La Semaine Dernière A Mes Yeux

(25 janvier --- 1 février)

Selon un reportage, le gouvernement du Népal a divulgué son enquête sur l'accident d'un vol de US Bangla Airlines.L'enquête a mis l'accent sur la condition psychologique de pilote pendant le vol. L'autorité bangladaise a accusé le gouvernement népalais pour ne pas avoir mis l'accent sur la faute de contrôle de Traffic aérien de l'aéroport de Kathmandu.

Selon un reportage, Global Financial Integrity s'est dit que Tk 500 milliards ont été blanchi depuis Bangladesh en 2015.

Selon un reportage, Transparency International dans la nouvelle indice de corruption a classé Bangladesh 149 parmi 180 pays. La position de Bangladesh a été baissée par 5 pas dans une année. Cela indique corruption amplifie dans le pays. Le chef de l'agence de l'anti-corruption a demandé des données sur l'enquête de TI.
Selon un reportage, un ancien banquier a escroqué Tk 186 milliards et s'est enfui à l'étranger. Il menait service financier clandestin depuis longtemps. L'escroquerie a laissé ses clients en difficulté financière.

Be Kind To Private Lesson Providers

Highest court on the land severely rebuked the coaching culture. Several other appeals about private lesson providers are shelved for the first week of February to be settled.

There has been a lot of criticism about the ongoing coaching practices in Bangladesh. More precisely, private lesson provided by school / college teachers and coaching centers for entrance exams of tertiary education institutions are at the forefront of this criticism.However, no serious effort has been made to distinguish between corporatization of private lesson provider and those who took up the job to meet the basic needs.

Among others, arguments put forward against private lesson providing services include out of classroom teaching by serving teachers, influencing the results, question paper leak, falling quality of students.

Government responds to these allegations by shutting down coaching centers prior to key public examinations. In addition, it is seriously considering to impose some kind of restrictions on teachers who provide private lesson to students of their respective institutions.

Point the government is missing here is that the whole private lesson service cannot be blamed for the corrupt acts of the few.

The High Court in its recent verdict called the "private lesson providing business" is an immoral act.

Maybe the defendant lawyer did not manage to convince the court that in a materialistic society teachers also do have aspirations and dreams. They also want a secure future for their children. In a country like ours, teaching is not a rewarding career. To make a decent living out of the monthly salary is far from reality. A teacher's only source of making some bucks is this private lesson service.

Government can regulate or formulate policies regarding this service. Instead it heaped blame on private lesson providing services for decay of values in whole education system.

This faulty perception needs to be changed. Back in April last year, I wrote a piece titled"Stop This Publicity Stunt" underscoring hollow stance of Anti-Corruption Commission on private lesson services.

In that piece I argued that in our country coaching services are also available for O/A level students. However, we have not heard of any question paper leak in O/A level exams. Did the government try to find out the reason?

The question paper scam marred our public examination system because some corrupt public servants and coaching centers pander to the demand of leaked questions. Rather than putting the professional integrity and commitment under scanner the government put the whole private lesson service industry under scanner.

Apart from teachers, unemployed people, petty employees also contribute to this industry to supplement their income. Is that a crime? In an age when cadre-based political parties are flourishing and levying unofficial duties on businesses by drawing monthly extortion or charging commission on public projects or receiving monthly payments from the parties, how can a non-partisan youth or petty employee meet his basic needs or fill the shortfall in earnings needed for decent living?

There is no left or right international fraternity organizations that will send aid for him through diplomatic channels or charitable organizations.

To our dismay, we also noticed that how all the government machinery including the court stepped forward to farther accelerate the process of tribalism at the tertiary education institutions instead of making them a center of excellence. Meanwhile, our neighbors surpassed us by securing positions in Asia's top 100 universities. And 47 years after independence, we reinvented their utility in the society by dubbing them "[political]leader maker". By the way, hardly any of these leaders' son and daughter have studied at these desi universities or gone through local education system.

I found it rude and indecent when a minister said that primary school teachers should not send their children to kindergartens. None has the authority to clip the wing of aspirations of a primary school teacher.

