EDU.INT
INTER-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
BANGLADESH
Prominent Bangladeshi Diplomat receives EDU Secretary-General
H.E. Irving Levance, Secretary-General of the Intergovernmental Organization EDU called upon H.E. Mosud Mannan, the well respected Bangladeshi Ambassador who is accredited to represent his country in Austria, Czech Republic, Federal Republic of Germany, Hungary, Slovak Republic and Slovenia as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. He has previously been accredited in this role to Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
Every inch the polished statesman, H.E. Mosud Mannan quickly justified the confidence his nation entrusts to him to represent it abroad, to such a diverse cross section of countries. In a masterful display of eloquent discourse, he provided the Secretary General with an interesting and detailed overview of Bangladesh, its origins and history, its current priorities and its educational objectives.
Ambassador Mannan declared himself keen to expedite educational activities at all levels.
Subjects covered in his riveting address included: the pre-colonial history of Bangladesh under Mughal rule for 400 years; the linguistic origins of the Bangla language and its interaction and coexistence with Farsi, Arabic, Sanskrit, Urdu and English; the effect of British colonial rule and how Bangladesh was educationally prosperous at that time; the effects of Partition and the struggle for independence which followed and which eventually saw Bangla adopted as the Official State Language with English as the Second Language; the continuation of the British model of education and its adaptation to primary, secondary, pre-university college (also called high school) and university level academic and vocational education.
He expounded the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s audacious vision, which has no less a stated aim than to make Bangladesh hunger and poverty free and to achieve the status of a mid-level developed country in the not too distant future, through digitalization and the priority accorded to science based education.
Strides have been made in that direction with Bangladesh being a world leader in micro-finance and some remote villages now even having computer aided teaching. The literacy rate is 67% and improving it is a high priority challenge being faced.
The Secretary-General of EDU was delighted to establish an agreement in which Ambassador Mannan assumes the role of primary point of contact for liaison with Dhakar as the process is begun for Bangladesh to become a participant of EDU and its programmes.
He believes that having a respected statesman of such stature commit to assisting EDU in this way, will prove to be a vital component of its success.
