Main Page «
Front Page «
Business «
International «
Sports «
National «
Editorial «
Op-Ed «
Home «
Timeout «
Letters «

Archive «
Launch Supplement «
Special Supplements «

The education boards have started issuing letters to the city corporation ward commissioners asking them to list the English medium schools in their respective areas as part of a decision to bring them under government regulations.
   The decision taken at a March 5 coordination meeting of the education ministry also decided to go for advertisements in print and in electronic media detailing the necessity of registration of the English medium schools, sources at the ministry and education boards told New Age.
   The meeting also detailed the way the English medium schools will take registration with the concerned government organisations, they added.
   ‘Chairmen of the eight general education boards have been asked to carry out the decisions as early as possible,’ a ministry official said.
   There are hundreds of kindergartens, including cadet madrassahs, and English medium schools across the country and some of the schools offering O-Level and A-Level courses under the University of Cambridge and the University of London, but most of them have no registration with the Bangladesh government.
   None of the government bodies is aware of the number of schools offering courses from pre-schooling to A-Levels.
   The schools, mostly housed in residential areas, have neither a unified curricula nor they have any teacher recruitment policy.
   Allegations are also there that these schools realise tuition fees from the students at whimsically fixed rates.
   ‘The ward commissioners of the Dhaka City Corporation have been served with letters on March 22 where they were asked to find out the English medium schools in their respective areas and sent it to the board as quickly as possible,’ said Professor Md Monirul Islam, chairman of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka.
   Advertisements in newspapers will also be published by this week, he said on Monday.
   The ministry in August 2004 asked the unauthorised kindergartens and English medium schools to get registered themselves under the Registration of Private School (Amendment) Act 1989 and the Non-Government School (English Medium) Registration Regulations 1999, but only 135 schools got registered till February 2007.

Around two lakh mobile phone users in the city’s three DOHS areas have been facing problem for making and receiving calls since Sunday as five operators shut down their base stations following an order from the Dhaka cantonment.
   The authorities concerned earlier asked the house owners of defence officers’ housing estate — Banani, Mohakhali and Baridhara— to remove mobile phone network equipment from the rooftops by March 31 or to face the music.
   The house owners later conveyed the order to the mobile operators to whom they had rented out the rooftops for installation of the base stations.
   Accordingly, one base station of Teletalk, nine of Grameenphone and five of Aktel, Banglalink and CityCell each in the DOHS areas were switched off Sunday morning.
   A letter, signed by the chief executive officer of the cantonment board, however, did not mention any reason for the removal of the base stations.
   Residents living around the edges of DOHS areas, however, are receiving very weak signal as they receive mobile phone coverage from the base stations that are installed nearby outside locations.
   ‘The cantonment board recently issued a directive to the house owners in the three DOHS area which had rooftop base stations to remove them within March 31. GP shut down its base stations from April 1,’ said Grameenphone’s information general manager Syed Yamin Bakht on Monday.
   Consequently, some subscribers in and around the areas went out of coverage while others receive weak signal which was resulting in drop call, he added. ‘We are looking into the way to cover the area,’ Yamin said.

Operators increased bus fares on different routes in the Khulna city following fuel price hike.
   The government on Monday increased the price of petrol from Tk 56 to Tk 65 per litre while octane from Tk 58 to Tk 67 and that of diesel and kerosene from Tk 33 to Tk 40 per litre.
   Bus conductors and passengers are locking into altercation on different city routes following sudden increase in transport fares, some passengers said.
   The tempo fares on Phultala-Daulatpur, Daulatpur-Dakbungalow, Ferryghat-Rupsha, Rupsha-Khalishpur, KDA bus terminal-Rupsha, KDA bus terminal- Daulatpur increased by Tk 3-Tk 4.
   A tempo driver Md Abbas Ali told New Age on Monday afternoon that they had increased the fares by Tk 2 due to fuel price hike.
   Syed Mahmud Hasan, a banker, said a five-seat tempo can run 12 kilometres with one litre of petrol, but the fares for six kilometres increased by Tk 2 per head.
   Petrol price increased by Tk 9 per litre, but tempo drivers have been charging much higher, he added.
   Nagar Paribahan running on Phultala-Rupsha route has also increased fares by Tk 3 per head.
   A college student, Tushar Kanti Das, said he had to pay Tk 5 for travelling six kilometres from Daulatpur instead of Tk 4 only a day back.

