TBM Report ||
Student welfare must remain the central priority for educators, as educational institutions exist primarily to serve students, according to former Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Emeritus Professor Dr. Anwarullah Chowdhury.
“A teacher who does not prioritize the wellbeing of students cannot truly be a good teacher,” Dr. Chowdhury remarked on Monday (August 24). He stressed that faculty members should stand by students during personal or academic challenges, adopt an approachable demeanor, and remain open to learning from students.
He made the comments as the chief guest at the closing ceremony of a four-month residential foundation training program held at the Bangladesh Open University (BOU) central conference center. Organized under the UGC’s Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation (HEAT) project, the course aimed to upgrade teaching standards across institutions.
Describing teaching as a lifelong pursuit rather than a mere job, Dr. Chowdhury urged faculty to continuously build expertise through sustained reading. He also emphasized mastering English alongside Bangla to access and contribute to global research repository networks.
Presiding over the event, UGC Chairman Professor Dr. Mamun Ahmed revealed plans to train nearly 5,000 university teachers and administrators under the HEAT initiative. He stated that steps are underway to establish a permanent University Teachers’ Training Academy, ensuring new faculty complete compulsory pedagogy training before entering classrooms.
The event featured addresses from UGC Member Prof. Dr. Masuma Habib, BOU Pro-VC Prof. Dr. Anisur Rahman, and HEAT Training Academy Dean Prof. Dr. Laila Noor Islam. Fifty-eight lecturers and assistant professors representing 33 public and private universities completed the four-month course.
