A STUDY IN BANGLA

With the changing nature of the job market and brand new majors being introduced in universities every few years, choosing a field of study becomes complicated and disorienting. While many options may be new or tempting, one option that is very close to home remains open to us — Bangla.

Although we study Bangla from an early age at school, not many think about continuing its study at university. This February, we decided to talk to students who are studying Bangla as their major, and to faculty members teaching Bangla about their experiences, hopes and challenges.

WHY CHOOSE BANGLA?

Meghla Islam Urme, a third-year student in the Bangla Language and Literature program at Southeast University, says she gravitated towards Bangla because of her love for literature. She says, "Although my school background is in Science, writing is my passion and that's something I want to do in the future. I have hopes of becoming a journalist, and I know a degree in Bangla will help me do that."

When asked about her plans after graduation, Meghla says, "I want to go on to do my postgraduate and then work in the development sector or in journalism."

Mirza Mehjabin Hasan, currently studying for her master's degree at the University of Dhaka, says she studied Bangla because of her love for the language. "I take pride in our Bangla language. Bangla has a history to be proud of. Besides, I always wanted to be a poet."

"In the future, I want to go into teaching since it's a noble profession," she continues. "That would also give me the chance to do research on the language."

Third-year student at the University of Dhaka Sadat Nahid confesses, "I always wanted to study a pure subject like English or Bangla but my options were a little hindered by the entrance exam results as well."

When asked about his plans, Sadat says, "After graduation, I want to sit for the BCS (Bangladesh Civil Service)  exam since that'll bring in many opportunities. Teaching in colleges or universities is also an option."

WHAT TO EXPECT

Speaking about his experience studying Bangla at Jahangirnagar University, Rokibul Islam, a fourth-year student says, "My experience was different from my expectations. I chose Bangla because of my love for literature but I ended up getting to do a lot of research on language at university."

"I expected a lot of study on grammar," says Sadat, "But only about 10 percent of our study was on grammar. The rest was on Bangla literature. I definitely was unprepared to study ancient and medieval literature."

"I gained bookish knowledge well but I wish I gained more fundamental knowledge since a lot of reading was emphasised in our curriculum," says Mehjabin.

One of the few private universities that offer a degree in Bangla is Southeast University. Dr. Hamida Begum, Chairperson of the Department explains, "In addition to focusing on literature and language, we incorporate courses about English, IT and even foreign languages like French and German in our program to increase the value of our students' degrees."

CAREER PROSPECTS

"From my observation, employment is a major fear for the students during their Honours program. And this is true for all other humanities majors like Philosophy or History and even core science subjects like pure Physics, Chemistry or Mathematics," says Prof. Syed Azizul Huq of the Department of Bengali at the University of Dhaka. "The emergence of career-focused majors and the lack of specialised jobs in both private and public sectors has worsened this problem. Out of these majors, Bangla actually has an advantage due to the many teaching positions available."

When asked where previous students of the department went on to work, he says, "Most opted for the civil services. Teaching is the most popular career path as Bangla is included as a subject in almost every sphere of the national academia. Many also applied in the banking sector."

Speaking for Southeast University, Dr. Hamida Begum says her students went on to work in diverse fields, "Our students now work in publications, in the news, buying houses, in business, event management and other artistic disciplines."

PERSPECTIVE OF FACULTY MEMBERS

Dr. Hamida Begum notes positive changes when asked how the scenario regarding Bangla learning has transformed over the years. "There are more students in our department now and they come for the love of the Bangla culture and language. These days, the youth has more cultural involvement in the many celebrations of our culture such as Nobanno and Pohela Falgun."

Prof. Huq observed that even for the certain group of students who aren't interested in their major, they usually come around. "The students familiarise themselves to the major by the first or second semester. By that time, around 10 to 15 percent of them grow a liking to the subject and become passionate about literature. The rest opt for a more career-oriented path, preparing for BCS and studying just enough to get a satisfactory grade in university. However, for getting a decent attendance score, they regularly attend the lectures, which, if attentive, exposes them to the many facets of literature and actually helps them in moulding a better and more mature outlook and philosophy."

REACHING BEYOND

Learning Bangla is not just restricted to Bangladeshi students anymore. "We have an exchange program where students from Yunnan Minzu University in China come to Bangladesh for two semesters and learn Bangla here. We have found that they enjoy learning Bangla and they actively participate in our cultural programs alongside Bangladeshi students. They learn Bangla songs and poems too while they're here," says Dr. Hamida Begum.

Every International Mother Language Day when we are reminded of the history and significance of our language, we realise the importance of upholding Bangla in all its glory. "There are surprisingly few people around us who use the correct spelling and grammar when writing Bangla," says Sadat. "In my opinion linguistics and grammar should be focused more in our curriculum."

Mrittika Anan Rahman is a daydreamer trying hard not to run into things while walking. Find her at mrittika.anan@gmail.com