Rakib uddin; CTG

Bangladesh’s top academic institutions are producing “animals alongside humans,” alleged Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir Central President Zahidul Islam yesterday, criticising the country’s certificate-oriented education system.

Speaking as chief guest at an SSC/Dakhil GPA-5 achievers’ reception organised by Shibir’s Chattogram city north unit at the King of Chittagong Convention Centre, Zahidul Islam said, “Our education system takes us through a certificate-based process. A student may obtain a degree, but there is no institutional, social, or state mechanism to determine whether he or she is truly becoming a human being.”

Referring to the 2019 murder of Buet student Abrar Fahad, he said, “Abrar protested against imperial aggression and invited peers to prayer, yet was beaten to death by his fellow meritorious classmates — a sign of the absence of humanity.”

He urged students to choose their career paths wisely and maintain moral values in whichever field they enter, adding: “Be a doctor, but not one who watches a patient die for lack of payment. Be an engineer, but not one who misuses knowledge to embezzle state funds. Be a businessman who creates jobs, not one who ruins institutions.”

Highlighting the role of teachers, he said, “Do not be like Parimal, who assaulted his student, but follow the example of Mehrin Madam of Milestone College, who sacrificed her life to save her students from a fire.”

The event was presided over by Chattogram city north Shibir president Tanzir Hossain Jewel, who recalled past repression against the group, and attended by Jamaat-nominated parliamentary aspirants Dr Abu Naser (Chattogram-8), Dr AKM Fazlul Haque (Chattogram-9), and Principal Shamsuzzaman Helali (Chattogram-10), along with Chattogram University Proctor Dr Tanvir Md Haidar Arif, Shibir central madrasa affairs secretary Alaudin Abir, environmentalist Md Nazrul Islam, and Erasmus regional manager Dr Md Ashiqur Rahman.

Other speakers urged students to embrace honesty, research Islamic educational history, and develop leadership qualities. The programme concluded with distribution of crests to GPA-5 achievers and sharing of reflections by students and guardians.