India vs Bangladesh 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier match ends in 1-1 draw

The most talked about football match between Bangladesh and India in Group E of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier ended in a 1-1 draw at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) in Kolkata, India on Tuesday (October 15, 2019). With this draw, the men in red and green maintained their unbeaten record against India in their last three clashes. The previous two matches between them ended in 1-1 and 2-2 draws respectively in 2013 and 2014. The 104-ranked India got their last victory against the same opponent in 1999 when the Blue Tigers won 1-0 in the SAFF Games.

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Saad Uddin scored the goal in the 42nd minute of the match and gave Bangladesh 1-0 lead with a hope of returning home with all three points. The visitors were about to break the hearts of millions of Indian supporters, but Adil Khan of India leveled the score 1-1 in the 88th minute, which eventually saved the home team from losing the match at their own ground.

Against the 187th ranked Bangladesh, India was hot favorite. They were expected to beat their opponent easily. But Bangladesh proved that rank did not matter for causing trouble to their South Asian rival. If they did not miss some easy chances, they would have won the game. Bad luck for Bangladesh football team. However, the match was full of excitement from the beginning to the end. I wish Bangladesh best of luck for their next match.

Agreement of Verbs with Subjects

Subject-Verb Agreement

1.   The income of the workers ___ (has/have) been lessened.

Answer: The income of the workers has been lessened.

2.   One ___ (has/have) to obey one’s parents.

Answer: One has to obey one’s parents.

3.   The quality of the mangoes ___ (is/are) good.

Answer: The quality of the mangoes is good.

4.   The students in the classroom ___ (is/are) polite.

Answer: The students in the classroom are polite.

5.   There ___ (stand/stands) a big tree in front of our school.

Answer: There stands a big tree in front of our school.

6.   The cock ___ (crow/crows) in the morning.

Answer: The cock crows in the morning.

7.   The United States of America ___ (is/are) a rich country.

Answer: The United States of America is a rich country.

8.   The horse and carriage ___ (has/have) cost him three thousand taka.

Answer: The horse and carriage has cost him three thousand taka.

9.   The headmaster and secretary ___ (has/have) attended the program.

Answer: The headmaster and secretary has attended the program.

10.                The students of our school ___ (is/are) disciplined.

Answer: The students of our school are disciplined.

11.                These are the books which ___ (is/are) very costly.

Answer: These are the books which are very costly.

12.                The leader with his followers ___ (has/have) chanted slogans.

Answer: The leader with his followers has chanted slogans.

13.                “The Arabian Nights” ___ (delight/delights) many readers.

Answer: “The Arabian Nights” delights many readers.

14.                The collection of members ___ (is/are) very difficult.

Answer: The collection of members is very difficult.

15.                None of us ___ (is/are) getting any younger.

Answer: None of us is getting any younger.

16.                All that glitters ___ (is/are) not gold.

Answer: All that glitters is not gold.

17.                All’s well that ___ (end/ends) well.

Answer: All’s well that ends well.

18.                Many a boy ___ (was/were) present.

Answer: Many a boy was present.

19.                The farmers in the field ___ (has/have) been ploughing.

Answer: The farmers in the field have been ploughing.

20.                The World Cup Football ___ (begin/begins) tomorrow.

Answer: The World Cup Football begins tomorrow.

21.                Boys ___ (love/loves) to gossip.

Answer: Boys love to gossip.

22.                The Bengalees ___ (is/are) courageous.

Answer: The Bengalees are courageous.

23.                The virtuous ___ (is/are) blessed.

Answer: The virtuous are blessed.

24.                A good boy always ___ (care/cares) his lessons.

Answer: A good boy always cares his lessons.

25.                Gold and silver ___ (has/have) I none.

Answer: Gold and silver have I none.

26.                Many boys in the field ___ (is/are) playing.

Answer: Many boys in the field are playing.

27.                No news ___ (mean/means) good news.

Answer: No news means good news.

28.                His trousers ___ (is/are) very costly.

Answer: His trousers are very costly.

29.                Five and five ___ (make/makes) ten.

Answer: Five and five makes ten.

30.                Both the manager and the cashier ___ (was/were) rewarded.

Answer: Both the manager and the cashier were rewarded.

31.                The banana of Narsingdi ___ (is/are) famous.

Answer: The banana of Narsingdi is famous.

32.                The woman in the hall ___ (wear/wears) red sharee.

Answer: The woman in the hall wears red sharee.

33.                The crimes committed by him ___ (is/are) unpardonable.

Answer: The crimes committed by him are unpardonable.

34.                The man in white dress ___ (is/are) my friend.

Answer: The man in white dress is my friend.

