Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that along with the intensive practice of knowledge and science related to the country’s history and heritage, Dhaka University’s incomparable contribution to socio-economic development and the creation of the nation-state of Bangladesh will forever be remembered. He said this in a message given on the occasion of the 103rd founding anniversary (Dhaka University Day) of Dhaka University, the country’s traditional highest educational institution, on Monday (July 1).
Sheikh Hasina expressed her satisfaction knowing that the 103rd founding anniversary of Dhaka University, famous as the Oxford of the East, is being celebrated on Monday, and said, “On this occasion, I extend my sincere greetings and congratulations to all the teachers, students, parents and officials of the university.”
The Prime Minister said that the theme of this year’s Dhaka University Day, ‘Higher education to improve the skills of the young generation’ is very timely.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the state system created in the region after the breakup of British India in 1947 was not a safe abode for the Bengali speaking population. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a young student of the Law Department of Dhaka University, was the first to realize this fact. Who first of all played an active role in building the movement to demand Bengali as the state language. Over time, he became the father of the Bengali nation, the great hero of Bengali history and the greatest Bengali of all time. Since then, Dhaka University has played an active role in the intensive practice of knowledge and science related to history-tradition and in the socio-economic development of the country, and the inimitable contribution of this institution to the creation of a nation state called ‘Bangladesh’ will be forever remembered.
The language movement of 1952, the autonomy movement based on the six-points announced by the Father of the Nation and the great freedom struggle in 1971 at his (Bangabandhu) call and all democratic movements thereafter, the development of non-communal cultural entities and the fulfillment of the aspirations of the common people of the country, the students of this university- Faculty and staff have continued to lead from the front.
The Chief Minister said that under the far-sighted guidance of the Father of the Nation, the University Grants Commission was established in 1973 through the announcement of the University Ordinance. The main message of which was to create an environment of freedom of thought and free intellectual practice in the university. Whenever the Awami League formed the government, it gave the highest priority to the development of the country’s education sector in the light of the educational philosophy of the Father of the Nation, the Prime Minister said. establish
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, in the last 15 and a half years, we have taken massive steps to increase the quality and opportunities of higher education in the country. We have established 23 public universities and 54 private universities since 2009. We have formulated the National Strategic Plan for the period 2023-2031 to improve the quality of higher education at the college level, including the ‘Private University Act-2010’, the ‘Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh: 2018-2030’. We have introduced ‘Prime Minister’s Fellowship’ to pursue Masters and PhD degrees from abroad.
The Prime Minister also said that we have passed the Accreditation Council Act-2016 to control the quality of universities. Bangladesh Research and Education Network has been established with the aim of increasing the technical skills of the universities, establishing links between domestic universities and foreign universities and research institutes. As a result, students and teachers of various faculties of the country’s universities have got the opportunity to connect with the international academic community and information repository.
In his speech, the Prime Minister said, we are working towards creating a generation that is inspired by patriotism and capable of reaping the benefits of the fourth industrial revolution through the expansion of technology-based education. Our government is taking and implementing various initiatives for the development of education and research in Dhaka University. We have constructed halls and buildings to solve the housing crisis of teachers, students, officials and employees.
The Prime Minister mentioned that since 2009, new departments, institutes and research centers have been opened continuously for the development and expansion of education, research. Currently Dhaka University has 13 faculties, 13 institutes, 84 departments, 58 bureaus and research centers, 19 residential halls for students, 4 hostels and 188 material colleges and institutes. The number of students studying in this university is about 44 thousand 895 people and about 1 thousand 981 teachers are engaged in teaching and research. Sheikh Hasina said that through more advanced research, Dhaka University will play an active role in overcoming any crisis in the future and will advance in all branches of knowledge including education-research, science and technology in keeping with the rapidly changing world.
As a former student of this university, he expressed hope that Dhaka University will create new horizons in the journey of knowledge and light. He wished all the programs organized on the occasion of ‘Dhaka University’s 103rd Foundation Year’ to be successful.