At the same time, it is not just to make private lesson service a villain when there has been lack of quality jobs, drop in corporate salary, rising inflation and an army of job seekers.

What are the practices in other countries?

In Singapore, which is ranked 4th in CPI 2018 by Transparency International , private lesson providers enjoy a respectable life and many earn millions of dollars. The service is a well recognized industry. In South Korea, the private lesson centers are known as club( i.e. Math Club, English Club etc) and are full of books on respective subjects. South Korean students spend hours in these centers to read books and take services of private tutors.The clubs do not display name of the teachers. BBC made a magnificent documentary title "School Swap: Korea Style" on South Korean education system. Despite being less corrupt countries, both Singapore and South Korea have a thriving private lesson providing industry. The presence of such an industry did not pollute the whole education system. So the point is when corruption is prevalent in every aspect of society, private lesson industry cannot stay unscathed and remain a distant island.

I would request the court, and at the same time to the government, to read the Straits Times report on Singapore's super tutors and watch BBC documentary on South Korean school before the February hearing.

This will help them to clear their perception about private lesson providing services.Misdeeds of few cannot be categorized as common practices of a whole industry. This industry also helps to blossom the true potential of an educator and to fine tune acquired knowledge of a person who is on the verge of moving toward the next stage of his own field. A more constructive role from the part of policy makers and judiciary will be to formulate do's and don'ts and regulate the industry.

La Semaine Dernière A Mes Yeux

(18 janvier ---- 25 janvier)



Mon site (https://rezaulhoque.wordpress.com) est encore bloqué au Bangladesh. J'ai constaté que quand j'ai publié nouveau poste dans ce site pour quelques heures le blocage sur mon site (https://rezaulhoque.wordpress.com) a été enlevé. Mais il reste toujours inaccessible le plupart de temps. Cela suscite ma soupçon que quelqu'un l'a bloqué au Bangladesh.

Selon un reportage, Wealth X a classé Bangladesh 3eme dans le classement de croissance de Riche au Bangladesh.

Selon un reportage, plus de 1000 Rohingya sont venus au Bangladesh l'année dernière depuis l'Inde. Dans la frontière entre Bangladesh et l'Inde, la force frontière de l'Inde a appréhendé 31 Rohingyas.

Selon un reportage, la Police sri lankaise a identifié 13 Bangladais pour avoir passé Cocaïne et Héroïne au Sri Lanka. Le 31 décembre, Police lankaise a saisi 272 kilogrammes de héroïne et 5 kilogrammes de cocaïne.


Selon un reportage, un camion plein de charbon s'est renversé et tué 12 ouvriers dans une briqueterie à Cumilla. Quand la tragédie a frappé ils dormaient.

Regional Framework To Contain Corruption

While addressing a jubilant party loyalists at Suhrawardy Uddyan, PM stressed that her new government would not tolerate corruption. A "zero tolerance" policy would soon be put in place. Despite the corruption scams that jolted the nation but failed to unsettle her government, many found some kind of optimism in her commitment to contain corruption. But many people will watch how far and at what length she could go to translate her words into action.

So far, only politicians, businessmen and former public servants having ties with opposition political parties have been tried on charges of corruption. No ruling party leader or public official has been tried.

However, PM's stance was greeted well across people from different creed.

In recent years, some FDIs are stemming from our big trading partners. Infrastructure and energy are two key sectors that witness the FDI boom. In addition, our trading partners are also happened to be major procurement source s of our ongoing development and investment projects. Some of the partners also sell arms to us.

With growing FDIs and development projects, the likelihood of corrupt act has also grown. Uncharted territory of corruption is also opening up in a developing country like us. For instance, none of us guessed that Bangladesh Bank heist would happen in Bangladesh.
Coincidentally, culprits of the crime are nationals of influential trading partner or of country with which we have special arrangements.

Last year , I read score of news reports on how Chinese importers cheated their Bangladeshi partners by sending container-load of sand instead of the agreed good. I don't know whether the importer got reimbursement or took any kind of legal action against the Chinese company.

Connectivity and greater involvement also invite unintended consequences. These stray incidents should not be seen as obstacles to forge greater ties. Rather, they create new alleys for cooperation.

