Small dreams pave the way to bigger dreams one day. People do not learn to walk in a single day. They learn to walk slowly, and only then learn to run. So one must not fear mistakes but learn from them.
Local member of parliament Dr. Farid made these remarks as chief guest at the closing ceremony of the Chouddagram Startup Science Project and Innovation Idea Exhibition.
He said science is not about memorization. If you can understand science, it becomes much easier. Mistakes are bound to happen when trying to invent something new, he said, but one must not break down in the face of failure.
Dr. Farid said the scientist Thomas Alva Edison succeeded in inventing the electric light only after failing about 10,000 times. The young people we are calling small today, he said, will one day produce great scientists and philosophers like Jagadish Chandra Bose, Einstein, Newton, Ibn Sina and Aristotle if their persistent efforts continue.
Addressing parents and teachers, he said children are bound to make mistakes. But they should not be stopped, he said; they must be given the freedom to work in their own way.
He also said the government had allocated substantial funds to take children’s innovations to the national and international levels. He assured government support for implementing promising projects.
The day-long event was held on Friday (June 12) at the Chouddagram upazila auditorium. It was presided over by Upazila Nirbahi Officer Farzana Islam and conducted by academic supervisor Nasrin Sultana.
Also present were Assistant Commissioner (Land) GM Munib; Upazila Agriculture Officer Mosabbir Hossain; Chouddagram police station Officer-in-Charge Mamunur Rashid, PPM; Secondary Education Officer S M Bazlur Rashid; assistant secretary of the upazila Jamaat Kamal Ahmed; general secretary of the Chouddagram Press Club Azizur Rahman; and people from various walks of life.
At the event, students from 12 educational institutions in the upazila presented their science startups and innovation projects.
Tarikul Islam Pour College won first place in the competition. Chouddagram Government College came second. Chouddagram Government Shahadat Pilot Model Secondary School took third place.
However, after the results were announced, teachers and students of several institutions raised questions about the judging process. They alleged that one institution had been given an award for displaying many low-quality projects even though higher-quality, more thoughtful projects were present. They also alleged that the institution had bought its projects from outside and displayed them. This could create frustration among genuine inventors, they said. They demanded that more transparent and responsible judging be ensured in future.
Earlier, reserved-seat member of parliament Sabira Sultana Munni visited the students’ innovation projects and encouraged them.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report