. Population explosion is a nation as well as a global concern and it was addressed nationally as a prime and first problem at post independence era in Bangladesh. Thereafter population control activities were rightly added to first five years planning’s since 1973-1978 to squeeze the population growth momentum by adapting plural measures both rural and urban areas. In the way of this succession, Family planning directorate was constituted in 1973 by the then government with a long standing missions and visions to combat the population explosion through pragmatic policy adaptation and co-ordination.

But lack of proper atention and efforts towards population control programs and activities nation wide by every government is truly unfortunate to us as well as to nation. Mean while, a ray of hope was seen in population program and policies, when an integrated and efficient commitee was formed at early of 1976 by the then government to compose a pro people and healthy population policy and finally it was drafted and approved by the then cabinet at the ending stage of 1976. In accordance with the policy frame work, population control program was rapidly advanced due to entire commitment and dedication of family planning workers to their services as well as to nation.

They have achieved some remarkable success knocking door to door from providing service delivery among the eligible couples.

Family planning contraceptive practice rate (CPR) was 8% in middle of 1970 and this practice rate was rapidly increased due to adaptation as well as to start implementation process 6 of population policy across the country.

Now this CPR (Contraceptive practice Rate) is around 57%. Equally, TFR (Total Fertility Rate) was 6.3 in the year of 1975 and was declined to 2.5 after 34 years of adapting population policy. Population growth rate was 3 (per thousand) in middle of 1970); now this growth rate has hopefully declined to 1.4 (per thousand).

These all are hopeful scenario in the history of population control by family planning directorate. But these successive outcomes have already failed to create harmonious development atmosphere within our society due to discontinuation population activities as per population policy.

In era of globalization, Bangladesh population has drawn positive-considerable atention of demographers, policy planners, social scientists and International aid agencies.

In global context, Bangladesh is now world’s eighth populas country with 149.4 million people (14 crores and 94 lac population) but occupying only only 3,000th part of the world’s land space.

Such a huge concentration of population in small land area can not but draw global atention only. About 1.8 (18 Lac people) million people are currently adding to its existing population yearly and such a trend will continue in next one decade and half.

Even if Bangladesh achieves 2 child family norm (that means TFR of 2.1 or NNR=1) by 2020. Bangladesh requires a visionary commitment to the nation in the field of population programs and activities to enrich family planning action plan and should turn its activities into social movement through active participation of different stake holders of our society.

China has achieved sustainable success on population disorders by adapting integrated and visionary population policy as well as introducing one child family norm with a state package benefit Now- a days China belongs one fifth population of the world. But their population growth momentum and population density are still quite less than Bangladesh population map. According to population analytical report of UNFPA, when China and India will have 700 and 310 crores of people respectively, their density of population will be equal to the present density of population in Bangladesh.

Keeping in view this demographic scenario, let us think how alarming condition we have in terms of population pressure.

Certainly, this hard core demographic scenario of our big population would create adverse impact on health, education, food security, habitation, sanitation, environment, poverty and unemployment The way of harmonious development of our society would be collapsed due to high redundant of population in our country.

Thus a sustainable as well as global out look population policy is rightly demand of time to the nation. Population policy was initially composed in 1976 but had no continuation with prolonged beter commitment

In the way of policy adaptation, another population policy was

Composed in 2004 in order to achieve Replacement level fertility and Neat Reproductive Rate (NRR) =1 by 2010. But the practice rate of this method among the couples is around 55.8% now. Keeping in view this above information, Replacement Level Fertility and NRR=1 has already been failed to achieve the above goal. So, a long standing, pro people with visionary population policy should be drafted along with demographers, social scientists and different stake holders of our society to include pragmatic measures within population policy frame work with a view to squeezing population map rapidly in Bangladesh.