Some of the investment proposals are coming from groups who have wide array of businesses spanning in several continents. With these diverse portfolio and aligned interest with their suppliers, they are likely to evade taxes or hide information that is crucial to calculate their earnings and tax.

Often many of the corrupt groups escape the the legal system or manage to do business in other countries due to their high political connection.
If we put in place a regional framework to contain corruption, we may be able to try corrupt individuals or groups who operate beyond borders and in multinational settings.

Any agreement between anti-corruption bodies of these countries will pave the path for anti-corruption cooperation and will significantly reduce incidence of corruption in the region.

Similarly, this kind of arrangement will help to check smuggling and narcotics activity across the border. It will wok as a catalyst to remove the political tutelage that this kind of clandestine trade enjoys.

Crony corrupt practices are prevalent in this part of the world. This kind of agreement will also thwart high level political corruption. So any corrupt act committed in one country will invoke punitive action in another country as per the agreement. Extradition may take place in light of such agreement.

One may argue that what good it will bring as influential political groups have greater leverage over this sort of constitutional bodies. In favorable time of the cronies the bodies may not try them, but they can keep a record and document the corrupt incident and open up investigation at a later date to try them.

The most important thing this kind of agreement will work as a scarecrow in a corrupt country to fend off evil motive of any transnational corporation.

Crux of the matter is today or tomorrow we have to go for this kind of arrangements. Before any eventuality spurs that kind of cooperation, it is better to devise an agreement right now. And the welfare benefits this cooperation agreement will generate is beyond to gauge.

La Semaine Dernière A Mes Yeux

(11 janvier --- 18 janvier)
Mon site https://rezaulhoque.wordpress.com est encore bloqué au Bangladesh. Le 16 janvier pour 4 heures le blocage a été enlevé. A partir de minuit, le 17 janvier , mon site est bloqué pour deuxième fois. WordPress m'a répondu que mon site était bloqué au Bangladesh. Il n'avait pas de difficultés à voir mon site hors de mon pays.
Selon un reportage , TIB a détecté fraude électorale dans l'élection générale en 2018. Le Tsar de l'Anti Corruption a fait une étude à ce propos. Scrutin dans 47 conscription a été mis en question.
Selon un reportage, des ouvriers bangladais au Koweït ont assiégé l'ambassade de Bangladesh au Koweït en signe de protestation contre escroquerie par leur l'agence de recrutement.
Selon un reportage, 832 Rohingyas, dont 39 % sont des enfants âgés moins de 5 ans, sont tombés victimes de varicelle.
Selon un reportage, le gouvernement et patrons ont mis en fin la protestation par les ouvriers de confection. Des ateliers de confection ont licencié des ouvriers qui participaient à la protestation. Le plateforme de patrons BGMEA a préparé une base donné des ouvriers militants. Il se peut qu'ils ne trouvent pas de boulot dans atelier de confection.

Chalk Out A Domestic Rohingya Policy

Fresh batches of Rohingya are coming to Bangladesh. Some countries in Middle East and India are driving them towards Bangladesh. In recent weeks, clashes erupted between Rakhine separatist groups and Tatmadaw. Peace and reconciliatory moves to create the right atmosphere in Rakhine State now linger in uncertainties. It has become evident that we have to host this hapless people for an indeterminate period.

For the last 7 or 8 months , I have been arguing for a domestic Rohingy policy. Introduction of a bill in the parliament detailing the tasks of managing the Rohingya crisis till all of them repatriated.

Unlike other refugee situation, very few countries step forward to provide them shelters. Bangladesh is leading the way in abating this crisis by housing more than a million Rohingya and providing some of the basic needs.

However, drawing resources to facilitate the relief efforts for this vulnerable group has met some setbacks. Despite the pledges from leading multilateral financial institutions, worries are there. There have been reports that actual contribution to relief programs fell short of aid promises made by others.

Provided the long duration of the crisis, some policy measures are necessary in a bid to develop the Rohingya population and ensure sustainable livelihoods. That means more aid commitment. While the existing commitment is not met, it will not be practical to expect more.

