Feature

Aiming Towards Excellence
Edexcel Celebrates 35 years in Bangladesh

Feeda Hasan Shahed & Sarah Z H

'Edexcel' the term itself has signified excellence without many of our knowing about its sole contribution to the much debated education system in Bangladesh. Founded in 1996, Edexcel has been acting as an unification between London Examinations, an awarding body which offers GCE O' and A' Level Examinations and BTEC another awarding body which offers vocational qualifications such as national diplomas. On 22 November 2007, Edexcel celebrated its 35 years of success in Bangladesh jointly with British Council, which called for a glorious ceremony in Dhaka Sheraton Hotel.

The program started off with the announcing of the speakers by Rohini Alamgir. The three main speakers of the evening were Mr. Peter Ashton, Director Exams, British Council Bangladesh, Mr. Ross Hall, Director of Edexcel International, UK and chief guest Professor Nazrul Islam, Chairman, UGC. The occasion mostly saw the presence of senior educationists and representatives of numerous English medium schools of Bangladesh. Mr. Peter Ashton greeted Edexcel on its achievement and thanked everyone who made it to the event extended the opening speech. He expressed his thoughts on the coordinated success of Edexcel UK and British Council Bangladesh in providing the students with quality education and changing their lives by assisting them in aiming for excellence. The two organizations have been working together in more than 100 countries around the world with a view to improve and advance the schools and educational institutions. He thanked the government of Bangladesh for all its support and consideration.

Barrister Sadia Rahman, a very special speaker rendered a success story that delighted many hearts among the listeners. As a former student of Maple Leaf International School she shared her deepest gratitude and appreciation as she retold the incredible story of her personal success that was greatly shaped by Edexcel and her school. She believed that without the efforts put by her principal Zeba Ali, she would not have been what she is today.

The next speaker, Principal of Bangladesh International Tutorial mocked that she should not require a mike due to her principally loud voice as it should be possible for everyone to hear her even in the very back of the hall.

She puffed up the academic network meetings held by Edexcel and British Council that discussed advanced teaching techniques for the teachers. She also thanked the country manager of Edexcel, Mr. Saidur Rahman for arranging such a beautiful program.

Ross Hall who is an astounding 7 footer visibly arrested the attention of the audience as soon as he was on stage and ready to communicate his thoughts. He congratulated Edexcel and British Council on their success in benefiting the students of Bangladesh. He conveyed his concern and compassion to those who have suffered loss as a consequence of the recent catastrophe.

Professor Nazrul Islam, the chief guest of the evening talked about many issues associated with studying in English. He stressed on the fact that we lack qualified instructors when aspiring for higher standards. He made it obvious that without the help of the graduates as in Edexcel graduates who are often exceedingly qualified can make this problem scarce and facilitate quality education.

Award Giving Ceremony
Later in the evening certificates were given out by professor Nazrul Islam to the participating English medium schools of Dhaka in a series of workshops titled 'Quality for Managing Schools' put in order by Edexcel and British Council. Among these were the Maple Leaf Int. School, Centre for Business Studies, Don Grammar School, Sir John Wilson, Scholastica, South Breeze, Summerfield Int. School, Sunbeams, Sunnydale, Aga Khan School, Mastermind School, Happy Times Int'l School and many more.

The Cultural Show
The students of the Maple Leaf Int. touched most of the audience hearts by presenting a fabulous cultural show. It included dance and song performance with a group poem recitation. The outstanding performances of the little angels were so catchy that the audience didn't hesitate to inspire them by their claps. The guests were highly impressed at the performance that symbolized local culture and highlighted national heritage.