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The University of Dhaka is planning to increase cultural activities on the campus with the introduction of competitions in performing and visual arts.
   The university administration has found that many cultural organisations have become inactive or have failed to carry on with their activities.
   “The university is planning a promotion of the organisations that have performed better than others,” Professor AHM Mustafizur Rahman, adviser to the Teachers-Students Centre told New Age Tuesday.
   A competition may be launched to judge the performances of the organisations and awards will be given for the best performer, he said.
   “The authorities are planning to review space allocation for the organisations at the centre. There are some letterhead-only organisations. There are some who are engaged in rehearsal at the places allocated for such organisations,” he said.
   The authorities have prepared a list of the cultural organisations that occupy spaces at the centre without any activities.
   Such organisations will be asked to justify their occupation of the spaces within a month, sources in the administration said.
   Professor Mustafiz, recently appointed adviser to the centre, said no decision of allowing the organisations to continue at the centre had yet been made. “But the authorities will evaluate their performance.”
   “It needs to be done as the centre has limited space; but about 50 organisations are willing to use the centre. Spaces should be allocated based on the performance,” he said.
   “The centre was once the symbol of excellence of teachers and students. We fail to retain the image. I will try to relive the past glory,” he said.
   The area once remained crowded with performers doing rehearsals, he said. “But those days are gone and now even the auditorium remains empty for days.”
   The organisations used to conduct rehearsals of dance, drama, music and recitation. But the trend is on the wane after the students upsurge of 1990.
   Very few organisations now continue cultural activities at the place. There are some who run political programmes in the name of cultural activities, said an official of the centre administration.
   A number of organisations were not allowed to continue with such activities at the place, he said, especially after 1996 and after 2001.
   The pro-BNP organisations have been barred from conducting their activities at the place since 1996 and the pro-Awami League organisations since October 1, 2001.
   The single opposition leaning alliance, Sammilita Sangskritik Jote, has an office beside the toilets of the centre, which remains closed most of the time except in December, February and March.
   There will also be more book and stationary shops at the centre. It also houses the university’s cyber centre.

The National Book Centre will begin the 11th Dhaka Book Fair 2005 on the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy premises on January 1.
   The prime minister, Khaleda Zia, is expected to open the 15-day book fair.
   One hundred local publishers collected entry forms from the book centre, said the officials of the centre.
   The 2003 fair had 150 participants; the figure was 110 in the 2004 fair. The centre has set a rule that publishes with at 10 new titles in the past year will be allowed to join the event.
   The Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the centre will sponsor the event, said the centre’s assistant director, Manik Mahmud.
   The director, Ahmed Musa, said the government had decided to shift the fair from the Bangladesh–China Friendship Conference Centre to the Shilpakala Academy “as the location of conference centre is not convenient.”
   The entry fee to the fair will be Tk 2 a person; students accompanied by their teachers will have a free entry.
   People will be able to buy books on a 20 per cent discount at the fair, the organisers said.
   A souvenir will be published in addition to a special issue of the centre’s magazine, named Boi. A commemorative stamp will be printed marking the fair.
   The fair will remain open between 2:00pm and 9:00pm on weekdays and 11:00am to 9:00pm at weekends.

