This country has on and off been plagued by wrong decisions of several ministers, bureaucrats and public servants, shamed by unruly behaviour of, if not by some people in power but by their nephews and sons (nieces and daughters exempted for want of evidence), and embarrassed by the caustic remarks of all and sundry, and yet not many of us can recall a single categorical apology addressing the public; 'the source of power', let me remind ye all, vote-seekers. Thank you Shikkha Montree, today we are that much more educated.

Background: The education ministry this year initiated an online/SMS system of admission to colleges. Students pick their college of choice (up to five from among institutions with over 300 seats). After being digitally sorted, the applicant is offered admission as per merit and seats available. It's all very convenient, as one principal gleefully explained, 'Look, no tadbir'.

This being the introductory year, there were obviously some glitches. Some students were in a quandary, finding themselves in the wrong college or out of any. The issues are being attended to and affected students have been given extended time without any fee for delayed admission.

Last Sunday, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, like no other, offered his sincere apologies "for the hassle being faced by the students." (TDS, 6 July) "This year's admission process was new and it involved a huge task. The students faced some problems and I am sorry for that. Please see the matter with a forgiving heart," Nahid said at a press briefing at the secretariat, admitting to the nation his shortcoming, albeit of his ministry.

We are not educated (at home from our childhood) to take responsibility of matters that are our responsibility, directly or otherwise. After a mishap or a wrongdoing, our first line of attack is to point to a scapegoat or goats that have escaped, and the education minister had a choice of more than five.

Salute, Sir! Although I have some very biting academic issues that would embarrass you, you are nevertheless the cause of my khushi today. These pungent matters are not related to the usual complaints against your ministry, such as leaked questions, result-oriented system and poorly edited books, but concern university teachers who have lied in their professorial applications and have been favoured by the authority.

Okay, so a few handful of gawm (wheat) from Brazil did get bad publicity, but judging by government agencies' reports, the rest are 'worthy' of human consumption. The 180 degrees difference between the two versions saddens us because somebody will be forced to eat one or the other. Judicial intervention was sought to give a verdict on the wheat's edibility, whereas the importing authority, which could have easily owned up, pointed the finger to Neymar (because he must be related to the Sao Paulo exporter), and said a 'Sorry' for putting the food minister on the dock. I tell you almost anything is bound to get rotten if you get it from as far as Brazil.

Another source of happiness is our cricketers because they apologise whenever they hurt their fans. They know their limitations, the fans do not. They may not say sorry after every defeat, but they do not mince their words when they know they could have done better. For instance, in June last year, bottling up India for a meagre 105, and then being bundled up for 58, was cause for a lot of heartaches. Captain Mushfiqur Rahim summed up his team's emotions, "I apologise to the nation on behalf of the team". But then they are the Tigers. Sorry to delve into memory lane despite our recent thumping triumphs against the two-time world champions. See, how easy it is to say sorry? It is, of course, always better if you mean it.

A matter of gawm is the stupendous rise in births through Caesarean section in Bangladesh. Porimol Palma reporting in TDS on July 5 wrote that "the number has almost doubled in the last eight years largely due to lack of accountability of profit-hungry private healthcare providers and absence of proper rules and regulations". According to Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2014, "the figure rose to 690,000 or 23 percent (close to UK figures) of total deliveries last year from 355,000 or 9 percent of total deliveries in 2007". Clinics and docs making money is not a problem, but they should not do so through unnecessary procedures, short-cutting medical requirements and at the cost of patient safety. If the allegations are true, is anyone having taken the Hippocratic Oath willing to say sorry?

We as a nation also owe a big apology to our mango farmers. What a season they have given us, both in quality and quantity! No hint of formalin, and mangoes rotting in three to four days. And yet, no newspaper or channel has lauded the feat enough. We are truly sorry, bondhugan. Please do not hold this against us. We were too busy relishing every bite of lyangra, himsagar, fazli, and more. And, please do come back next season.

The writer is a practising Architect at BashaBari Ltd., a Commonwealth Scholar and a Fellow, a Baden-Powell Fellow Scout Leader, and a Major Donor Rotarian.