35.                At least a million of people ___ (attend/attends) the meeting every year.

Answer: At least a million of people attend the meeting every year.

36.                The courage of the freedom fighters ___ (is/are) well known.

Answer: The courage of the freedom fighters is well known.

37.                The play has just ___ (begin/begun).

Answer: The play has just begun.

38.                It is you who ___ (has/have) told me the matter.

Answer: It is you who have told me the matter.

39.                You and your brother always ___ (disturb/disturbs) the class.

Answer: You and your brother always disturb the class.

40.                I ___ (has/have) taken my meal just now.

Answer: I have taken my meal just now.

41.                It is I who ___ (am/is) to blame.

Answer: It is I who am to blame.

42.                The picking of flowers ___ (is/are) his hobby.

Answer: The picking of flowers is his hobby.

43.                His decision of helping the children ___ (was/were) praised.

Answer: His decision of helping the children was praised.

44.                A few students ___ (respond/responds) in the class.

Answer: A few students respond in the class.

45.                The people of our country ___ (is/are) very simple.

Answer: The people of our country are very simple.

46.                A bunch of grapes ___ (is/are) for sale.

Answer: A bunch of grapes is for sale.

47.                The color of his eyes ___ (is/are) blue.

Answer: The color of his eyes is blue.

48.                The use of chemicals ___ (do/does) much harm to us.

Answer: The use of chemicals does much harm to us.

49.                His choice of words ___ (is/are) praiseworthy.

Answer: His choice of words is praiseworthy.

50.                A student always ___ (behave/behaves) well.

Answer: A student always behaves well.

51.                Every man and woman in this town ___ (seem/seems) lonely.

Answer: Every man and woman in this town seems lonely.

52.                Neither Rumi nor Sumi ___ (has/have) sung well.

Answer: Neither Rumi nor Sumi has sung well.

53.                Every boy and girl ___ (was/were) given a pen.

Answer: Every boy and girl was given a pen.

54.                Poultry ___ (has/have) been increasing day by day.

Answer: Poultry have been increasing day by day.

55.                He bought the apples which ___ (is/are) ripe.

Answer: He bought the apples which are ripe.

56.                There ___ (was/were) a very big crowd in the street.

Answer: There was a very big crowd in the street.

57.                Gulliver’s Travels ___ (is/are) a famous book.

Answer: Gulliver’s Travels is a famous book.

58.                To walk in the morning ___ (is/are) good for health.

Answer: To walk in the morning is good for health.

59.                He along with his friends ___ (has/have) visited Cox’s Bazar.

Answer: He along with his friends has visited Cox’s Bazar.

60.                Forty miles ___ (is/are) a long way.

Answer: Forty miles is a long way.

61.                The agenda ___ (is/are) carefully set.

Answer: The agenda are carefully set.

62.                The Prime Minister as well as all the ministers ___ (was/were) present.

Answer: The Prime Minister as well as all the ministers was present.

63.                The teacher as well as the students ___ (like/likes) to discuss the matter.

Answer: The teacher as well as the students likes to discuss the matter.

64.                There ___ (stand/stands) many trees in front of our house.

Answer: There stand many trees in front of our house.

65.                A mother with her baby ___ (is/are) crying.

Answer: A mother with her baby is crying.

66.                There is no rose but ___ (has/have) thorns.

Answer: There is no rose but has thorns.

67.                The headmaster and the secretary ___ (is/are) present in the meeting.

Answer: The headmaster and the secretary are present in the meeting.

68.                You and your students ___ (has/have) done your best.

Answer: You and your students have done your best.

69.                The clergy ___ (is/are) happy.

Answer: The clergy are happy.

70.                A pair of shoes ___ (is/are) on the table.

Answer: A pair of shoes is on the table.

Academic knowledge is not enough for getting a job

With the kind of education students are receiving from the educational institutions in Bangladesh, they are not achieving skills required for employment, a recent study has found this information.  

This survey was jointly run by private organizations such as BRAC, BIGD and BRAC University. This survey was conducted on more than 4000 young people aged between 15 and 35 years all over Bangladesh. The survey revealed that only 16% of these students are confident in computer and English language. Besides, only one-fifth of the participants think that their education will be helpful in getting a job.

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Nimmi Nusrat Hamid, one of the researchers of this survey, said, “One-third of Bangladesh’s population is young people, who will represent the country in the future.”

“So, to know the needs or problem areas of the young people and which areas they should work in to the best of their interest – this is quite a timely research to bring out these issues.

She told BBC Bangla, “It is important to know the opinions of the young people regarding what are the areas they are good at and what issues they are most concerned with.”

While conducting the research, it was seen that most of the young people are not aware of their own needs, for example, if someone wants to be an entrepreneur he/she does not know where to get the capital from, and it is same in jobs too, she revealed.