In a typical Bangladesh society, where discussion on sex and sexuality remains a taboo, it was nice to see some adolescents in Sylhet and Moulavibazar talking about reproductive health and safe sex.
   They discussed reproductive health, safe sex, sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, pregnancy, and other such issues of gender sensitive behaviour in a programme of the Reproductive Health Initiative for Youth in Asia.
   The European Commission and the UNFPA initiated the reproductive health initiative scheme in Sylhet, about 264km north-east of Dhaka, and Moulavibazar, about 293km north-east, and 22 other districts to build awareness among the adolescent.
   The members of the target groups are mostly poor, living in slums, many of whom have dropped out of schools to fight against poverty.
   Many of them have learnt about the consequence of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and they know how to avoid contraction of the disease.
   A 17-year-old girl, Rozina, a resident of Kumarpara in Sylhet, said, “I got scared at the onset of menstruation. I did not tell anybody anything about it. Later I managed to have a rough idea of the matter. I felt shy to ask anyone.”
   “The health educators now have taught me everything. Now I know I need to keep myself clean during the period,” said Rozina, who joined the programme two months ago. She does not feel shy any more and is ready to teach her fellows.
   Physicians say many young girls suffer from irregular menstruation, which might lead to infertility.
   A UNFPA study said the adolescent and the young people account for about 32 per cent of the Bangladesh population. And a 41 per cent of them are aged below 15, the highest in the SAARC region.
   “We are learning this to lead a better life,” said Jamal Mia, 14-year-old, of Chowkidekhi. “I heard about AIDS. But I felt shy to ask my parents about it.”
   Nazma, a resident of Moulavibazar, said, “People should use condoms not to contract any sexually transmitted diseases.”
   Before joining the programme, she did not know that AIDS can spread through the use of syringe.
   Sylhet, like many other districts, is also vulnerable to an AIDS epidemic. The health educations said the prevalence is growing because of an increased cross-border movement. Many residents of Sylhet live abroad, which might also be threatening, they feared.
   There is no specific data on the prevalence of HIV infection in Sylhet. But an estimate puts the figure between 200 and 300. What is encouraging is that young people are joining the programme to spread the message of prevention.
   The Sylhet Red Crescent Society project coordinator, Dr Farida Yasmen, said, “A willing society is the key to success for such programmes. We faced troubles initially to reach the adolescent. Parents were unwilling and blamed us for spoiling their children.”
   “We begin with meeting the families. Once we convince them, we go ahead with the children,” she said.
   She said the young people are curious and experiment with sexuality in their age group, which makes them vulnerable to exploitation, unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. “Now parents send their children to the programme on their own.”
   Kasirunnessa, 37-year-old, of Chowkidekhi, allows her children to join the programme. “In your young days, we suffered. The subject is still a taboo in society. But people’s mentality should be changed,” she said.
   Life has changed for 17-year-old Molly, who has been attending the health education programme. “I knew girls should not get married before 18. Now I know the risk factors.”
   The Red Crescent Society has been working with the project in Sylhet aiming about 4,500 young people as direct beneficiaries and 9,000 as indirect beneficiaries.
   Marie Stopes Clinic Society in Moulavibazar has been working with the project, aiming to train about 3,500 young people.
   “People in Moulavibazar are conservative. We needed to move carefully before approaching the families,” said Aminuzzaman, a peer educator.
   “We first had meetings with the community leaders and then organised cultural activities to attract boys and girls,” he said.
   A local NGO named Unnayan Sahayak Sangstha has also been implementing the project in Moulavibazar with support from the UNFPA and the Save the Children.
   The Sangstha project coordinator, Md Asaduzzaman, said 2,346 people had so far been trained. The target is to train 4,099 young men.
   The programmes, however, face a setback. The peer educators said the trainers did not continue for long as the service is voluntary.
   “There should be some incentives for the trainers,” said Ibrahim Shaheed, a peer education at Kumarpara.
   The project began in September 2003 and is expected to continue till December 2005. The boys and girls of the districts said the project should continue further.

The 100 feet wide road going by the Sir AF Rahman Hall of the University of Dhaka became only 20 feet wide Monday evening, as the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, of the ruling BNP, put up a platform on the road for the conference of its hall unit.
   The leaders of the hall unit Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal set the platform for the conference scheduled for Tuesday evening, closing the Teachers-Students Centre–Nilkhet Road. There is a large playground beside the hall.
   The Chhatra Dal leaders did not bother to take permission from any authorities. “It is the programme of our hall and we build the stage in front of the hall like other hall units,” said a member of the outgoing committee.
   Asked about the playground, he said the ground belongs to the Mohsin Hall. “Why should we use the ground?” he said.
   Vehicles to New Market from the city’s south and east moved in a tailback after Monday evening when the workers began to build the platform.
   The minister for health and family welfare, Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, is chief guest of the conference.
   The Chhatra Dal top brass and some ruling party lawmakers are also invited. A concert by different rock groups will be staged.
   The conferences of the hall units of the Chhatra Dal began on December 2 at a big budget. Each of the hall units was spending more than Tk 1 lakh for the programmes.
   A large programme is a prestige symbol of the outgoing leaders of the units, insiders said.

