Help build nation with trained, competent manpower

Recipients of President's Scout Award and President's Rover Scout Award pose for photograph with President Zillur Rahman at Bangabhaban in the city yesterday.Photo: PID

President Zillur Rahman yesterday urged the scout leaders to extend their activities to remote areas and help build a nation with trained and competent manpower matching with the milieu of the modern world.
“You know that there is no alternative to competent and trained manpower in building the nation,” he said while addressing the President Scouts and President Rovers' Scout Award-giving ceremony at Bangabhaban in the afternoon.
For building the young generation as competent and world standard citizens, he put emphasis on following up-to-date educational curriculum and teaching method at all levels from primary to higher education.
“From childhood, they've to be imbued with moral and social values alongside the formal education,” he said.
The president said the scout activities should be massively spread out across the country for developing the leadership quality in the young generation. “It's laudable that you are playing constructive role in building the nation through active participation in the scout movements.”
With deep homage he remembered the pioneer of scout movement -- Robert Baden Powel -- who launched scout movement in 1907, more than a century ago. “Today his scout movement has extended all over the world,” he said, adding that the aim of the movement is to build the young generation as man of good character, self-reliant, patriotic and ideal citizens.
He said the scout movement has been playing an important role in rearing the country's young and juvenile as competent and ideal citizens. “I admire their activities.”
He hoped that today's young generation, being enriched with proper IT knowledge, would be able to move forward to attain the goals of the nation.
The president congratulated the award winners and said the scouts should be devoted as volunteers to developing the country by reflecting the spirit of scouts in their personal, familial and social lives through exercising hard labour.
President of Bangladesh Scouts Momtajul Islam, Chief National Commissioner Abul Kalam Azad and National Commissioner (Programme) Mesbahuddin Bhuiyan as well as Scout leaders, and guardians were present at the award-giving ceremony.
A total of 126 scouts were awarded. Of them, some 119 recipients got president scout award and seven received president rover scout award.
Abul Kalam Azad informed the function that there are some 10 lakh scouts across the country at present and by 2013 they have a target to raise the number to some 15 lakh. “The force of scouts can be utilised in facing any kind of national crisis,” he said.