The New Nation - Internet Edition

Md. Masum Billah

Cadet colleges are feeder institutions of armed forces and the greatest supplier of quality candidates to civil sectors. The highest tier of officials who are at the helm of state affairs and a foreign remittance earners abroad showing the talents constitute most of the productions of cadet colleges. But in the education policy its name has not been mentioned at all. It is quite different system of imparting education covering all the necessary elements, conditions and environments for the learners which are absolutely necessary for the growing up learners. These elements are not written or said, they are maintained qualitatively and mandatorily. It is different as the entry level begins from grade seven and ends in twelve grades. Teachers are lecturers, assistant professors and associate professors. Very qualitative education along with military and full physical training is imparted in a cadet college to broom the learners so that they can genuinely and practically face the challenges of life in the social, national and international levels. But this education is not so costly like English medium schools. If compared, cadet colleges are producing far better and capable citizens than English Medium schools.

Cadets learn a special kind of socialization living in the dormitories of the college with cadets hailing from different parts of the country and various strata of the society in their very tender age. They learn how to behave with others, how to eat in the dinning hall with fellow classmates, teachers and with VIPs using spoons. They learn how to wear different types of dress suitable for different kinds of activities of the institution. The dress are Khaki dress, games dress, parade and PT dress, pjama Panjabi, dining hall dress . Normally it seems to be ordinary activities but their underlying meaning and significance is great. Learning how to wear tie and taking meal using spoon being a cadet of class seven bears much significance. The learners of outside institutions don't have such kind of institutional training doing these jobs but these are very essential in life.

A cadet avails the opportunities of learning, becoming familiar with and playing many kinds of indoor and outdoor games as an usual part of their institutional programme. According to yearly routine a cadet must either participate actively or to watch actively all the known games and sports of the college which unfolds opportunities for them to of learn those games. Students of other institutions don't have such kind of well-organized and regular programmes to participate, learn and know many kinds of games and sports. They may participate in one or two or just have ideas in one or two games but this does not happen regularly. Cadets are to do it very regularly.

All the cadets must participate in English extempore speech competition, Bengali extempore speech competition, English set speech competition, Bengali set speech competition, English spelling competition, Bengali spelling competition, English story telling completion, Bengali story telling completion, English poem recitation competition, Bengali poem recitation competition etc. regularly. These are the integral parts of six years of training in a cadet college which make a cadet all rounder, conscious, confident and courageous citizens ,good speakers and innovative to face the challenges of future life very effectively and pragmatically. The language of communication is English in these institutions. All the colleges follow English version so that the brilliant candidates may not face any difficulty in future in respective of communicating with the outside world.

Cadets enjoy teaching and close intimacy of teachers who have masters in respective subjects. Their high thinking and elevated degrees guide them to a shining path. Civil schools and collegiate schools don't have subject-based teachers. In most of the cases only graduate teachers impart teaching there. As a result most of them suffer from a chronic fault in grasping very basic and important ideas in different subjects which accompany them till their higher education life or even throughout their life.Educational tour is a regular phenomenon of cadet college making the cadet acquainted practically with different cultural and historical places of Bangladesh and all the armed forces academies .

Jatia party in their Election manifesto declared if they were voted to power, they would establish one cadet college in each greater district.

The Jatia Party Chairman Hossein Mohammad Ershad was the chairman of Cadet College Governing Body which convinced him to hold such kind of idea and notion. The same thing was uttered by an education secretary when he was invited to an auspicious function of a cadet college.

This incident convinced me that the leading individuals of the Ministry of Education may not have transparent idea about cadet college education and different tier of education, differences and discrepancies among them. The said secretary went to visit and witness the activities of Cadet College for the first time in his life and the disciplined activities convinced him to establish a cadet college at least one in each greater district.

What I will propose to the cadet college authority, the chairman (adjutant General of Bangladesh Army) and secretary -Ministry of Education and the members of the governing body of cadet colleges to extend the facilities of cadet college education to the poor and marginalized in reality and practically. At present there is a provision for giving opportunity to the poor and meritorious students but in reality it doe not happen because the whole process of admission itself stands as a bar for the poor students to enter into a cadet college.

Admission circular should not be kept limited only in newspapers. Poor and rural students don't have the access to newspapers regularly. Admission circular must reach all the rural schools. In this case, cadet college authority may take help of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education. The authority may directly send the circular to the DEOs ( District Education Officer) who will send it to all the headmasters of rural schools. Admissions forms also to be sent and distributed among the rural schools in this way. As a senior Manager of BEP I have the opportunity to mix with the DEOs almost regularly. I have formed the idea that they don't hold transparent idea about cadet college education.Admission centres should not be made only the city of Dhaka and respective colleges. It proves a central system and for the specialized few. Admission centres should be at least in all the greater districts to extend admission facilities among the poor and many.

Then intended candidate will sit for admission test in his/her chosen centre and in the same way he/she will just put his/her choice of college. The existing practice says that those who like to get admission in Pabna Cadet College candidates have to obtain forms against that college, sit for admission test in a centre fixed by that college. The candidate cannot get admission in other college except Pabna what ever better performance he/she shows in the admission test.

The more meritorious candidates usually opt for Mirzapur and Comilla Cadet colleges because of their being close to Dhaka. Necessarily, a tough competition takes place in these colleges. When they fail to get admission in these colleges, they don't have any other choice to enter into Cadet College. Comparatively less meritorious candidates can enter into cadet colleges situated far away from Dhaka because of this admission process. To remove these ills, one boy candidate will buy one form and will put choice for all the ten colleges according to his priority and girs will give choice for all the three Girls' colleges seriously.