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Launch
Reflect approach to empower marginal people
Speakers tell seminar
Staff Correspondent
The Daily
Star
Speakers at a seminar yesterday called
for launching Regenerated Freirean Literacy Through Empowering
Community Techniques (Reflect) approach for creating social
awareness and empowering the marginal people.
They said the Reflect approach
enhances not only peoples' economic development but also make them
aware of their duties and responsibilities to their neighbours and
the nation.
The seminar on 'Marching Towards
Millenium Development Goals: Endeavour through Reflect' was
organised by Actionaid Bangladesh, an international development
organisation, at the Spectra Convention Centre in the city.
The Reflect, as a development and
empowerment approach, was invented by Actionaid after conducting a
research in Bangladesh, El Salvador and Uganda from 1993 to 95 by
integrating the theory of Paolo Freiry, a Brazilian educationist.
Under the system, people in a group
discuss, analyse and prioritise their problems and then go for
action.
Group members also learn functional
literacy through a creative and effective process that enables them
to do simple accounting for conducting micro-credit programmes by
themselves.
Actionaid launched the Reflect
approach in Bangladesh in 1995 with the financial support of the
Department for International Development (DFID).
The approach is now being practised
by about one lakh people in 30 districts through 56 implementing
agencies.
Rasheda K Chowdhury of Campaign for
Popular Education, Bangladesh called for strengthening the Reflect
approach as it is helping the people to enhance their analytical
ability and resolving their problems by themselves.
Zahin Ahmed of Friends in Village
Development, Bangladesh said the approach could create a social
movement for positive changes in every aspect of life.
Prof Shahed Hassan, chairman of
population sciences department of Dhaka University presented an
interim study on the approach at the seminar.
Participatory
Afforestation
Distribution of cheques begins today
Staff Correspondent
The Daily
Star
Ministry of Environment and Forest
will begin distribution of cheques among the beneficiaries of the
participatory afforestation programme under Tangail Forest Range
today.
Official sources said some 2300
local people had participated in woodlot afforestation in forest
lands and strip plantation alongside the roads and embankments
around six to seven years ago.
They will get Tk 10.26 crore as
their profit share.
Minister for Environment and Forest
Tariqul Islam will hand over the cheques to the beneficiaries at a
simple ceremony at Bhashani Hall in Tangail at 11.00am today.
Officials said that the Department
of Forest earned Tk 23.28 crore by selling timber, firewood and
wooden pool in the current fiscal.
The forest department with the
direct participation of people planted different types of trees on
1874 hectares of land namely woodlot at Madhupur, Ghatail, Kalihati,
Mirzapur and Shakhipur forest areas.
The beneficiaries who participated
in woodlot gardening will get 45 per cent of shares from the profit
while who planted trees alongside roads and embankments and took
care of the trees will get 55 per cent share.
Both the groups also planted trees
alongside roads and embankments around 43 kilometers in the same
areas.
According to the participatory
afforestation programme, the trees were sold after being matured in
seven to eight years.
At the check distribution programme,
Minister for Jute and Textiles Shajhan Siraj, State Minister for
Environment and Forest Jafrul Islam Chowdhury, State Minister
in-charge of NGO Affairs Lutfor Rahman Khan Azad and Deputy Minister
for Industries Abdus Salam Pintu will be present as special guests
at the function.
Self-motivated
teachers can help improve quality of edn
Staff Corresponden
The Daily
Star
Self-motivated teachers can help
enhance the quality of primary education, a Japanese expert said
yesterday.
"To improve the quality of
primary education, the teachers have to think about various and
effective ways of teaching for better understanding by
students," Yoshinori Yoneyama, a member of Japan Overseas
Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), told The Daily Star during a field
visit by a group of newsmen. The Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) organised the tour.
Yoneyama, who has been serving as a
mathematics teacher at an Upazila Resource Centre (URC) in
Mymensingh, believe that every teacher has to think about the easier
and effective method of teaching so that students can understand the
lessons quickly.
"The future of Bangladesh will
be bright if the quality of education is improved," he said.
The JOCV members have been serving
as science and mathematics teachers in Mymensingh Primary Training
Institute (PTI) and URC in Sadar upazila to train primary teachers.
They have been providing training
for the teachers to improve their skills and to ensure quality
education in the district.
The volunteers observed that
although the country has achieved tremendous success in increasing
enrolment in primary schools, the quality of education is not up to
the mark.
In primary schools, teachers
usually do not concentrate on the practical aspect of science, said
Yuka Aso, a volunteer at the Mymensingh PTI.
M Waliul Islam, superintendent of
the PTI, said Yuka Aso has been teaching science for the last eight
months, which is benefiting the teachers greatly.
JOCV started their activities in
Bangladesh in 1973 with a total of 833 volunteers, according to JICA
officials. At present, 52 members are working in 29 fields.
Garment
workers submit memo to prime minister
Staff Correspondent
The Daily
Star
Bangladesh Garment Workers Unity
Council submitted a memorandum to the prime minister yesterday
demanding effective steps to face challenges in the aftermath of
phasing out of quota facilities.
In the memorandum, the council
leaders said the garment sector is going to face a tough situation
as the Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) expires at the end of this year.
Thousands of garment workers would
lose their jobs, but the government is yet to take any effective
steps in this regard, they added.
Backward linkage industries and
cooperation from the government are a must for the garment
industries to survive in the competitive market, the leaders said.
They also urged the PM to fulfil
its 11-point demand, including increased salary and other facilities
for garment workers.
The garment workers took out a
procession towards the Prime Minister's Office to submit the
memorandum, but police intercepted them at Paltan intersection at
around 11.30am.
Later, a team of council leaders
went to the PM's office to submit it.
Before taking out the procession,
the council held a rally at Muktangan where its leaders Salauddin
Swapan, Sarder Khorshed, BM Abul Hossain and Zahanara Begum spoke.
Amirul Haque Amin, co-ordinator of
the council, presided over the rally.
Nepalese
envoy visits Gono Biswabidyalaya
The
Dialy Star
Nepalese Ambassador Bhagirath Basnet
visited Gono Biswabidyalaya (GB) at Savar on Monday, says a press
release.
Vice-Chancellor Dr Abul Quasem
Chowdhury and the ambassador discussed matters of mutual interests.
Bhagirath Basnet praised the standard of education at the
university. He met the Nepalese students studying at the university.
Eleven Nepalese students are studying at GB.
The VC stressed the need for closer
cooperation between Bangladesh and Nepal in the field of education.
He said it would be beneficial for both the countries.
Registrar Delwar Hossain, deans of
three faculties were present.
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