Bangladesh’s failure in intellectual growth can’t be denied

 
There is one failure on our part that has to be admitted. It is the inadequacy of intellectual growth in Bangladesh. The country has failed to raise intellectuality to global standard. There is no value of intellect in Bangladesh. It is shockingly true that intellect is not even valued in the educational institutions of Bangladesh. I was involved in teaching in a private university for several years. I have seen very closely how intellectual practices, research and innovation are undermined in our academia. For this reason Bangladesh has not been able to acquire recognition from overseas for intellectual achievements. This failure can’t be denied.

On the other hand, India, our closest neighbour, has rapidly and brilliantly marched forward on the intellectual turf. Indian authors like Arundhati Roy, Jhumpa Lahiri, Amitav Ghosh, Shashi Tharoor and Geetanjali Shree are applauded all over the world. Their books have been translated into over 50 languages internationally. Compared to that Bangladesh’s intellectual advancement is almost zero. We have no author or poet since independence who has brightened our image in the international arena. The one and only exception is Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus who has been Chief Adviser to the interim government since 8 August 2024. But the immediate past Awami League regime subjected Dr. Muhammad Yunus to a great deal of harassment which was condemned by eminent citizens inside Bangladesh as well as by some developed countries in the west.

Most of the students in Bangladesh are very weak in English language and information and communication technology (ICT). Intellect-based professions like teaching and journalism are not so lucrative in Bangladesh. Most of the meritorious students do not want to join teaching because of low remuneration. At the same time journalism is a jeopardized profession in Bangladesh. Most of the newspapers cannot pay salaries to their employees for months after months. 

Going into classrooms and taking part in exams on regular basis are certainly essential things for students but these are not the only things to be done in a university. A university is a place where the curricular as well as the extracurricular qualities of students are supposed to be explored and elevated. A university is not an institution where students are expected to only memorize their lessons to get good grade points at the end of the day. Securing good marks in exams is important but that is not everything that defines a university. Life is not all about classrooms and listening to lectures. At present we are living in the middle of an era where the habits of reading books outside the pages of syllabuses have gone out of date.