Faujdarhat Cadet College
I immensely enjoyed Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed's article on the Golden Jubilee of the founding of Faujderhat Cadet College (FCC) in Chittagong. Indeed, personalities like Col Brown, Gen. MAG Osmani, and many others mentioned in the article were great contributors to the young nation of Bangladesh. The nation is fortunate to have a fine institution like FCC for training the future leaders of the country. I might mention that several other cadet colleges were set up in Bangladesh during the 1970's.
I would also like to applaud the author for his recommendation to make the FCC a standard-bearer in all-round education and a foreign exchange earner for Bangladesh. Based on this idea, I recommend to the FCC and Bangladesh Cadet College Board to seek and recruit students of Bangladeshi origin living around the world. This will provide an opportunity to establish an eternal link with the children of Bangladeshis born abroad with their paternal home in a meaningful and positive manner. These students of FCC and other cadet colleges, as leaders in business and government in North America, Western Europe and international communities, will contribute to their paternal land in every possible way.
In addition, like past FCC teachers, Croft, Bishop, Watson, Shutt, and Macbeth, cadet colleges can be served by many internationally trained professionals of Bangladeshi origin, on sabbatical or on retirement, especially if their children are enrolled in the institutions.
To facilitate the admission of the international citizens of Bangladeshi origin, the cadet colleges will need to exempt these students from the entrance requirement of mastery of Bangla. They would pick up the language as they spend their initial years at the FCC and other cadet colleges.
To clarify any misgivings, unlike the Bangladeshi students, the international students should not be subsidized and must be charged full cost for their education plus add-ons towards the development of the institution.
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