::: Star Campus :::

Opinion & Views

Shuttling between home & campus

Eliza Binte Elahi Nobo

It was great to be a student once again after a long 5 years gap. I was once again in the midst of new dreams, fully enjoying the spirit of student life. The colors, the fun and the essence of student life made me forget that I am a mother of a 3 year old child. After completing my graduation I ended the first phase of my life and entered into the second phase by a passage commonly called “Marriage “. After settling down in this new arena of life I decided to continue my studies and enrolled in the MBA program of American International University Bangladesh (AIUB). It was completely a new kind of feeling for me, which I never experienced before, an unknown emotion.

It took me a while to cope up with my new life though it was pretty thrilling. I was introduced to this new domain of private university education which too me was pretty strange. I started my initial education in a public school, then a public college and finally a public university but was unaware of the fact that there is another genre of students a.k.a (also known as) private university students. They have a world of their own, quite unknown to the public university students and whose access is restricted to the outsiders. My first impression was that all the students are members of a same cult because as a whole they look all the same with funky clothes and customised Bangla vocabulary which I found pretty difficult to understand. They were quite alien to me which reminds me of the cliché “During our student life……………” However, after recovering from the initial shock I discovered that my comprehension about the students were completely wrong. I made the mistake of judging the book by its cover, actually the product is same but the packaging is different. Same old hardcore Bangladeshi inside with values and culture. The basic difference I noticed among the students were their attitude which includes believing that there is always a short cut and it is always cool to react to every situation. They believed in themselves and they do not care much about the world. However, they seem pretty concerned about the country showing considerable amount of patriotism. They are disturbed by irrational national issues like the dilemma in the voter's list, election, and politics and so on. However, I find it a pretty good sign for the betterment of the whole country. They are a new breed of students coming up who are educated, smart and full of confidence with a flare to change things for the better. I have heard so much about private university students living in an illusive world of western culture but I discovered that they are strongly rooted to their culture but preparing to become global players. May be they are Bangladesh's answer to globalisation's urge for skilled and efficient people.

Recently the talk of the campus was the public school teachers' hunger strike and the empty classrooms of countless schools around the country. They seemed astonished by this phenomenon and one day one of the exchange students of my university told me "In my country teachers are most respected in society but it's a pity that in your country teachers had to go to such extreme limits for their demands”. I was embarrassed by her remarks but assured her that it is a temporary crisis and it is also a part of our culture to respect our teachers.

After the conversation I felt a little uncomfortable with the thought that little children who are completely unaware of the situation are missing their precious school time. I am planning to admit my son to a good school but all around the country thousands of kids may be the same age of my son are deprived of education and their future is in jeopardy. I don't know much about politics and problems but I know that education is important and I am concerned about the country. I certainly do not want any foreigner to ask embarrassing questions to my son or any son of this country in the future. I hope for a better tomorrow.