MORRELGANJ, Bangladesh — Teachers were forced at gunpoint to stamp ballots and stuff ballot boxes overnight under the previous government, Bangladesh Open University Vice Chancellor A.B.M. Obaidul Islam said Saturday, vowing that those days would not return.
Obaidul Islam was speaking as chief guest at a special teachers’ assembly on improving education at Morrelganj in Bagerhat district. The event was held on the grounds of Rowsh-Ara Smriti Mohila Degree College on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 22.
“Education is not just a certificate or degree. It is the most powerful tool for nation-building,” he said. “An educated population drives the development of the state. They consolidate democracy and establish humane values in society.”
He said there was no alternative to quality education in building a nation. “The more a country invests in education, the more economically strong it becomes and the more aware its citizens are,” he said. “Well-educated people are the real wealth of a nation. There is no substitute for the combined efforts of teachers, parents and society to improve education.”
“For the past 17 years, teachers have not been valued,” he said. “Teachers were forced at gunpoint to stamp ballots. They were forced to stuff ballot boxes at night with day votes. Those days will not return to Bangladesh.”
Speakers said modern technology-based education, creative thinking and values-based education should be emphasized, and that the true aim of education should be character-building, not just preparing students for offices and society.
The assembly was chaired by college Principal Mohammad Jahangir Alam Azad, who said quality change in education was possible only through teachers’ active participation and conscious efforts. Teachers from the host college, primary and secondary school teachers from across the upazila, local education advocates and civil society representatives attended.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report