ILLITERACY

Illiteracy means inability to read and write. Illiteracy is a curse because it is illiteracy that lowers down human being to the level of best. Illiteracy is compared to darkness because it darkness individual’s vision, outlook, behavior and in a word, all aspects of line. It is the root cause of ignorance, superstition, backwardness, poverty and many more.

Poverty is the main cause of illiteracy and vice versa. Similarly, underdevelopment causes illiteracy as much the same way illiteracy is the cause of underdevelopment. There are other causes too. Over population, financial and resource constraints, people’s super station and negative attitude about education, lack of awareness etc, are responsible for illiteracy.

Illiteracy generates hundreds of problems. Because of illiteracy, people do not know how to earn well and how to spend well. As a result they can not come out of their poverty trap. Many do not have knowledge about food and nutrition. So they suffer from various kinds of diseases. In a word, illiteracy is the cause of poor socio-economic condition, high mortality rate, low life expectancy, child-labour and child marriage and high growth rate population.

Illiteracy frustrates all development programmes of the government. Again, in order to improve the poor condition of the illiterate people, govt. has to spend a huge some of money on different programmes. This affects other sectors and hinders long-term development of the country.

Population of a country is termed as its human resources. The educated and skilled manpower of a country is its great asset. But if the people are illiterate, they become a great burden for the country. Illiterate people cannot contribute much to social and economic development of the country.

As illiteracy is the root cause of all evils, it should be the number one agenda of govt. has taken various measures like making primary education free and compulsory, girls education upto higher secondary level free, and the highest allocation for education in our national budget, still the measures are inadequate. Govt. must ensure that the money is being utilized properly and effectively. Govt. need to set up more educational institutions, make reading materials cheap and available, and grantee employment after completing education. Again private sectors, NGOs academician and patrons of learning should come forward to spread the light of education in every house. We have also to make our people aware of the importance of education. Media can play a great role in this regard. Reducing of poverty is the most effective way of removing illiteracy from society. So govt. must work in co-ordination with others to fight poverty and increase illiteracy rate.

The present illiteracy rate is still high in our country. That is why we are lagging behind in all respect than many other nations. If we want to build a happy and prosperous nation, if we want to stand in honour and dignity among the nations of the world, and if we want to develop our living standard and living condition, we must remove illiteracy from the country.

HOW TO REMOVE MASS ILLITERACY

Illiteracy of the general mass is one of the major ills from which our country suffers in common with other backward countries. It has been recognized as the birth right of every individual in a free sate. Mass ignorance defeats all attempts of progress and darkness the future of the nation. The sooner illiteracy is removed the better it will be for the individual and the community at large.

The schools we have a present are for children whose age range from 6 to 16. The syllabuses and the curriculum followed in these institutes are cast into a certain pattern and designed to prepare boys and girls for higher academic education in different lines. These schools can be of no practical use for mass, the vast majority of whom are grown up men and women. Therefore, a new set of school have to be introduced for giving education to these people. These may be called schools for adults.

We have to keep within view certain facts regarding these education centers. Our population being very large, the number of these schools will have to be proportionately considerable-at lest one in each locality of three or four village. The adult education centers cannot aspire to have grand school buildings. These schools will aim at imparting some elementary enlightenment along with a little better knowledge of the vocation the learners pursue. As most adults are busy earning their bread in the daytime, it will be convenient for them to attend schools if classes are taken at night.

In this country only a small minority of the children get the opportunity of attending schools regularly. Number of schools in the villages fall far short of what it should be. The existing schools are in such a deplorable condition that they beggar description. So a staggering number of school-going children stand in need of some facilities for rudimentary education. To that end compulsory and free primary schools should be started to accommodate these neglected future citizens of the country.

