Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has informed Parliament that the government has asked the private universities to install close-circuit
cameras to curb drug abuse on the campus.
At a regular question-answer session on Thursday, he made the disclosure responding to a written question from BNP’s ABM Ashraf
Uddin.
The opposition MP had asked about the steps the ministry had taken to improve the academic atmosphere threatened by abuse of drugs,
specially Yaba, at private universities and English-medium educational institutions.
The universities had also been directed to constitute drug control committees whose responsibilities would be to keep students away from
doing drug, he explained.
The violent political programmes of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, including acts of arson during general strikes, had forced the ministry to reschedule 33 examinations at higher secondary level, Nahid said in response to a question posed by lawmaker Sadhona Halder.
“The pass rate has reduced by 5 percent from last year due to political violence.” Currently, 11,624 educational institutions were receiving MPO facility
and the government appointed 2988 teachers to secondary-level government-run educational institutions, according to the minister.
The ministry also had plans to formulate a common policy for public university teachers working as consultants and travelling abroad for
professional purposes.
According to State Minister for Social Welfare Promod Mankin, those above the age of 60 are considered senior citizens and there is a draft policy to offer them special facilities like free travel.
He said the senior citizens will get the facilities once the policy was passed in Parliament. Reserved seat MP AN Mahfuza Khatun Baby Maudud wanted to know the steps taken for the welfare of senior citizens.
Presided over by the Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, Parliament sat in the afternoon.-bdnews24.com
