Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the failure to achieve 100% literacy rate in Bangladesh even after its 45 years of independence is very much disgraceful.
“Forty-five have passed by since Bangladesh’s independence … this is very much regretful that we cannot yet say we’ve achieved 100% literacy rate, this is disgraceful as well for us as a nation,” she said.
The prime minister was inaugurating Chittagong University’s (CU) Golden Jubilee celebrations in the southeastern port city through a videoconference from her official residence Ganobhbaban in Dhaka.
Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was present as the chief guest. Prof Emeritus Anisuzzaman, a former faculty member, delivered the memorial speech.
CU vice chancellor Prof Dr Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury
presided over the programme.
The Prime Minister, however, said it would have been possible to achieve the 100% literacy rate in the country if a black day like August 15 of 1975 had not come.
“After the assassination of the Father of the Nation, the system of killing, coup, illegal power grabbing and military rule had started. These elements had never been able to develop the country,” she said.
Hasina also said the military dictators and juntas just had made their own economic fortunes without thinking about the country’s people.
She urged the teachers and students of all educational institutions to maintain congenial education atmosphere on their campuses so that there could be no session loss.
Hasina said her government wants to develop a modern and educated new generation to build the country more
efficiently.
For the purpose, she said, many specialised and multifaceted educational institutions like medical university, agriculture university, marine university, fisheries institute, university of science and technology are being developed at different parts of the country.
Besides, she said, steps have already been taken to establish two new medical universities in Chittagong and Rajshahi, while such universities would also be set up in other divisions in phases.
Hasina mentioned that these steps have been taken to build a highly educated nation as a poverty- and hunger-free country is possible only when the nation becomes a well-educated one.
She said military dictators did not let the people know the true history of the War of Liberation as they distorted the history of the nation’s victory.
The Prime Minister urged members of alumni, former students and affluent section of the society, including public representatives, to contribute to the development and welfare of their local educational institutions.