BULLETIN BOARD

17th Convocation  of North South University

The 17th Convocation of North South University (NSU) took place on March 6, 2014 at the Convocation Plaza at its campus. Chancellor of NSU, President Md. Abdul Hamid conferred degrees to graduating students. Education Minister, Nurul Islam Nahid, attended the ceremony as special guest, while Cynthia Ann McKinney, former Congresswoman, USA was present as the convocation speaker. UGC Chairman, Professor Dr. A.K. Azad Chowdhury; NSU Vice Chancellor, Professor Amin U. Sarkar; NSU Board of Trustees Chairman, Ragib Ali, also delivered speeches at the programme.
The Board of Trustees Chairman, in his speech, said, “The university has made substantial progress since its inception in 1993 with three departments and 137 students. Today, we have 16,000 students in 16 departments running under four schools.” The President stressed the importance of preparing students with “education for their professions and acquiring higher knowledge.” He added that “education does not only mean economic and social development it also means developing students intellectually.”  
Convocation speaker, Cynthia McKinney said, “I hope you have learned to think critically; you have been exposed to the needs of society -- both local and international. When you speak, your argument must be incisive, well-reasoned, committed, impassioned.” McKinney said to the students, “North South University has given you preparations for life. One day, one of you might even become the leader of this country and you'll make a difference, too, because you will govern with your heart.”
NSU Vice Chancellor said, “Recently the university has raised faculty salaries and modified teaching load so that they can devote more time to research and students' learning.” Dr. Sarkar further said, “While we enjoy full approval of UGC, to enhance educational quality, we are preparing ourselves for both institutional and programme accreditation by the accrediting bodies recognised by the U.S. Commission of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Currently, we meet 18 of the 22 eligibility requirements of the Middle States Commission for Higher Education, one of the six American bodies, for accreditation of the university as a whole.”

Survey on Parents of English Medium School Students

Cardiff International School Dhaka (CISD) conducted a survey among the parents of English medium school students with the help of Let's Live, a voluntary organisation of students from different English medium schools of Bangladesh. The survey aimed to find the ground realities regarding the participation of parents as part of the democracy in English medium school culture. According to the survey, 34 percent of parents said that they have roles to play to make sure that their children are supported at schools. In 28 percent cases, parents said that the annual exams and assessment at English medium schools are not fairly done.
Although the findings of the survey are mixed, some findings are very significant which schools should take seriously. Thirty percent of the parents surveyed said that they want schools to improve systems to address the special educational needs of the students. Thirty-eight percent said that English medium schools should urgently arrange for playgrounds for games and sports. Twenty-eight percent parents said that they send their children to English medium schools with an aim to have an opportunity to go abroad for higher education. Twenty-seven percent parents said that they prefer 'better results' over creativity, innovation, skill, knowledge and grooming as better human beings. Forty-three percent parents said that they want their children to be educated to become better human beings besides being creative, innovative and having better results. Thirty-five percent parents said that their children are shy and cannot speak with confidence and 27 percent said that the teaching styles of the teachers do not match the learning styles of their children.
Also according to the survey, 36 percent said that students of English medium schools do not have mutually respectful relationships either with parents or teachers. Twenty-two percent parents said that their children do not enjoy going to schools and 31 percent said that their children somewhat enjoy going to school.
More than 500 parents from 50 schools in Dhaka and Khulna participated in the survey. Cardiff International School arranged a focused group discussion among parents of English medium schools while sharing the findings of the report. Deep Adhikari, Director, Examination Services of British Council; Shanoor Wahid, Editor, Special Supplements of The Daily Star; G.M. Nizam Uddin, Principal of Cardiff International School; Abdullah Al Mamun Liton, Regional Manager of Pearson Education; Suzy Chowdhury, School Development Manager of Cambridge International Examinations were also present with principals and teachers of English medium schools. G.M. Nizam Uddin emphasised to have a functioning Parents Teachers Association (PTA) in all English medium schools to ensure the participation of the parents for the betterment of education. He also said that schools should value the parents' opinion to bring about the positive changes.

EWU Agro Industrialisation Club visits Pran Industrial Park

Himel Roy

Agro Industrialisation Club (AIC) of East West University visited Pran industrial Park (PIP) which is located at Palash, Narsingdi on March 1, 2014. The objective of the tour was to enhance the knowledge on agro-based industry of Bangladesh and also to introduce business students to the technology of production system. This kind of visit always provide the students an opportunity to blend the theoretical knowledge with practical experience. Thirty-three members with four faculty members, including two moderators of the club, made the visit.
After reaching PIP, General Manager, Engineer Sheikh Abdul Kader, spoke to the team. In his speech, he emphasised the agricultural aspects of Bangladesh. He added that to further develop our economy we need to establish more food industries like Pran, and appreciated the initiative of AIC for highlighting the agro-based industry. We were then divided in two groups and accompanied by two specialist engineers. They guided us and helped us understand the manufacturing process of PIP. We visited all the manufacturing plants of Pran Dairy (UHT milk, full cream milk etc) and confectionary (biscuit, candy, bubblegum etc). We finished our tour with lunch at PIP canteen. Apart from learning, this tour provided the members of the club to socialise and spend the day in merriment.