EWU Holds 3rd Nehreen Khan Memorial Speech by Prof. Dr. Fakrul Alam
Jul 25, 2019
Dr. Fakrul Alam, former professor of the University of Dhaka, and ex Pro Vice Chancellor of East West University (EWU) delivered a lecture on “The Idea of a University in our Time” in the 3rd Nehreen Khan Memorial Program held on Thursday (25 July 2019), at EWU Campus, Aftabnagar, Dhaka. He stated that the university as a center for the pursuit of truth and the cultivation of knowledge for its own sake and the generation of ideas and the diffusion of thought and moral values must remain guiding principles.
According to his lecture, University education should produce the complete citizen, a professional and a complete human being, who is ready to think through, compare and contrast, analyze and see long as well as short-term benefits for humankind.
Dr. Alam also mentioned about the recent ranking decline of Bangladeshi Universities which can be traced to three factors, according to researchers he quoted: the “governmentalization” of the institution, the shift from the initial goal of it is a center of “teaching and research” to one that now focused mainly on teaching, and the “mass production of interpreters instead of innovators.
The lecture was organized in the memory of a former student of EWU, Nehreen Khan, late daughter of Dr. Akbar Ali Khan, former adviser to the caretaker government of Bangladesh. On this occasion, Professor Dr. Fakrul Alam was honored with a crest and a cheque amounting to One Lac Taka. He donated the honorarium to Nehreen Khan Scholarship Fund in the Department of English of EWU.
Dr. Mohammed Farashuddin, Chief Adviser of EWU, presided over the program. Syed Manzur Elahi, Chairperson, Board of Trustees, Professor Dr. M. M. Shahidul Hassan, Vice-Chancellor, A. Z. M. Shafiqul Alam, Treasurer, of EWU and Afsana Begum, a classmate of late Nehrin Khan also spoke on the occasion. Dr. Akbar Ali Khan was present at the lecture, along with faculty members, students and other dignitaries.
