Letters
On 'The Road to freedom'
Though poverty reduction is significant, the gap between rich and poor has been greatly broadened for want of proper management and distribution of income resulting in a pool of wealth in the hands of some crooked politicians and businessmen.
Reducing our dependence on the prescription of the world bodies, a democratic government supported by the reformed concerns must carry on the pro-productive framework of development to ensure social, cultural, political and most significantly, economic freedom for the greater welfare of the whole nation by means of a sound judicial system, poverty reduction programmes, anti-corruption drive and a massive industrialisation in the growth spheres which will be agro-based, import-substituting, SME-driven where the survival of future generation will be secured and the dreams of the martyrs of will be materialised.
I want to thank the SWM for exploring the potentials and problems on the way of attaining it, which is free from all forms of bondage, corruption, poverty, exploitation and other socio-economic evils.
Amit Abdullah
Department Of Finance, DU
****
M M Akash made a good observation that the number of poor has as a matter of fact increased instead of going down. After knowing that 40 percent people of Bangladesh are living below the poverty line my aspirations regarding my country has gone down. We will need to struggle long and hard to lessen poverty and then think about development. Every year a large group of people are newly made poor by different natural disasters. We are not conscious of this great problem. If we want to stand as an independent country in the world we have to seriously think about proper planning and hard work.
Special thanks to SWM for paying attention to this crucial matter and making me conscious.
Md. Tarik Ali Chowdhury
Department of English,
Leading University, Sylhet
Electric Blues
The rampage of load shedding has commenced even before the proper arrival of the summer season. Actually, we have been through this problem for many years but we expected that this apolitical government would be able to draw the line at some point. We know almost all the reasons behind this and these reasons are brought back when the crisis starts. Electricity is a prerequisite for the development of a country. Since it cannot be changed overnight the government must allow the private sector to generate new plants or it can import electricity from neighbouring countries to mitigate the present crisis. Proper management can also alleviate squeeze the problem but without the production of electricity we cannot hope for anything significant in the long term. How long shall we live with this crisis? We want to see some urgent initiatives and we are waiting for some good news.
Rashedul Mansur
Dept. of English
SUST
A Fun Read Every Week
The author of Roman Column accomplishes what few contemporary writers are able to do; she transports the reader into her world and infects them with her contagious enthusiasm. She charms with her enormous gift as a storyteller. The combination of rich analysis of the everyday world, the large serving of humour and a sharp eye for thought-provoking details touches my heart and makes me laugh.
Her keen insight of the Italian culture, her eye for details and her gift of imagery provide a delightful entertainment every week. Her smooth writing style is bubbly, good natured and light hearted at times. She always delivers and captures my attention whatever her subject matter is. Her writing is brilliant, provocative and splendidly whimsical. Thanks for featuring her in the Star Weekend Magazine.
Veronique Yousuf
Vienna, Virginia
USA
VAT on English Medium Students
Last year the current government imposed Value Added Tax on the school fees of English Medium schools. While the government needs to impose tax to run the country, burdening the parents with tax makes very little sense. In the eighties or early nineties, only parents belonging to the upper class would send their children to private schools. Since then, mostly because government-run educational institutions have failed to give quality education, more and more parents from middle-income group are sending their kids to different private schools, which has given birth to a flourishing industry. The government must accept the fact that under its one year rule the prices of essentials have gone up further, burdening the parents with the VAT is not helping it in any way to hold the waning popular support that it needs to stay power in the days to come. To begin with, the government, in the coming budget, must withdraw the Vat that it has so importunately imposed last year. English medium schools must be allowed to flourish, the 
government must give a helping hand to these schools, our children need quality education, and the least they expect is a hostile government that instead of creating a congenial environment creates barriers to it.
Saiful Islam
Patherghata, Chittagong
Imposing Vat on the fees of English Medium schools is a bad decision; it must go in the next budget. Unlike what the government thinks or it wants us to think, the Vat is a trouble, which most of the parents are finding it difficult to bear. As a mother of three, who send her children to private schools, I urge the government to withdraw the value added tax from the fees of English Medium schools.
Maesha Islam
Gulshan, Dhaka
In the run up to the next budget, I ask the government to remove the Vat on the school fees of English Medium schools. Our public schools are in shambles; making quality education costly means that private schools of the neighbouring countries will be benefited. Is this what the government wants? So far the government has taken some courageous steps to steer the country towards a happy and prosperous future. It will do the country a huge favour if in the upcoming budget it removes the Vat on the school fees. So far the government has given us the impression that it listens to people's demands. I hope, this time round, too, the government will hear people's demand and save our country's education.
Tasnova Amin Nova
Dhanmandi, Dhaka
ANNOUNCEMENT
We would like to wish our readers
Shubho Nobo Borsho
1415!
Submission Guideline:
Letters to the Editor, Dhaka Diary and Write to Mita, with the writer's name and address, should be within 200 words. All articles should be within 1,200 words. A cover letter is not necessary, but every write-up should include the writer's name, phone number and email address (if any). While SWM welcomes unsolicited articles and photographs, it cannot accept the responsibility of their loss or damage. SWM does not return unsolicited articles and photos. Response time for unsolicited write-ups range from three weeks to two months. All articles submitted are subject to editing for reasons of space and clarity.
All materials should be sent to: Star Weekend Magazine, 19 Karwan Bazar, Dhaka-1215, Fax: 880-2-8125155 or emailed to: <starweekendmag@gmail.com>
It is recommended that those submitting work for the first time to the SWM take a look at a sample copy beforehand. Our website is: http://www.thedailystar.net/magazine
Copyright (R) thedailystar.net 2008