I have some recommendations which might be considered or taken out by the government at the time of drafting and approving population policy. These are stated as follows—-

A good number of ministries are working with the government executive body to implement government’s planning’s and polices but no separate ministry is even now constituted to resolve this hyper population growth momentum which has already been identified prime and first problem in Bangladesh. Health and family welfare ministry is a major organic part of the government body and has been designed to monitor & implement for both health and Family planning programs and policies across the country. But unfortunate truth Family planning directorate is working without proper atention of the government in comparison with health wing. So Government should constitute a separate ministry on family planning programs, policies and activities in order to create dynamism in population control programs and activities. If this is possibly undone, at least a family planning division might be opened or restructured under a full flagged secretary. China has achieved a remarkable and meaningful success in population control with regard to reconstituting a separate entity like an individual ministry on planning’s and policies of population control and human development Indonesia has also constituted an individual entity like China to face the challenges of population growth momentum. They are positively advanced and achieved beter success.

National Institute of population Research and Training (NIPORT), a government body, was constituted with a view to researching on population programs, policies, training and planning’s as well as the way out for implementation. But this institute has now become dysfunctional and dead due to negative impact of unification or reunification of health-family sector once again by the government

So, effective and positive steps need to be taken to reconstitute NIPORT with national spirit and global facilities as a research and training wing of family planning division.

National population council (NPC) is the apex body of population programs policies and activities, headed by the prime minister, was designed to monitor and execute the GO-NGO activities on population. But we are unfortunate and deprived of geting proper atention and priorities from every chief executive of the state on population sector to resolve this national problem. The present government has passed more than one year in power but no national meeting or seminar was held by initiation of prime minister along with different and efficient stake holders of the society to enhance family planning action plan as well as population consizing activities. The sooner (National Population Council) it can be made fully functional and create enabling environment for other ministries to play their respective role as envisaged in the national population policy, the beterment for the nation. So, government needs to adapt plural measures in this regard with more atention and devotion.

Family Planning programs and activities should be kept on going with an individual philosophy and policy without making any unification of health-family planning sector by the government Integration or reintegration of family planning movements with the health sector must be an unwise decision which is certainly be declined the internal spirit of family planning movements in Bangladesh. 15 years have been lost in the way of counter political decisions in the field of family planning as well as population control and human development The whole nation has suffered immensely in this regard.

Population control is a prime national concern, an liberate arena and requires a holistic approach to combat population growth momentum from urban to rural in Bangladesh. The government is not individually feasible and viable to face the challenges of population magnitude and pressure on our land as well as our society. So, an intensive GO-NGO collaboration is highly required in order to make a stationary population in Bangladesh before our national goal. Every national-International NGOs in Bangladesh should have policy programs to open a separate wing on population-nutrition to face this national problem jointly otherwise this high population growth must bring social disorders in every singular branches of our society.

After inception of family planning department, Family Welfare Assistants (FWA) is providing basic and comprehensive service delivery among the eligible couples and adolescents from door to door, all over the country. They have pioneering roles and responsibilities to give away the messages among the 15 to 40 age groups of using local contraceptives and others measures to make two child family norm as well as to make a small size of

Population in our country. FWA (Family Welfare Assistant) was assigned officially to provide service delivery among 300-400 couples but with the passage of time and growth of population, the number of couple volume has become bigger and FWA workers are to provide service delivery among 1,800-2,000 couples now. This is quite a difficult task for a single FWA. So, a good number of FWA workers should immediately be appointed to provide home service delivery including contraceptives, medicine, injection as well as awareness on maternal and child health efficiently for beter outcomes.

These all are pragmatic outlines to combat population explosion. The government might consider these recommendations at the time of drafting population policy to make a stationary population as well as to turn the population into human resources.

The people of Bangladesh have started feeling the pinch for it’s over population. And various pressures have already been generated upon every branches of our society. Our society is facing plenty of social disorders with its 148 million people (around 15 crores people) right now. So, achieving population stabilization is early required for our existence. The timing of population stabilization depends on the time when replacement level fertility will be achieved. In our present population management context, if Bangladesh can achieve NRR=1 by 2016, population will be stabilize by 2070 at around 230 million people (23 crores people), followed by a stationary population in next 14-16 years (Stationary population means number of births will be equal to number of death and resultant growth rate is zero). The status of stationary population might be achieved around 2087 and thereafter the population will grow up to 250 million people ( 25 crores people). If we like to build up a poverty free, educated as well as knowledge based healthy society, government needs to take concerted efforts in population management strategies with more atention and devotion.

World leader can understand unity and co work can guide real progress of Development.
Bangladesh and the United States of America (USA) have significant opportunities to work together to make a bridge between the Muslim world and the USA, said US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale, as the Obama government is taking major steps to that end.