Experts at a discussion meet urged the government to implement the National Silk Policy 2005 to avert the crisis in the industry.
   They pointed out the leadership crisis and lack of modern technology as premier causes which pushed industry back.
   The experts said these while speaking at a daylong seminar on ‘Silk Industry Crisis and its Remedy’ organised by local no-governmental organisation the Barendra Unnyan Prochesta supported by Action Aid, Bangladesh at GDRC on Sunday.
   Private silk industry owners, traders, Bangladesh Sericulture Board officials, farmers and journalists took part in the seminar.
   Bangladesh Silk Industry Association president Merajul Alam said against the total demand of 300 tonnes of silk yearn a year, the local farmers could supply only 40 to 50 tonnes and the quality of those are not satisfactory because of using primitive method of weaving and reeling.
   If government extended support to the neglected industry, within 2015 we could be able export huge silk, he said.
   Bangladesh Sericulture Owners Association general secretary Monjur Faruque Chowdhury said government should cut all taxes on import of silk yearn and increase power subsidy.
   The Rajshahi Sericulture Board extension official Abdul Majid said, the board had proposed around Tk 65 crore to boost up farmers and start farming again.
   Keynote paper was presented by journalist Anwarul Alam Fatik. The speakers urged the government to bring back the glory of the industry, putting the silk farmers and professionals back to work.

Law, justice and information adviser Mainul Husain said the industrial wastes continued to contaminate the water of the country’s rivers, cashing in on the nonchalance of the past governments in this regard.
   ‘The present government has taken different initiatives to prevent the water pollution caused by unrestricted dumping of industrial wastes and chemicals in the country’s water bodies, he said.
   He said this while addressing the inaugural function of a 4-day seminar ‘international conference and exhibition on water and waste water treatment’ organised by the Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science Department of the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet on Sunday.
   ‘So we should have to find out new water sources alongside trying to keep stable the underground water level in the country,’ adviser to the interim government said, adding that it would be helpful to meet the increasing water demand in the country, if we had become able to preserve the floodwater.
   Chaired by SUST vice-chancellor M Aminul Islam, the inaugural function was addressed by, among others, Sylhet city corporation mayor Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran, trustee counsellor of the European Union, Anthony Goodin, chairman of the University Grant Commission Professor M Asaduzzaman, head of the Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science, Professor Zaynal Abedeen and treasurer of the university Professor Shamsul Huda.
   Aminul Islam said the authorities concerned should bring the water pollution down to a tolerable level through treating the industrial wastes and used water of the cities.
   Professor J Hoinkis of Germany, E Deroli of Italy, Langlang Huyan of China and M Akhtarul Islam of SUST, jointly presented the keynote at the conference.

Speakers at a function on Monday said the relationship between architecture and religion is inseparable anywhere in the world, be it Germany or Bangladesh.
   They made the observation at the inaugural function of the second series of lectures, film shows and exhibitions of architectural works on religion in Germany and Bangladesh, organised by the Goethe-Institute, Dhaka at the institute auditorium.
   Dr Enamul Haque of The International Centre for Study of Bengal Arts said though Bangladesh is a poor country, its architecture is very rich having heritage of thousands of years.
   One can find interpretation of ideas based on religion as well as local tradition in architectural sites of Bangladesh, he added.
   Relating religion with architect, programme officer of the Goethe-Institute, Shaheen Rashid quoted a poem of
   13th century written by Ibn Al Arabi.
   The poem reads, ‘My heart has become capable of holding all forms, it is a meadow for Gazeles and Monastery for the Christian monk, a temple for idols, the pilgrim’s Kaba, the table of the law and the book of Koran, I profess the religion of love And whatever direction its steed may take, Love is my religion, my faith.’
   Among others, eminent architects Saif Ul Haque and Marina Tabassum spoke at the function.
   Apart from Monday’s one, series of lectures and films focusing on contemporary and historic issues related to architecture and religion will be held on April 3, 4 and 5. The exhibition will continue till April 12.
   Film shows will also take place in the evening everyday till Thursday. These include My Architecture (2004, USA) of Nathaniel Kahn, In The Spirit of the Middle Ages (1985, Germany) of Inter Nations Movie; North German Brick Gothic (2000, Germany), Stone Age-The Eternal Construction of Site of Cologne Cathedral (1998 Germany); Once Upon A time of Enamul Karim Nirjhar (2004, Bangladesh) and The Architect of Enamul Karim Nirjhar (2005, Bangladesh).
   This is a part of travelling exhibitions, which are being shown in different countries worldwide. This is for the South-Asian region that includes Goethe-Institutes in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
   Goeth-Institute, Dhaka received the resources for the exhibition from Goethe-Institute, Sri Lanka after it had shown there.
   The exhibition was first held in Karachi, Pakistan in January 2007, then to Colombo, Sri Lanka and now in Dhaka. It will later be held in Chennai, India.
   The first one of the series, titled ‘Architecture and Ecology’ took place at Goethe-Institute, Dhaka in 2005.

Former BNP lawmaker from Rajshahi-4 constituency Nadim Mostofa was on Monday sued on charge of cheating a jobseeker.
   One Moksed Ali of village Bhallukgachhi filed the case with the Puthia police. Promising him the job of a teacher in Durgapur Degree College, Nadim took Tk 1 lakh from Moksed as donation, but he (Nadim) neither gave him the job nor had he refunded the money, the police said Moksed.

