Letters
The State of the Private Universities
Shahin Latif in his letter "Standards of Higher Education" (SWM, June 29, 2007) has questioned whether the private universities are providing quality education. I agree with him that some of the private universities are not doing so. They try attracting more students but not hiring and retaining quality teachers. For them, this is the business of earning more revenue without caring about quality.
This is possible as higher grade, not quality of learning, is important to a certain group of 'customers' (students) of this industry. They choose their university that allows getting higher grades without much effort to learn. Students must stop this practice and give more importance to their education.
Md. Mohan Uddin
Gulshan, Dhaka
Mental Ailment
I have very avidly gone through the article 'The Neglected Ailment' published in the SWM (June 29, 2007). Interesting observations were made on mental illness in general and depression in particular. With my personal experience of Schizophrenia, one of the most dreaded form of mental ailment, I shall request the writer to throw more light on this form of illness. The quotes of Dr. Omar Rahman were befitting. Schizophrenics, all over the world are a very helpless lot of people. The media in Bangladesh is not very attentive to this segment of population.
Treatment of mental ailments is not of very good quality in our country. Besides having a handful of psychiatrists, there are only a few clinics to treat the mentally indisposed people. Psychotherapy in the form of personal, family and group is not readily available. Besides some injections and oral medicine, modern treatment of Schizophrenia is non-existent in Bangladesh.
H. Kabir
Gulshan,
Dhaka
The Plight Of The Peripatetic Workers
It is really sad that most people in our country feel compelled to go abroad for a better life. Many educated people (graduates and post graduates too) are also forced to leave their homeland when they cannot make ends meet here. They have to sell off almost everything to manage the money to go abroad. If Bangladesh had been rich and had created job opportunities for these people, they might not have had to run abroad for a prosperous life.
The migrant workers leave Bangladesh with great dreams and expectations but most of them come back with nothing. In some cases a whole family depends on the migrant worker. When he or she can do nothing for the family the family is almost ruined.
Of course there is the other side of the coin as well. The remittances sent by the migrant workers are benefiting the country immensely. The cover story 'Migratory Workers' in the Star Weekend Magazine (June 29, 2007) drew my attention to many of the issues. Paying much more than the actual amount of money by the workers; cheating by the middlemen; and harassment by the agencies must be taken into consideration very seriously by the government. Sometimes the workers are promised a certain type of work but end up with something else in reality. The migrant workers have to suffer inhumanly.
The government should come forward to eradicating the corruptions of the agencies and troubles and tribulations of the workers and expediting the migratory system for the greater benefits of the nation.
Mohammad Shafiqul Islam
Lecturer, Department of English
Metropolitan University, Sylhet
***
I am writing in response to the cover story on SWM “Ambassadors of hope.” I was deeply moved by the way the article was presented. It brilliantly reflected on the true scenario of the helpless migrant workers of our country and how they are faced with such a big challenge outside the comfort of their own homeland.
The people in Bangladesh, especially those living in the villages, are under the illusion that the world outside is a heaven for opportunities. They have a misconception that employers in other countries highly value their service and will reward them accordingly, when in practice, it is not. When these workers go abroad, selling all their belongings with false assurance from opportunistic recruiting agencies, they encountered the reality of life. Their dreams are shattered by the back-breaking labour which yields little profit. Because of the lack of expertise and illiteracy they are often cruelly treated by their employers who pay them very meagre wages.
These workers cannot even come back home because some are too ashamed to face their family.
The government can utilise the manpower of our nation turning the disadvantage of over-population into an advantage. This can be done by proper training of manpower and equipping workers with knowledge in their fields of expertise.
Naome Syed
Mohammadpur
Result Turmoil
I was astonished after reading the news in the Daily Prothom Alo about the fiasco regarding the results published by the education boards. About 95,000 students' results were altered after it was published a week before. Students who got A+ before, now have to happy with a grade below that. It is an unacceptable mistake by the education board. It is the board's duty to publish the correct results. But unfortunately the board chairmen haven't taken any liability for it. Now they have informed us that it was a computer glitch. Something of this kind is unimaginable in any other countries. Because of their silly mistake the students have to suffer.
Milon Kanti Das
Department of Accounting
Govt. City College, Chittagong.
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