Mass literacy should never be confined to the three R’s. It must also aim at making the learners useful and capable of applying the new acquisition to the earning of their bread. Efforts should, therefore be made to teach some trade and to that end every adult education centre should be so planned and equipped as to be able to impart a large variety of vocational trainings. Thousands of our illiterate people are unemployed because they have neither any land to cultivate nor any finished knowledge of arts and crafts. If such people can be taught various handicrafts, such as weaving, carpentry, pottery, smithery. Caning as also trained in the handling of small machinery, their unemployment problem will be considerably solved. Over and above, mass education centers should take special care to impart knowledge of scientific agriculture, of health and sanitation and also give the learners some sort of civic training so as to make them fit for good citizenship.

To make the programme of mass literacy successful, it is, therefore, essential to keep in view the question of removing the current appalling poverty of the masses.

ACID THROWING

Acid throwing is a serious crime. It is a heinous act inhumanity. By throwing acid, the culprit takes revenge or satisfies some personal grievances or enimity. But in doing so, the criminal destroys the victim’s life forever. The victim bears the marks of acid violence on his/her body. The victim suffers physical pain for a short time, but suffers mentally and psychologically for the whole life. Acid throwing thus destroys a dream, a hope, and a life. It brings suffering and anxiety to the whole family.

There are varied reason for acid violence. Generally and mainly the cause is emotional or failure of a love affair, or refusal of a love or marriage proposal. In that cause the victim is in most cases a girl or a women. When a boy or man offers love or marriage proposal to a girl or women, and if he is rejected, he throws acid on the face whom he desired so much. By throwing acid, the rejected person satisfies his personal anger and vengeance on the girl or women. Often breakdown of marriage or demand for dowry also results in acid throwing. In this case also, the victim is generally a female. Besides, personal enmity, family feud, social hostility, quarrel for money or land dispute etc, are some other reasons of acid throwing.

An acid victim suffers for the whole life. S/he becomes a social outcast. S/he suffers from inferiority complex. A beautiful face, a smiling look and a lively person – all get destroyed by it. An acid victim suffers both psychologically and physically. If the acid throwing case is serious one, it burns the victim’s body and face, and distorts his or her appearance. A beautiful face turns into an ugly one. Often the victim dies fighting for some days with death. But if the victim survives, his/her suffering continues for the rest of life. The survivor has to undergo long medical treatment. Often s/he becomes physically invalid. S/he has to live depending on others. Thus the victim becomes a burden in the family. Acid throwing damages not only a person’s body or face, but it destroys his or her dream, a possibility and a life.

Understanding the psychology of an acid thrower is important this crime. An acid throw should be made to realize that he himself can be victim of acid violence and in that case his own life would be unbearable to himself. Again he should be made to realize that by throwing acid, he takes some revenge or satisfies personal anger but destroys a life, and brings suffering and woes to whole family. So psychological motivation is necessary to curb acid crime. Availability of acid must be removed and a severe law punishing the acid throwing must be introduced. Lack of family ties and lack of good parenting lead many younger to astray and involve them in such crime. So good parenting and family control is necessary to prevent it socially. The acid criminal should be boycotted socially and brought to exemplary punishment. Mass media can raise awareness among people about the horror and consequence of acid crime. The survivors should be rehabilitated and treated with love and sympathy. Social vigilance and familial watch can prevent this crime to a great extent.

It is hopeful that different private organization, women’s organizations and NGOs have come forward to prevent acid violence and raise awareness among people. As a result the case rate is decreasing. However, acid throwing is a social crime, and a social co-orindated efforts can curb the crimes as well as rehabilitate the victims. Guardians, parents and influential persons can play important roles in solving the feuds and quarrels before the incident actually happens.

CHILD LABOUR

Bangladesh is one of the protest countries of the world. Most people here live below poverty line. They cannot afford their basic necessities properly. Hear the average family size is big. As many families have low income or less earners than eating mouths, they engage their children in various earning activities to supplement the family income. Thus child labour is on the increase. In fact, child labour has become a serious socio-economic problem of Bangladesh. It is a curse of our society, a satire to our development programs.

Labour is a matter of dignity. But child labour is considered a matter of disgrace for a nation, because children are the future of a nation. If childhood is wasted in manual labour, and in shouldering the family need, if the children are deprived of their right to education and other privileges, they will not be able to lend the nation future. In effect they become a long-standing burden on the nation.