She disclosed that there would be an entrepreneur summit in April this year in Washington, bringing young entrepreneurs from the Muslim world to create new access to business, while in March there would be a meeting of religious leaders in the US capital.

Besides, the new US government is trying to expand its education programme and access to English education, science and technology for those who are interested to avail of the scope.

“I think there are significant opportunities to work together and I am absolutely convinced that these are the issues that will strengthen both of our positions,” she said in an interview with UNB Monday.

Ms McHale, who came to Dhaka on a three-day official visit, said Bangladesh, given its moderate approach and philosophy of moderation, would be an increasingly important ally of the USA in the days ahead.

“During my stay here for couple of days and discussions, I focused on how we could actually work better together to address this very difficult issue,” she said about the task of rebuilding the ties.

Asked about any change in the situation after President Obama’s historic speech in Cairo last year, Ms McHale said, “Definitely, the Muslim community around the world has been encouraged by the speech, especially the young people who find a new opportunity to work together on variety of issues and building a bridge of knowledge and understanding.

“You know it is not easy; it’s hard to do, it’s hard to build new relationship. We’re working on new ways to reach out to the people,” she said, adding that the Obama administration is deeply committed to fulfilling all the words of the Cairo speech.”

Asked whether she discovered anything new here during her visit, Judith McHale said she has been struck by the way Bangladesh is growing with dynamism, economy and a sense of optimism and spirit of moving forward.

Obviously, she added, there are many significant challenges and people here seem to be optimistic about their future and ability to face those challenges.

Ms McHale was asked about any opportunity for Bangladesh to be an economic partner of the USA as US Congressmen recently termed Bangladesh a close ally of America. She retorted: “I am very encouraged to have the partnership between Bangladesh and the USA in many areas”.

And she appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s initiatives and commitment to democracy and the rule of law. Judith McHale also praised Sheikh Hasina’s recent visit to India setting up new agenda in the region.

Asked about the critical challenges for Bangladesh, the US foreign office functionary said education, food security, global health, climate change and counter-terrorism are the challenges which require all to work together to address.

She noted Bangladesh has potential of natural gas reserve that might be used to address the energy issue and provide new source of income.

Ms McHale said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government seem to be going down very good on the positive path. “So, there are exciting possibilities to strengthen ties between the two countries.”

Asked about Bangladesh’s long-running demand for duty-free access of its products to the US market, she said President Obama is very clear about the understanding of the international trade and he will continue to support this.

Education is the key infrustucture of a person- Nation.Only through the quality education a nation can be lead to the proper success.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday reaffirmed her government’s firm commitment to fulfil each of the rights of people including ensuring quality education for all.

“Our government has taken various pragmatic steps including imparting training to the teachers and providing quality textbooks to the students free of cost at primary and higher secondary levels,” she said while inaugurating the National Primary Education Week-2010 at Osmani Memorial Auditorium here.

Presided over by Primary and Mass Education Minister Dr Md Afsarul Amin, the function was also addressed by State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Md. Motahar Hossain, Secretary-in- charge of the ministry Abu Alam Md. Shahid Khan and Director General of the Department of Primary and Mass Education Shaymol Kanti Gosh.

The Prime Minister said her government has taken various measurers including providing textbooks and Tiffin free of cost in different schools and introduced school terminal examinations to stop drop out.

She expressed the hope that disparities in primary education would be removed along with raising competitiveness among the students with the introduction of school terminal examinations across the country.

Laying emphasis on increased number of quality teachers to raise the standard of education at school levels, she said considering this her government has already recruited more than 20,000 assistant teachers in primary schools while a process is underway to recruit 22,315 more primary teachers to this end.

Besides, she said, another process is on to appoint 1,000 headmasters at primary schools within this month.

About school curriculum and syllabus, she said the existing curriculum seems huge in terms of the age of students. She asked the authorities to reduce curriculum and syllabus at the school levels after consultation with all concerned and experts.

But, she regretted, the vital education sector was ignored during the last seven years, especially when the BNP- Jamaat clique was in power, taking no step to raise the quality of education and literacy rate in the country.