Freedom fighter Sitara Begum, honoured with the gallantry award Bir Pratik after three decades of the independence war, said she started introducing herself as a freedom fighter only after receiving the award.
   She said this, speaking with newsmen at the BMA Bhaban Monday evening, after the Bangladesh Medical Association had accorded a reception to her at the National Press Club in Dhaka after noon.
   She said her brother, Colonel Haider, inspired her to join the war. Haider was killed in military coup in 1975.
   After the war, she said, her family hardly mentioned their identity as freedom fighter in fear of political problems.
   “My father asked us to do so and after my brother’s killing, I decided not to come back to Bangladesh,” said Sitara.
   Sitara has been living in the United States with her family since 1973. She is now visiting Bangladesh with her husband, Abidur Rahman, heading a doctors’ team of an international organisation, the Physicians for Peace.
   Sitara was in charge of the Bisramganj Hospital in Tripura, India during the latter part of the independence war.
   Talking about Taramon Bibi Bir Pratik, Sitara said, “Taramon’s fight was really graceful. She fought the battle with arms in hand.”

The Dhaka University Teachers’ Association Tuesday paid tribute to its six outgoing colleagues for their lifelong contribution to the university and spreading education.
   The association accorded a reception to Professor Syed Giasuddin Ahmed of public administration, Professor Ayubur Rahman Bhuiyan of economics, Professor Sultana Banu of psychology, Professor Nazir Ahmed of Arabic, Professor Mohammad Maniruz-zaman of Bangla and Professor Talukder Maniruz-zaman of political science in the Teachers-Students Centre auditorium.
   Ailing Professor Mohammad Maniruzzaman and Professor Talukder Maniruzzaman could not attend the function.
   The vice-chancellor, SMA Faiz, pro-vice-chancellor AFM Yusuf Haider, and treasurer Syed Rashidul Hasan addressed the function, chaired by the association president, Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique.
   All the teachers were awarded a crest and a citation.

Three were killed and another was injured in a road accident on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway at the City Gate in the Pahartali police area in Chittagong Tuesday morning.
   The dead were identified as Nurul Islam, 15, Sagar, 25, and Nizam, 20. The injured could not be immediately named.
   The accident took place when a Chittagong-bound bus knocked down a rickshaw from behind, the police said.
   The rickshaw puller, Nizam, and the passengers died on the spot. The inured was a pedestrian.

Lawmakers discuss health monitoring
The Development Organisation for the Rural Poor, a nongovernmental organisation, on Monday held a discussion on “health services monitoring project in the poverty reduction strategy paper”. Lawmakers M Shahidul Islam, Rahmat Ali, TIM Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury and ABM Ashrafuddin Nijan took part. The lawmakers suggested regular meeting of the upazila health advisory committees and monitoring their budgets.

Bus robbery
Robbers took away goods and cash worth Tk 2 lakh from two buses at Pukuria in Faridpur on the Barisal-Dhaka Highway at 3:15am on Tuesday. Passengers and officials of the buses said the robbers tried to loot other buses but fled when the passengers challenged them. No case was lodged till Tuesday evening.

DU English dept alumni get-together
The English Department Alumni Society of the University of Dhaka will hold its get-together between 3:00pm and 8:00pm on January 6 at the department. Registration fee, including the annual membership fee, for the get-together is Tk 300 for each alumnus and Tk 200 for each accompanying guest. For registration and information, the alumni are requested to contact the department on or before December 30 on PABX: 9661920-59, ext 4260.

AIUB discussion
with education
state minister
The American International University Bangladesh on Tuesday organised an open discussion with the State Minister for Education, ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon. Miloninaugurated the discussion on “education system of Bangladesh: present and future” at the auditorium of the university in the city. The university’s vice-chancellor, Karmen Z Lamagna, founding chairman Anowarul Abedin, pro-vice-chancellor Dr T Hossain, founding director Hasanul A Hasan, Begum Nadia Anowar and business faculty dean Dr Anowar Hossain were present.

World Bank team meets UGC chair
A three-member delegation headed by the principal education specialist, education sector, South Asia region of the World Bank, Hena Mukherjee, met the chairman of the University Grants Commission, Professor M Asaduzzaman, at his office on Monday. The team included the education specialist, human development, South Asia region, Scherezad J Monami Latif, and consultant, John Feilden. The UGC chairman briefed them on activities of the commission.

Zonta governor leaves for Luknow
The governor of the Zonta International Dist 25, Dilruba Ahmed, leaves for Luknow in India to attend the fifth International Global Symposium on “world democracy and world parliament” between December 9 and 13. She will attend as special representative of the president of the Zonta International and present a paper on “human rights”.
— New Age