World standard playground in Rajshahi College in the offing

RAJSHAHI – Rajshahi College, one of the oldest colleges in the country, is going to get a world standard playground with financial support of the Indian government.

The playground development work will be implemented at a cost of around Taka 5.93 crore under the “Establishment of sports facilities in Rajshahi College Field Surroundings areas” project.

Bangladesh and India signed a memorandum of understandings (MoU) on establishment of sports facilities in Rajshahi College field and surrounding areas on March 27 last to enhance cooperation in sports.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnessed the MoU signing ceremony after the bilateral talks between the two neighbouring countries at the Prime Minister’s Office in Dhaka.

The Indian high commissioner Vikram K Doraiswami and Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education of Bangladesh Md Mahbub Hossain exchanged the MoU on behalf of their respective
governments.

According to college sources, various infrastructure developments works including earth-dumping, improved sewerage, green gallery, floodlight, underground drainage and modern sanitation system will be implemented under the project.

Apart from this, there are also provisions of constructing an open gymnasium, walkway, two dressing rooms for the players, restroom, swimming pool and tennis and badminton ground. Rajshahi College Principal-in-charge Prof Abdul Khaleque told BSS that the
project is being judged as a milestone for the college. Upon successful
implementation of the project, the image of the college will be furthermore
brightened, he said.

In addition, college students’ even entire Rajshahi people will get
enormous benefits from the improved facilities and an epoch-making space will
be created for generating national and international standards sport players,
he added.

Meanwhile, the Rajshahi College stepped into its 149th year on Thursday
last.

Prof Khaleque said Rajshahi College was the first institution in the
territories to offer bachelor and honours degree courses in various
disciplines since 1878 after its establishment in 1873.

It’s also the third oldest institution of higher education in Bangladesh
after Dhaka College and Chittagong College.

Starting with only six students in 1873, the college is teaching around
26,000 students in higher secondary, bachelor, honours and postgraduate
courses at present.

Rajshahi College stopped enrolling Higher Secondary students in 1996 but
again started enrolling them from session 2010-2011.

The college has been adjudged as the country’s best educational
institution for the fourth consecutive time in 2019 for its outstanding
performance in various fields like the previous years of 2016, 2017 and 2018.

The education ministry has ranked the college as the country’s best one in
the National Education Week-2019 Competition, said professor Khaleque.