In that case, Miz Hamid raised a question about the prevailing education system of the country.

He said, “The education that the youth society of Bangladesh is receiving at schools and colleges is not preparing them well for their professional career.

“It is because our education system largely lacks in skills. And then, there are not enough jobs fitting the skills they are obtaining from education institutions.” 

“Then our youth society does not have that skills necessary to do well in the existing jobs”, said the researcher. Skills that are required include operating computers, English language skills, or vocational skills.

According to research report, only 14% of the young people have got vocational training. Considering this level of skill, only 24% youth are skilled- that means they are confident about their computing skills. But when it comes to women, only 10% are skilled. On the other hand, 21% young men are ahead in English skills while the rate of this linguistic skill for women is only 14%. That means, women are far behind in terms of skills.

This gap is more visible in villages than in cities. The main reason for this is said to be the under-developed quality of school education. Moreover, schools where standard education is given are out of reach for many.

The study has shown that young people who are still studying, their main goal is to go abroad after the end of the study. It is because they are not hopeful about their career prospect at home. The study has shown that those who are relatively less educated mostly want to migrate to UAE and Malaysia. And those who are skilled in English language and computer, they want to go to countries like Australia and USA.

Having no role models for the youth is at the center of their leaving the country. At least 54% of the students think so. Miz Hamid opines that the students need to be made more skilled with enhanced government networking. 

“Government job is everyone’s target. But outside government sector, the young people have many other potential career opportunities which they have to be given.”

“One of the reasons for young people becoming frustrated is that they think there is no one to listen to them. But these young people will lead us.”

Source- https://www.bbc.com/bengali/news-49107727?ocid=socialflow_facebook&fbclid=IwAR2FrNA3WxGcbknPWTWJJvOFiYEikYKWOTHNDF-whHA0b--w3i12OTy588E

Workplace is being shrunk because of the lack of English skill

Our policy-makers always talk about the importance of English but there is no initiative to start English medium education at the government level. Though some private English medium schools are providing standard education, less than 1% of the students are studying in these schools. The current English language teaching system fails to achieve expected result. As a result, we cannot develop large pool of workers who are skilled in English. It is also shrinking the job-opportunity of our youth and the number of unemployed youth with poor English skill increasing day by day. Multinational companies, freelance outsourcing, no where we are achieving our expected outcome. Failing in international arena, more and more youth are looking for jobs in the overcrowded domestic market thus creating huge pressure. Meanwhile the private English medium schools are charging exorbitant amount of tuition fees which is becoming unbearable for people with limited income. Despite their best wishes, families with limited income do not think of enrolling their children in these English medium schools.

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University-level admission examinations reveal the pitiful condition of English language proficiency of our students. Only 2 out of 40,565 students who sat for the arts department admission examination in the University of Dhaka in 2014 obtained adequate marks to become eligible to study in the English Department. In 2016, 90% students failed in English in the admission test in “Ga” unit. Educationists have said, “Proficiency in English is not being achieved even after the end of 17 years of education life in our education system. Though half a million young people finishes higher education, they are facing adversity in their workplace because of the lack of English skills. 47% graduates are not getting job. If there were English skill, workplace would have been expanded outside the country. If English medium could start in government schools then large population of the country would come under English education.” According to Education Ministry, there are almost four crores of students from pre-primary till higher secondary. In 146 registered private English medium schools, only 79,000 students are studying, which is 20% of the total students.

As per Bangladesh English Medium School Association, the number of such type of schools in our country is almost 350. The number of students is around 3 lakhs. If we take everything into consideration, the percentage of students studying in English medium (foreign and Bangladeshi curriculum) is 0.75%. Less than 1 percent of the students are getting opportunity to study in English medium giving high salary. But out of 1 crore and 73 lakh students in total, 1 crore and 30 lakh (75%) students are studying in government schools throughout the country. Hossain Zillur Rahman, education adviser of the former caretaker government, said to Bangladesh Pratidin, “English is not only a language; it is now seen as a technology. It is an acknowledged medium in international communication. But our policy makers have made the definition of one kind of patriotism by saying English foreign language. As if focusing on English will diminish the prestige of Bengali language. It is the trick of aspect. We will give priority to Bengali on our own responsibility.”