The authorities of the Square Pharmaceuticals donated bird flu medicine ‘Aviflu’ to the government at a ceremony at Square Hospitals in Dhaka on Monday.
   The chairman of Square Group, Samson H Chowdhury handed over ‘Aviflu’ to cover the treatment of 200 patients to the Health and Family Welfare Adviser, Dr ASM Matiur Rahman in a donation ceremony as part of their corporate social responsibility programme.
   The fisheries and livestock adviser, Dr Chowdhury Sajjadul Karim, was also present at the programme as special guest.
   Among others, renowned avian flu experts were also present at the ceremony.
   The pharmaceutical company is manufacturing the World Health Organisation recommended bird flu preventive and curative medicine ‘Aviflu’. The Square pharma is producing different kinds of drugs for the last 50 years.

Activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League and Islam-e-Chhatra Shibir clashed at the Sylhet Government College Monday morning, leaving two of them injured.
   The police said the clash had ensued at about 10:30am following an altercation between BCL activist Aminul Islam Sagor and Shibir activist Asad Ahmed.
   Sagor and Asad were injured in the clash. Sagor was admitted to a clinic in the city while Asad to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital.
   The Kotwali police brought the situation under control and picked up eight students from a classroom.
   Although the police claimed that the arrestees were BCL activists and involved with the melee, students said the teachers had kept them in the room to save them during the clash.

Rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporarily gusty or squally wing is likely to occur at a few places over Sylhet division and at one or two places over Dhaka and Rajshahi and the regions Jessore, Kushtia, Comilla, Noakhali and Barisal during the 24-hour period till 6:00pm today, the Met Office forecasted on Monday.
   Weather may remain mainly dry with partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country.
   Mild to moderate heat wave is sweeping Khulna division and the regions of Faridpur, Rajshahi, Ishurdi and Bogra and it may continue, predicted the Met Office.
   The day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country. The country’s highest temperature on Monday, 40.0 degrees Celsius, was recorded at Ishurdi and the lowest, 21.4 degrees Celsius, at Teknaf.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 6:15pm and rises tomorrow at 5:48am.

Renowned writer Syed Shamsul Haq and writer Hamim Kamrul Haq have been selected respectively for the ‘Kagoj Sahitya Purashkar 2007’ and ‘Kagoj Tarun Katha Sahitya Purashkar 2007’ for their devotions in literature.
   Bengali daily Ajker Kagoj will give the awards and the awardees will be presented crests, cash and certificates at the founding anniversary function of the daily to be held at a city hotel on April 5.
   Syed Shamsul Haq will receive Tk 1 lakh while Kamrul Haq Tk 25,000 alongside crests and certificates, said a press release on Monday.

The 28th death anniversary of late Sayed Mahbub Murshed, who was a Chief Justice and eminent jurist of the country, will be observed today.
   On this occasion, a milad mahfil will be held at the residence of late Justice Murshed.
   A Quran khwani will be held at the majar of late Murshid, said a press release. Sayed Mahbub Murshed Memorial Committee will lay floral wreaths at his majar.
   Various socio-cultural organisations chalked out different programmes, including discussion meetings highlighting the life and achievements of late Murshed.

Jannatul Naima, a student of Class VIII of Islambag Madrassah, Dhaka, who has been suffering from serious heart problem for three years, has requested all to contribute to her treatment.
   As the condition of the 15-year girl is deteriorating day by day, she needs better treatment, but it is not possible for her father, a muazzin of Hamid Line Quarter mosque in Chittagong Cantonment, to continue her treatment, which needs about Tk 3 lakh.
   Kind hearted persons have been requested to send their contribution to the account of her father (Md Abdul Wakil), No 02139903 at Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, Chittagong Shopping Complex branch, CDA Avenue, Chittagong.

Five female drug traffickers held in Narayanganj
The DB police in Narayanganj Monday arrested five female drug traffickers along with 65 bottles of phensidyl at Madanpur bus stand in Bandar area of Narayangnaj. Tipped off, the police searched Monwara Begum, Momina Begum, Jotsna Begum, Majeda Begum, and Jotsna Begum (II) and seized the drug. The police said they had been carrying out drug trafficking for long.
— BSS

Anti-corruption cartoon exhibition begins in Ctg
A three-day exhibition on anti-corruption cartoons began at the Alliance Francaise gallery in the Chittagong city on Monday. Artist Professor Abul Mansur inaugurated as chief guest the exhibition organised by the Transparency International of Bangladesh. Artist Dhali Al Mamun and women leader Mostari Shafi were present as special guests at the inaugural function held in the afternoon. As many as 49 anti-corruption cartoons by different cartoonists have been put on display. The exhibition will remain open for public from 10:00am to 5:00pm till Wednesday.
— New Age