The Prime Minister said Father of the Nation and the greatest Bangali of all time Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman nationalized 36,165 primary schools and services of over 1.50 lakh primary school teachers in the war-ravaged Bangladesh as he thought that only quality education could help build Sonar Bangla.

Referring to providing textbooks free of cost among the primary and higher secondary students for the first time this year and at the beginning of new academic year, she said the previous governments could not reach textbooks to the students in such a smooth way and in time in the past.

In this context, The Prime Minister mentioned her personal feeling saying that she felt that education up to the degree level should be free of cost. “Although our government is now under pressure. We will take steps to make education up to the degree level free for all in future,” she added.

Sheikh Hasina said her government has made the highest allocation in the education sector and this trend would continue in future to ensure education for all.

“We have taken steps to fulfil our election pledges to ensure enrolment of all children in primary schools by 2011 and eradicating illiteracy from the country by 2014,” she said.

She said Bangladesh has achieved significant success in enrolment in primary schools so far while gender equality has been ensured in this regard.

Besides, she said, fresh programmes have been taken along with the existing ones in different areas to eradicate illiteracy from the country. “Special programmes has been taken for the remote, inaccessible and hilly areas to this end,” she added.

Calling upon all to supplement the government’s efforts to eradicate illiteracy from the country, Sheikh Hasina expressed the hope that her government would be able to reach its desired goal of building a digital Bangladesh if it gets support from the people.

Later, the Prime Minister handed over prizes and medals to the best teachers, best schools and the students who secured brilliant results in the last Primary School terminal Examination.

Students, who performed best in different extra-curricular activities at national levels competition, were also awarded in the function.

As the formal programme is over, an excellent cultural function was presented by the school students. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina witnessed the performances of the children.

Ministers, Advisers to the Prima Minister, representatives of diplomatic missions, academics and high civil and military officials were present on the occasion.

Quality improvement of Eductaion getting prior policy in Bangladesh. In current reviews and govt policy its clear that goverment is trying to bring a better education.
Member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communication Ministry Omar Faruque Chowdhury has underscored the need for quality improvement in education to take the nation ahead successfully.

He said there is no alternative to qualitative and quantitative education to transform the huge population into skilled human resources to take the nation towards the cherished goal of success in every spheres of life.

To attain the goal, he favored standard educational institutions equipped with modern learning tools side by side with maintaining quality education. He was addressing as the chief guest the 38th founding anniversary celebration of Talonda Lalit Mohan Degree College under Tanore upazila of the district yesterday.

Chaired by the college governing body president Abdur Razzaque, the ceremony was addressed, among others, by chairman of Barind Multipurpose Development Authority Nurul Islam Thandu, founder principal of the college Selim Uddin Kabiraj, former college inspector of Rajshahi Education Board Prof Shamsul Haque Quraishi, Tanore Upazila Chairman Emran Ali, UNO Mehedi-UL Shaheed, former principal of Tanore Abdul Karim Degree College Narayan Chandra Bishwas and former principal of Shahmukhdum Degree College Abdul Bari.

Lawmaker Faruque Chowdhury said the present educational system is gradually being commercialized due to promotion of massive coaching business which is unexpected for future of the learners and the nation as well.

“We have no alternative to reduce the dependence on coaching system to flourish the learners’ talents properly,” he said adding that the community people should be aware in this regard.

In this regard, he viewed that the students fail to attain success in various competitive examination due to largely dependence on coaching.
source :NNN-BSS

Education is the key factor to build up a human as well as Nation. To find out an ideal education policy through which the national eduction policy can produce Ideal Bangladeshi.
The education policy reflects the character of the state and the society, , the nation wants a unified, scientific and realistic policy, which will produce competent citizens as well as complete human beings.

Eminent citizens organised the roundtable titled ‘Education and Education Policy’ at the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh in the city.

Presiding over the roundtable, Justice Ghulam Rabbani said it is the education system, not religion, that can make a man rational, courageous, benevolent and selfless.

He urged all to work together to build a non-communal and democratic nation.

Noted academic Prof Serajul Islam Chowdhury said the nation wants a unified education system that will be free of discrimination, communalism and commercialisation.

People from the ethnic minorities and remotest areas should be entitled to the quota system, he added.