One viable solution is to make sure that development partners made some "trade commitments" in terms of providing market access to Rohingya made good. I will articulate this later but first take a deeper look at the Rohingya development.

Provided the camp conditions are not suitable for secondary and higher secondary education, education institutions outside the camps could be seen as alternatives. Capacity of these institutions have to be increased. Pre-fabricated structures may be built to accommodate the new students.

Next comes recruitment of teachers.As the Rohingya students will follow some of curriculum of the Rakhine education system, recruitment of suitable teachers is the next big challenge. Some of the teachers may be recruited from abroad.

Some NGO run schools in the camps are already providing pre-primary and primary education. Two years down the line we need tocater to the demand of education need of the Rohingya children. Moreover, many secondary-school-going Rohingya children stay idle in the camps. To bring them back to school, an urgent policy needs to be drawn.

Now the crucial question is who is going to finance the education of the Rohingya children. World Bank has shown some keen interest. But more donors are needed. I think a better idea will be to draw some funds from ME countries. Bangladesh can put into work its thawed relations with Saudi Arabia in this regard. For instance, Bangladesh can scuttle the the projects for building religious cultural institutes across the country and divert the money to finance the education of the Rohingyas under its supervision. The point is the education provided will not be theological but will be in line with curriculum prevails in Bangladesh and Myanmar. One stumbling block is to consult with Saudi Arabia and to make them agree to this new initiative.

Another source could be aid pledges for this goal from our existing development partners or countries who are sympathetic towards the Rohingyas.

For able Rohingya students, Bangladesh can allow them to pursue tertiary education at universities and colleges. Special scholarship fund can be formed to finance higher education of the Rohingyas.

Creating sustainable livelihoods for the Rohingyas is another challenge. I have long been arguing for a " Made By Rohingya" campaign, which will popularize the Rohingya made goods abroad.To make it successful, Bangladesh should train thousands of Rohingya entrepreneurs. And provide them capital or initial seed money.

Sympathetic governments need to take initiatives to create some kind of markets of these goods in those countries. For instance, armies of these countries buy huge quantity of knit items every year. Spending is done by public money. Friendly countries may maintain some quotas for these items and allot them to Rohingya entrepreneurs.

This trade access is more beneficial than any aid pledges. It will truly empower the Rohingyas.
When it comes to set up businesses, deal with financial transactions, status of the Rohingyas is a major challenge. Government can offer them some kind of identity status, not a citizenship, by introducing a special bill in the parliament.

This Rohingya act will acknowledge their refugee status in this country and at the same time allow them to have a special identity card, open bank account, set up business and rent land or commercial space.

This act is quintessential to chalk out a contingency plan for the Rohingyas. It will not only contain the holistic plans for addressing the crisis, but will also bear ideas for dignified future of a stateless community.

La Semaine Dernière A Mes Yeux

(4 janvier --- 11 janvier)

Je ne suis pas arrivé à accéder à mon site https://rezaulhoque.wordpress.com Il est encore bloqué au Bangladesh. J'ai déjà déposé une plainte dans la gendarmerie locale et notifié Cyber Crime Unit de la Police. Malheureusement, CCU et BTRC ont joué ignorant à ce propos. Ils ne savent pas qui l'a bloqué.

Selon un reportage, Ain O Salish Kendra a revendiqué que 466 personnes avaient été tuées extrajudiciairement en 2018, la  tuerie maximum par les forces de l'ordre dans 5 années. Par ailleurs, ASK s'est dit que 207 journalistes avaient été ciblées au Bangladesh en 2018, deux fois plus que le bilan de l'année précédente.

Selon un reportage, une Cour de Philippine a condamné une banquier à 56 ans de prison pour avoir participé à piratage de la Banque centrale de Bangladesh.

Selon un reportage, ouvriers de confection se sont insurgés contre discrimination de leur mensuel. Un ouvrier a été tué par balles. A cause de leur manif, il y avait grand embouteillages à Dacca. Le gouvernement et patrons ont calmé la situation en revalorisant le salaire. Mais la manifestation continue.

Selon un reportage, le Parlement indien a dit oui au projet de loi de nationalité qui met accent sur donner nationalité aux groupes persécutés des pays avoisinants.