Certificates without skills and knowledge are burdens

Millions of students are passing from schools and colleges all over Bangladesh with high grade points every year. This scenario starkly contradicts with the descending popularity of books in our country particularly among people with higher academic qualifications. I have personally seen a great deal of educated people in our society laughing at other fellows for preferring books as gifts. This leads us to nothing except disappointment. Instead of encouraging our younger brothers and sisters to read books we are driving them away from books by putting books out of the list of preferable gift items. It is very unfortunate and depressive to see people devaluating books while lots of discussions go on everywhere about our country’s literacy rate, education standard, prospects of higher studies etcetera.

We often hear from people that most of the students in our country don’t go through textbooks named in their curriculum. Rather they put higher importance on buying guidebooks or memorizing printed sheets received from private tutors. Students’ unwillingness to read original textbooks is directly connected with the lack of interest to buy books which they see among the people that live around them. If people fail to build up a book-friendly ambience at home they will find it difficult to persuade their children to read academic textbooks attentively. Students who are reluctant to read textbooks actually don’t live in an environment where books are loved and endorsed by elders. Both Bengali and English books on travel stories, fairy tales, espionage, adventures, science fictions, history and other themes can teach a lot of vital things to youngsters. At the same time books about the lives of celebrated scholars, scientists, statesmen, political leaders and sports stars contain precious messages which can motivate people to work harder, to boost moral values and to learn many things for doing well in real life.

Translated literary classics were once upon a time highly popular with small boys and girls in our country. To recall my own boyhood I have grown up in the middle of an abundant number of illustrated fables and comics both in simplified Bengali and English versions which filled the tender years of my life with profound wonders and thrill. I was no exception. Most of the people who had their childhood two or three decades ago saw the prevalence of books and reading habit. On the other hand, most of the children of today’s Bangladesh are deprived of the pleasure of reading comics as a result of the onslaught of video games and fast food which are in fact much costlier than books.