Rangpur University starts academic activities today

Dr. M Lutfar Rahman

Academic activities of much awaited Rangpur University will begin today, fulfilling a long cjherished dream of the people of northern districts.
The university will launch its activities for 2008-2009 session at the unused buildings of Rangpur Teachers Training College with honours courses in six subjectsBangla, English, Mathematics, Computer Science, Economics and BBA.
Education Advisor Dr. Hosen Zillur will inaugurate the academic activities at a function this morning. Agriculture Advisor Dr. CS Karim will also be present.
The newly appointed Vice Chancellor of Rangpur University Dr. M Lutfar Rahman, former professor of computer science at Dhaka University, is already in Rangour to take up the challenging job.
The two advisors and the VC held a meeting with
with the local elite and civil society members at the conference room of Deputy Commissioner Abdul Ahad yesterday afternoon.
Speakers at the meeting thanked the caretaker government for its initiative to set up the university.
VC Lutfar Rahman said, “I thank god first and the chief advisor and other advisors of the caretaker government for their initiative.
“We will be able to make it an ideal institution, and I seek cooperation of all to materialise the dream”, he said.
Dr. Mohammad Rezaul Hoque, convener of Rangpur University Implementation Coordination Council also thanked the caretaker government and urged it to take steps immediately to build the university complex. The government initiative is a milestone in development of the region, he added.
Ranpur Mayor Abdur Rouf Manik said, “We thank the caretaker government for fulfilling a demand for which people of the region have been continuing movement since 1954.”
Different socio-cultural organisations including Rangpur Nagorik Committee and Rangpur Unnayan Parishad also lauded the caretaker government's initiative to launch academic activities of Rangpur University.
The university complex will be built on 75 acres of land on the compound of Carmichael College.
Addressing another meeting in the evening, Hossain Zillur Rahman said construction of the complex will begin this month and an amount of Tk 100 crore has been sanctioned for this.
He said it is a record in the history of Bangladesh that a university came into being within seven months of announcement of its plan.
The plan for setting up the university was announced by Chief Advisor of the caretaker government Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed on February 2 this year after a Cabinet meeting in Rangpur.
Earlier, the then Awami League government had undertaken a plan to set up a science and technology university at the same site. But the BNP government cancelled the plan.