Feature

Mamun M. Aziz

It is hard to believe that two members of the Islamic University of Technology (IUT) Gazipur family have left this world, leaving us in deep mourning. Yet another is suffering from grave wounds. Just a few years ago these three IUTians were enjoying their pleasant and proud student life along with all the others in the wonderful IUT campus. Just a few days ago they were very active, busy and engaged in their professional lives. Just one accident took away two young lives and left one critically injured.

S. M. Farhad Rajib (27), a native of Chittagong, had come back from Australia only a few days ago. Abu Bakar Siddique (28), employee of Standard Chartered Bank was in Chittagong on a vacation. Their friend Tahmid Anwar Tazik (27), CEO of Chittagong Online (COL), lives in Chittagong. They were traveling to Cox's Bazaar in Tazik's car in the afternoon of 13th January. Their car collided face to face with a public BUS coming from Cox's Bazar at Nalbila Forest bit of Chokoria.

The accident took away the brilliant lives of Rajib and Siddique on the spot. Two valuable and flourishing engineers were lost. May Allah give peace to their departed soul. Seriously injured, Tazik was taken to Chittagong Medical Hospital instantly and transferred to Dhaka BSMMU hospital on the morning of 14th January. He has suffered a few fractures and minor brain hemorrhage.

Rajib has been buried in Fatikchori and Siddique in his home district Noakhali.

Rajib, Siddique and Tazik were students of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department of IUT. They were all from the 1998 batch. After achieving engineering degree in 2002, Tazik started his Internet business Chittagong Online (COL), which is one of the most renowned ISP's in Chittagong. Presently he is continuing his Master's course in NSU. He also got married a few months ago.

After achieving Engineering degree from IUT in 2002, Siddique got admitted into IBA. After achieving MBA degree from there he started his professional life in Standard Chartered Bank Dhaka. Rajib had gone abroad for higher studies after achieving his engineering degree, and had settled there. Just one accident has drowned two families under floods of sorrow. All teachers as well as ex and current students of IUT mourn the unexpected death of Rajib and Siddique. May Allah grant them places in Zannatul Ferdous.Please pray for Tazik. May Allah cure him fully very soon. The IUT family advocates road safety so that no body else gets ripped apart from their lovely families.

The event was organized by CEMS, an event management firm, that has also organized similar sorts of events eight times before. According to Mr. Shafi Ahmed Suchok of CEMS they usually organize education fairs in the middle of the year but this year they organized the fair keeping the new academic year of many foreign countries into consideration. Lots of students want to pursue their higher education abroad but they are not aware of the different admission procedures. This type of education fair allows students to become aware of the different academic procedures and they can talk directly with the representatives of the universities. Apart from the foreign universities, many private universities of Bangladesh also participated in the fair along with language institutes, fashion institutes and education service consultants.

The education service agencies are attached with different foreign universities of Europe, Canada, Australia and Asia. These education consultant firms manage all the documents of the students for the admission procedure starting from procuring offer letters to preparing visa documents. Moreover, there are many countries that do not have any high commission in Bangladesh, such as Ireland, so these education service agencies also help students to communicate with universities of those countries.

This type of education fair helps the students to get first-hand information from the authorities of different universities about the admission procedures and about other facilities. Many universities at both home and abroad were also providing extra incentives for students during the fair. Students also had the opportunity to get spot admission in foreign universities that participated in the fair.

Here is a comment of a student seeking admission in some university. “We have just passed our H.S.C in 2006 so now we are trying to get admitted into a local university or a foreign university. That's why we came here. I think this type of fair will be arranged in the near future. It is a new experience in our life.” Said Md.Shabbir Hasan