::: Star Insight :::

Guru Griho

Pabna

Swedish School trains Village Students

Piash Ahmed, a second year HSC student of the of MA Samad Technical and BM college never in his wildest imaginations thought that he would go to a foreign country to receive free education. But not only Piash — 15 other students from villages in Pabna and Natore have been given a chance to travel to Sweden to study under the technical disciplines in the ABB Industrial High School under the Bangladesh Sweden Technical Education Exchange Program (BSTEEP).
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Ahmed Humayun Kabir Topu

BSTEEP has taken the initiative of sending 10 students of the MA Samad Technical and BM College and 6 others from Boraigram Techical College to Sweden's ABB Industrial High School for one term of intensive training on 24 January, 2012. Both these institutes are placed in remote areas of Chalanbil — the first in Handail village in Cghatmohar, Pabna and the second falls under the Natore District.

Md. Ghulam Kibria, who heads the program, said, “The project has rolled into the second phase with these 16 hard working individuals. They are definitely lucky to be going abroad to a developed country, in the technical aspects, for their training; but this could not have been true for them if they were not as talented as they are. 16 others had received the scholarship from the Boraigram Technical College last year, whereas this year’s 16 came from a combination of two colleges this year. These students have been given a tremendous opportunity to hone their skills while on their visit, as there are very limited resources here. I hope that they will utilize their time in Sweden in learning a lot, and in the future work towards the social welfare of Bangladesh.”

Md. Rejaul Karim Helal, principal of the MA Samad Technical and BM College, said this is definitely a rare chance for the selected students, and more so because of their remote backgrounds. “All students attending my college live at least 60 km away from urbanization. This is a rare opportunity for them to taste life in a developed country first hand! I just hope that the two weeks they are supposed to spend in Sweden helps them to open their minds to a broader horizon”, he had added.

The Boraigram principal Md. Fazlur Rahman reflected on how the studying habits of last year's chosen students have changed, and made them even more efficient. He said, “The students brought computers with them on their return. They are using these machines to maintain communication with their foreign contemporaries, constantly looking for something new to innovate. This has been a magnificent change in their attitudes towards how they study now!”

He added, “Students in Sweden follow a curriculum that requires them to attend lectures for 9 months, and the rest 3 are spent in practical training. But due to constraints, these traveling students have to follow a compressed course outline that is more academic than practical. None the less, the returning students are proof of how the program is making them more committed to their work besides the education they are receiving.”

Mr. Gunner Nihlem, the president of the Swedish school, had visited the colleges in December, 2011, and had distributed quite a few computers. He had invited the village students under the technical disciplines to attend the Swedish schools.