He also suggested providing subsidy to the poor students, minimising the financial gap between civil and military-run educational institutes, developing the curriculum and textbooks and increase the social status of the teachers.

Speaking as the chief guest, Rashed Khan Menon, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on education ministry, said the absence of an education policy since the independence gave birth to different education systems.

There was an attempt to incorporate different mediums into the mainstream in the proposed education policy, he said, adding that, “Implementation of the policy can be started from January 1 next year as we had said that the policy would be implemented in phases.”

“We could not yet implement the universal, people-oriented, democratic and non-communal education system as stated in the constitution, but the new policy is indeed a good start,” he said.

Prof Anu Muhammad of Jahangirnagar University said the education system has been commercialised which needs to be addressed immediately.

Many of the speakers, however, raised questions about the educational expenses and methods of the cadet colleges arguing that the draft education policy does not say anything about cadet colleges.

Prof Yasmin Haque of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) said the expenditure being spent on the students of cadet colleges is 40 times higher than the students of public universities.

Prof M Shamsul Alam of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (Cuet) presented a keynote paper while Kabery Gayen and Prof Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque of Dhaka University (DU), Prof Shamsuddin Illyas of Rajshahi University, Prof Sushanta Kumar Das, Prof Rezai Karim Khandaker and Prof Tulsi Kumar Das of SUST, Dr Nazrul Islam, president of technical education sub-committee of National Education Policy-2000, Shyamol Kanti Ghosh, director general of Directorate of Primary Education, and Khandaker Asaduzzaman of Anti-Corruption Commission also spoke.
Prof Chowdhury demanded a unified, psychological and scientific education system and said that the mainstream education system should be strengthened.

Different quota systems should also be revoked, he said.

The national education committee has proposed an eight-year primary education. It has made English and religion & ethics compulsory from the third grade.

The draft recommends identical education system and syllabus for selected subjects at the primary level across the country to promote a fair education system. At the same time it mentions secularity.

Among compulsory subjects are Bangla, ethics, Bangladesh studies, mathematics, natural and social environments that includes climate change and IT & science.

The proposed policy aims at coordinating primary education delivered at government and non-government primary schools, kindergartens, madrasas and NGO-run schools. Besides the selected subjects other subjects can be inserted.

The government has said that the new education policy would become effective from January next.

Obstacle to higher education
RECENT media reports indicate, academics have identified weakness in English is a ‘major barrier’ to higher education in the country and have called for effective government initiatives to overcome the problem. Specifically, they pointed out that lack of proficiency in English among teachers and students have restricted themselves to cope with the rapid developments in the arena of knowledge. What is important for higher education is to have English education properly and effectively at pre-university level for acquiring knowledge. But students with very poor knowledge of English are coming to the universities. English knowledge is important also for employment abroad.

The government and the University Grants Commission have scopes to play effective roles to remove the weakness in English which is an appropriate medium of interaction worldwide. There are problems with English as a medium in higher education as more than 70 per cent of the university students in Bangladesh answer to questions in Bangla at their examinations although the texts are in English. The government should take initiatives to formulate a coordinated higher education policy for at least a decade or two to impart need-based education to the students as part of strategies for planned development of human resources.

Despite increased budgetary allocation for education, for updating education quality, curriculum and teaching, higher education here remains deprived of the increased allocation. Though the number of government and private universities and colleges has been steadily increasing, the rate of completion of courses is still very low. A combination of factors is related to the problems of high dropout rates at the college and university levels. They include poverty, according to academics as because higher education costs as high as $400 per year. Yet educated unemployment continues to rise.

suorce : daily starPrime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said now with the return of democracy Bangladesh is ready to face all the challenges on the way to peace, progress and prosperity.

The prime minister termed education as ‘important tool’ and said, “Bangladesh is set to eradicate poverty, ensure food security, secure social safety net, climate extremism and face the impact of climate change”.

She was addressing the 23rd convocation of Islamic University of Technology (IUT) in Gazipur, ATN Bangla reports.

The prime minister said Bangladesh will sit to work closely with the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), IUT and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in establishing the institute as a center of academic excellence.

Bangladesh believes education is the key to developing and progressing the country, she said.

OIC Secretary General Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu also attended the programme