Editor's Note

Education for Fostering Positive Values

Not everything is dark in the scenario of today's Bangladesh. We are been highlighting some of its bright aspects in Star Insight focusing our attention on the countryside and not on the metropolitan city of Dhaka. However, there is one particularly dark area both in the capital city and in the outlying districts and villages which we find very distressing. I am thinking of the deterioration and the near-collapse of our educational system.

Poor curriculum, poor teaching methods, poor class room conditions, inadequate supervision and monitoring and a host of other malfunctionings currently plague our educational area. The need for science and technology in today's world can hardly be overemphasized, but it would be most unfortunate if the study of the humanities: literature, philosophy, history etc was neglected in our pursuit of science.

The study of humanities broadens one's vision, makes one sensitive, infuses in one a sense of charity and loving-kindness and generally helps one in grappling with the problems of the mind, while the study of science is a positive aid toward understanding the material world and its multifarious complexities. A proper balance between the two must be struck. We hope our educational theorists and practitioners will rise to the occasion and take immediate steps to revitalize our educational activities. Year 2007 is round the corner. A beginning must be made without delay.

Shaheen Kabir
Advisory Editor, Star Insight

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