Education system suffered over past 17 years: Rizvi

BNP acting secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said on Saturday that the ousted Awami League government had deliberately destroyed the country’s education system during its 17-year rule, putting the nation’s future at risk.

“Education is the backbone of a nation, but it was deliberately destroyed over the past 17 years to keep the country out of global competition in information and technological advancement,” he said.

Rizvi, also the Prime Minister’s political adviser, made the remarks while addressing a reception ceremony for SSC achievers at the Keraniganj Mohila Degree College ground in South Keraniganj.

He said, “There were incidents of students being given pass marks on instructions from higher authorities without requiring them to sit for the examinations or by merely writing the questions in their answer scripts.”

Rizvi said neither individuals nor the nation could benefit from forcibly awarding higher marks to enable students to pass.

He said students falling behind in university admission tests despite achieving good academic results were not isolated incidents, but rather an outcome of treating the entire education system as a matter of child’s play.

In the current context, Rizvi said, students were getting results based on their merit, describing the practice as extremely important for the nation.

Reiterating BNP’s commitment to promoting women’s education, Rizvi said education was a fundamental condition for women’s empowerment.

Former prime minister and late BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia had introduced free education up to the intermediate level for female students, he said.

“Our Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has announced that in the future, female students will not have to bear educational expenses up to BA and BA Honours levels, as education will be completely free for them,” he said.

During the programme, Rizvi also highlighted the importance of responsible leadership in society and local communities in taking the country forward.

Dhaka District BNP General Secretary Nipun Roy Chowdhury, MP, presided over the programme, at which newly announced SSC GPA-5 achievers from the Dhaka-3 constituency were presented with commemorative mementoes, crests and scholarship money. Local BNP leaders and activists and those of its affiliated organisations, civil society representatives, teachers, students and guardians attended the reception.