In an effort to involve young readers and sustain their readership, The Daily Star took the initiative to provide the newspaper at a subsidised rate to educational institutions, namely, Daffodil International University (DIU); University of Development Alternative (UODA); University of Asia Pacific (UAP); and Green University of Bangladesh (GUB). In order to weigh the success of the initiative, and to identify further possibilities of enhancement, The Daily Star took the opinions of the Vice Chancellors and a founder from the aforementioned institutions and discussed the matter with them.

Prof Dr Yusuf M Islam, Vice Chancellor, Daffodil International University

"As students do not read newspapers voluntarily, we have integrated The Daily Star with 11 separate courses, so that they are now obliged to read it on a regular basis in order to accomplish good grades in those courses. There are certain subjects that focus on reading. In those courses, we utilise The Daily Star as the reading material. Certain times, the students are asked to do assignments based on some reports or features from the newspaper. Apart from staying updated about world affairs, the involvement helps them improve their English language skills as well. Overtime, we have realised that all the activities mentioned above, made a positive impact on the students as they are now more interested in The Daily Star. We also have a page on Facebook, where the designated faculty members along with the students post all the new words that they come across, in order to improve their vocabulary skills."

Suggestion:

"The DIU along with The Daily Star can conduct a roundtable, whereby the students can highlight their interests to the newspaper authorities, and the two can come up with better ideas. Also, there can be a blog that would link the students directly with The Daily Star so that they can interact with the news stories."

Prof Mujib Khan, Founder & President, University of Development Alternative

"We cherish our relationship with The Daily Star. This initiative to enhance the English language skills of the youth is highly important. We have a mandatory 3-part course for the new university students, designed to brush up their English skills. We have implemented The Daily Star throughout various stages of this course. But overtime, we have also noticed that the tendency to read the paper among those students decline. Though the focus of this initiative was primarily on the students of the university, we have now implemented it in our schools as well, to make reading newspapers a habit. The students are asked to collect relevant headlines from the paper on a daily basis, which are later discussed further in class. I have also archived volumes of newspapers over a period of many years for research purposes. I personally believe in the power of the pen. It can be used as a weapon against many wrongdoings. I am thankful to The Daily Star for this initiative, because unlike other newspapers, it tends to be unbiased, meaning, the students who are reading it will not be misguided."

Suggestion:

"The Daily Star can establish clubs at universities, jointly with the students. That way, the younger people will be interested and their interaction with the newspaper will be further enriched."

Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury, Vice Chancellor, University of Asia Pacific

"The Daily Star provides us with the newspapers at a subsidised rate, and then we sell it to the students for an even lower price. We do this because if they receive it for free, they will tend to give it less importance than they would if they purchase it. We have also introduced The Daily Star in several courses and the students are quizzed based on the newspaper articles. As most of our students come from outside Dhaka, their efficiency in English tends to be lower than the students who studied in the English medium/version schools in the capital. Therefore, this initiative helps to improve the proficiency of the students."

Suggestion:

"One way to improve the English skills is by solving more crosswords. I personally learn a lot by solving them and it has helped improve my vocabulary. The Daily Star can target the students with easier crosswords and help them improve their skills. The Daily Star's SHOUT seems to be rather popular among the youth. However, SHOUT's content is mostly English-medium based with a Western flavour. I think if they could tone it down and make it more Bangla-medium friendly, it would help the students to attain the goal and improve their skills through this endeavour."

Prof Dr Md Golam Samdani Fakir, Vice Chancellor, Green University of Bangladesh

"As part of our venture with The Daily Star, our students are required to carry the paper physically every day. We give them various kinds of assignments based on the different sections of The Daily Star. Since our intention is to build future leaders, they must possess the knowledge about national and international current affairs. The Daily Star provides the information needed in order to make the students more informative and keep them updated. We are very thankful to The Daily Star for this initiative because it plays a significant role as a social engineer by building a stronger and knowledgeable society."

Suggestion:

"There are many parents who are unable to subscribe the paper. The Daily Star can assist these parents, perhaps by providing them with newspapers at a subsidised rate. Another action that can be taken by The Daily Star is that they can arrange a programme or a section in the newspaper, whereby they will introduce successful entrepreneurs from Bangladesh to the students and enable an interaction session if possible. That way, the students can get guidance firsthand from the expert leaders."