Keeping students busy in creativity, sports urgent

Apart from imparting lessons of humanity, values and social and religious norms, Bangladesh's educational institutions must make more extracurricular and co-curricular activities available round the year to prevent students from getting involved in militancy, teachers at a convention said yesterday.

They said schools and colleges arrange sports competitions, debates and cultural events only once a year and these need to be held frequently so that students get more exposure to physical and creative activities.

Stressing on increasing monitoring on students, they said teachers would have to spend more time with students and love and guide them as if they were their own children.

The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka organised the convention on “militancy-free educational institution” in the capital's Krishibid Institution Bangladesh, attended by secondary school and college headmasters and principals.

Muktijodhha College, Gazipur Principal Abul Hashem said, “Many educational institutions lack adequate recreational facilities and playgrounds. Yet, every institution must make it mandatory to hold more co-curricular activities regularly.”

That of Government Gazaria College said students were now busy going to coaching centres and with cellphones.

“If we can engage our students in creative activities, there will be no scope to walk on the path of militancy,” he said, underscoring the need for inculcating ethical values and the spirit of the Liberation War in children.

Kafil Uddin Salehin, a teacher of Nesaria Madrasa, said Islam does not have any place for militancy. “We have to give our students the real explanation of Islam,” he said.

Underscoring the need for increasing family ties, Sharmin Rupa, another teacher, said lessons on mortality and social and religious norms for kids should come from parents at the family level.

Diwara Islam, principal of Dhaka State College, said teachers should love and treat students as their own children so that they can in no way go astray.

Moazzem Hossain Mollah, principal of Dhaka College, said teachers should infuse the spirit of patriotism into students and nurture freethinking at the institutions.

Speaking as the chief guest, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid called upon all to build up social resistance against the threat of militancy in the country.

“Apart from the strict enforcement of law, we need a social movement and resistance. Our ministry is working to assemble the social resistance,” he said.

“Hold more cultural activities and sports events. Engage the students in essay and debate competitions and publish wall magazines so that students get busy with creative activities,” he advised teachers.

He urged teachers to create an interesting atmosphere in classrooms to draw students towards education.

“You are most respectable personalities. You must make sure that the students you raise have an ethical, moral standard, so that the students grow up to be compassionate human beings,” he said.

Sohorab Hossain, secretary, Secondary and Higher Education Division; SM Wahiduzzaman, director general, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education; and Prof Mahabubur Rahman, chairman of the board, among others, also spoke.