There are certain causes of child labour. Poverty is the root cause. As poor people can hardly maintain their family and educate their children, the education of the children is stopped at an early age and they are forced to do various manual labour to support their family. Low pay is another cause of child lobour. Often employers offer low pay for certain jobs which the grown ups do not do.

Child labour is a reality of modern urban and industrial society. Children are like flowers. At this age they are to go to school and there will be books and pens in their hands. But the though and cruel reality force many children to leave school or not to go to school at all. Instend they take up hammer, busket, and handles of rickshaw or van in their hands, remain unfed, hakf-clad, and bare-footed. Thud their sad and heart-rending condition highlight only the distressed condition of the nation.

Children labour destroys the sweet period of childhood and face the children with the stark realities of life. Wherever children are employed either it is domestic work or factory work, either it is rickshaw pulling or working in a shop or hotel, they are abused, maltreated, paid low and derived of their due rights by their employer, children work for longer period, suffer various mistreatments, work in unhealthy and unfavourable condition, and what is sorrowful, they are not given due wages. Child labour is cheap labour. Many children do the work of the adults, and other do risky and dangerous work, but they do not get any sympathy or love from anybody.

Govt. and NGOs should work together to root out this evil from society. For this, poverty alleviation programme must be strengthened and widened. Govt’s social security network should also be extended. Strict laws should be enacted and enforced against employing children in manual work. Govt. must ensure that children do not drop out from school and get the right of education. The rich and able persons of society can also come forward in this regard.

Children’s work should never be desired in a society. Bangladesh is conforming to UNICEF’s “say yes to children” programme which includes 15 things for the children. We must try to maintain that and ensure peaceful, carefree and secured world for our children. Otherwise we will have to suffer in the long run caused from this social problem.

TREE PLANTATION

Since the dawn of civilization man has a close relation with nature. Man has made friendship with nature. Nature helps us in many ways. Similarly trees are closely related with our life. They are our friends. Trees play an important role in our life and economy.

Bangladesh is a lower riparian country. Upper levels are the best suitable places to plant trees. Sea beaches and low-lying unused lands can be used for tree plantation. There are many roads and highway in our country. We can plant trees on the both sides of these roads and highway. Again in the villages there are many proper places which can be used for tree plantation. The sides and areas that are lying unused can be used too.

June and julay are the best time for tree plantation. Tree plantation programme should be expanded to the remote corner of the country. The officers connected with this programme should take proper steps and needful measures to make it a success. They should try to make it popular all over country. They should come forward with there best knowledge. Most of the people of our village are illiterate. They have no knowledge about the importance of trees. Attempt should be made them aware of the importance of trees.

Tree are our best friends. They are a great source of food and vitamins. There are various kinds of fruit trees. They give us various kinds of fruits which are rich in food value and vitamin. They meet up our local demands. They also meet up our vitamin deficiency. As a result people can keep their body fit and sound by taking fruits. Again we export fruits to many other countries and earn a lot of foreign exchange.

Trees are our constant companies in our day to life. We use them for various purposes. We can not think of our homes, house, Residence etc, without trees. We use trees to make furniture, windows, doors for our domestic use. Again valuable furniture is made from these trees. We sell some pieces of valuable furniture to foreign countries. Thus trees add beauty to our dwelling places.

Trees bear a great impact on the climate. If we destroy trees at random, one day the country will turn into a great desert. The country will bear the will face a great crisis because ours is an agriculture is country and our economy is dependent on agriculture. Again our agriculture is dependent on rain. So trees play a vital role on our climate. Trees keep the soil strong. Trees save from flood and many other natural calamities.

It is needless to speak the importance of trees. It is not possible to describe the importance and uses of trees in words. They are part and parcel in our day to day life. We can not think of our existence without them. Rabindranath says ‘back thy forest, take your town. “Our government has also launched a massive and ambitious programme regarding tree plantation. We should not use and destroy trees at random. Rather we should plant trees more and for a better happier and healthier life.