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BLOWIN' IN THE WIND

Shamsad Mortuza

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND

Dr Shamsad Mortuza is the vice-chancellor of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB).

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We must carry Shahed’s fight against corruption forward

5 September 2026
There are reasons to be both sad and hopeful about Shahed Sharif Ahmed.
5 September 2026
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Nine years on, the Rohingya still don't have a safe road home

29 August 2026
August 25 was observed as the “Ninth Anniversary of Rohingya Genocide Day” in the camps of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.
29 August 2026
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Personal preferences should not become public restrictions

22 August 2026
Death could not seal the controversies for Jason Arday.
22 August 2026
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Research should be about pursuing knowledge, not publication numbers

15 August 2026
Earlier this month, a national daily reported that at least 325 academic papers published by Bangladeshi researchers in international journals published between 2019 and 2026 had been retracted due to various irregularities, including plagiarism.
15 August 2026
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The fine line between moral courage and entitlement

8 August 2026
It is unfortunate that we are seeing a culture where moral power is exercised arbitrarily, where accusation precedes evidence and power precedes procedure.
8 August 2026
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When waiting in line for subsidised food turns deadly

1 August 2026
Because they could not step away from death, death stepped in for them (apologies to Emily Dickinson)
1 August 2026
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Before Bangladesh adds a third language, it needs the right language policy

25 July 2026
Last month, the prime minister told parliament that his government was planning to introduce courses on a third language from Class 6.
25 July 2026
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What the protest by HSC candidates tells us

18 July 2026
There is a danger of reducing the protest surrounding this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations to youthful resentment.
18 July 2026
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Never waste a good crisis

One more circular. One more extension. The opening of the educational institutions is further delayed; this time up to December 19.
13 November 2020
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An Unnatural Death

Have you ever put your ear to the rail to listen to the rumbling sound of an approaching train? I have. Many of us have.
23 October 2020
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HSC results without exams: The pros and cons

You have near perfect vision, or 20/20 vision, if you can see the letters of an eye-chart from a 20 feet distance. 20/20 is an exciting cricket game if you can add two ounces of cricket with one ounce of baseball and garnish it with pom-poms.
9 October 2020
Corruption

A game of kabadi against corruption

As the old joke has it, there is no lid in the mouth of hell where the Bengalis are kept.
25 September 2020
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No onion, no cry

In his Ode to the Onion, the Chilean Nobel laureate poet Pablo Neruda praises onions as “the miracle” that happens under the earth.
18 September 2020
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A Corpse of Love Doesn’t Sink in Water

The title alludes to a very famous folk song by Abdul Alim, Premer Mora Jole Dobe Na. The song pits true love against so-called flings, suggesting that mere water cannot drown the “body” who is in love.
11 September 2020
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Rage, rage against the ragging in the campus

English professors are known for being sticklers for rules. Even if I try to disassociate myself from the grammar Nazis, there are times when I have to wonder about the usage of certain words.
4 September 2020
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Losing a Loved One: When Doves Cry

“And my last ask is: if you’re someone’s sister, the next time you see your brother, please hug him… as tightly as you can, for as long as you want, because that’s all I want to do every time I see those photos. But I will never be able to hug Fahim again.”
21 August 2020
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He gave to Mis’ry all he had, a tear

Attending the peace summit on the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of Nelson Mandela in 2018, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina quoted both Nelson Mandela and our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
14 August 2020
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Fostering a research culture in higher education

In an op-ed published on July 27, Prof Syed Saad Andaleeb reviewed the DU annual budget and argued that the dearth of funding should not be blamed for the lack of research.
30 July 2020
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Sacrifice and the Sacred

Cross border cattle smuggling prior to Eid-ul-Adha is an irritant that keeps officials in both Bangladesh and India nervy.
24 July 2020
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Counting of Crows

During his regular stroll in the palace garden, Emperor Akbar once saw many crows flying around. He asked his minister, “How many crows are there in our kingdom, Birbal?”
17 July 2020
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Necessary sacrifices, unnecessary thoughts

The coronavirus crisis posed serious threats to the global stock markets.
10 July 2020
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A hitchhiker’s guide to our educational galaxy

Let’s admit it: our education today is in crisis. And it was in crisis even before the pandemic was here. The pandemic has exposed the skeletons we have been hiding in the open for a long time.
3 July 2020
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Doctor, doctor, what is wrong with us?

There was a broken black chair by the window near the gate. On it there was a thin plastic bag containing some mixed up rice, daal, and probably vegetables or curry.
26 June 2020
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Time to rethink our examinations

Uncertainties loom large over the holding of Higher Secondary Certificates (HSC) and its equivalent exams.
19 June 2020
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The Cost of Education

I had a senior colleague at Jahangirnagar University who was known to his students at the Pharmacy Department as an eccentric genius.
12 June 2020
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Breathe, Breathe in the Air

The Amazon rainforest, spread over 2.1 million square miles, is dubbed as the “lungs of the planet” as it produces 20 percent of the oxygen in our planet’s atmosphere.
5 June 2020

The double piston of love and fear

His visiting card had two office addresses: one in Scotland and the other in Estonia. There was nothing wrong with it, but the architect who just shared his card explained the oddity.
29 May 2020
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From blackboard to black mirror: Making teaching great again

Online teaching, at its best, can create a learning environment to ensure transference of knowledge. However, I am not sure if technology and innovations have reached that point to replace the tribal needs of human interactions that define the complex teacher-student relationship in a physical classroom.
22 May 2020

Pagination

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