Because of the trick of the aspect, general people are being deprived. Elite class and policy makers are making their child fully proficient in English. General people are being deprived. Country is suffering. If English version was started beside Bengali medium in government schools gradually, meritorious students in poor family could study. But, in this case, only announcement will not be enough. Many new teachers will be required. They will have to be made efficient. For this, they will have to make plan and they will have to do all the things that are necessary. Professor Syed Manzoorul Islam, former teacher of the University of Dhaka, said, “Due to lack of English skills, we are sustaining loss in international court. It would be better if English version were started in government educational institutions. But good teachers will not be found with the present salary structure. And if we go to do it without any long-term plan, it will be reversal. There will be project, money will be spent, but it will be of no use. In the name of training, many people will travel to different countries. After returning from training, they will be transferred to another ministry. One percent of the allocation will not be spent in education. For this reason, we will have to do long-term plan with overall education sector. Primary till class eight, secondary till class twelve and higher education from after- we will have to do plan in this way. College education is an ineffective system. It should have withdrawn. I have edited and submitted a strategic paper about higher education. Now, it is possible to make radical change in the education system of the country if we can move forward coordinately, making primary and secondary strategy paper. But here educationists do not run education sector. That is the problem. For this reason, education policy making in 2010 is in cold storage for nine years.”

Source: https://www.bd-pratidin.com/last-page/2019/07/04/436800

The awful scenario of mathematics and language education in the primary schools in Bangladesh

A survey on the standard of education in Bangladesh conducted by the government is saying that students of the primary schools are getting only 40% of their required education from schools.  

In this research on evaluation of the students, a fearful scenario about the standard of the government primary schools has come out.  

90% students of the fifth grade have low standard mathematics skills. On the other hand, 35% students of the third grade have low standard in Bangla language education.

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In Bangladesh, the number of government primary school is 63,600. The number of students is two crore and nineteen lakh. As a result, education researchers said, “There is a close relation between the education standard of these schools and the standard of the country’s overall education.”

Rasheda K Chowdhury, the leading education researcher of Bangladesh, said to BBC that the standard of education and insufficiency in the primary level education is very alarming.” She said that a survey conducted by them in 2015 has shown that students are being depended on coaching for not getting education in school.”

Md Gias Uddin Ahmed, Additional Secretary of the ministry of Primary and Mass Education, said to Rakib Hasnat of BBC Bangla that they have accepted the result of this research and are thinking deeply about the ways to solve this problem.

He mentioned that they are thinking of organizing various competitions in the primary level to improve the standard of mathematics education.  

But one primary teacher told BBC that the lack of teachers is the main reason for this situation.   

Fatima Sharmin, a teacher of Amtali Staff Welfare Govt. Primary School, said, “There are 10 teachers for 529 students in her school.”

That means, one teacher has to manage more than 50 students on an average where this number is not supposed to be more than 30 in the government policy. This scenario is worse in rural areas.

“The number of student is very high, and on top of that they come with a different level of intelligence. So, we cannot give necessary attention to everyone. As a result, many low-intelligence students are being lost.”

“During training, we are taught to take preparation before taking class, but where is the time?”

Although the present government has paid attention to increasing the number of students and stop them from dropping out, the fear about the standard of education is increasing by day.

Source:

https://www.bbc.com/bengali/news-42223538?fbclid=IwAR1GJSqzMvzZkHbFtF_OS0kqLUmn3Y_SSELwXfvcEoYlEReXA2rzeVx1G30

Literary Criticism: Nature and function of poetry according to Coleridge

It is without a doubt that “Biographia Literaria” of S.T. Coleridge is one of the finest books on literary criticism in English literature. Coleridge’s personal life was very tragic, but he had great knowledge of literature and there are few critics equally talented in the history of English literature. There is a history behind the creation of “Biographia Literaria” which we should know if we are to discuss it. In fact, “Biographia Literaria” was written in answer to the famous essay “Preface to the Lyrical Ballads”. In 1798, Wordsworth and Coleridge jointly published Lyrical Ballads. This book started the Romantic era in the history of English literature. At that time, two friends shared different opinions on different matters of poetry. 

In his essay, Wordsworth said some important things about poetry. His first major statement was that there was not much difference between poetry and prose. We might think that they are same. Wordsworth emphasized that there is not much difference between the language of prose and the language of poetry and they are quite close. Coleridge did not agree with this statement and he clearly mentioned it in his essay “Biographia Literaria”. Hence, it is important when we will discuss about Coleridge’s view on nature and function of poetry.

Before Romantic era, there was neo-classical era in English literature. Poets, writers and critics of this era considered works of the Greek and Roman poets as standard and followed their rules. Many famous Greek and Roman poets and philosophers including Aristotle believed that the main function of poetry is to depict the truth but Coleridge did not support this view. He believed that the main function of poetry is to entertain the reader.  A reader should find pleasure or joy upon reading poetry. This matter is very important and while discussing about the function of poetry of Coleridge, we should keep it in mind as well about Neo-classical idea.

Coleridge said that poetry and prose are entirely different subjects. At first, the two may appear close for both of them actually work with words. We use words while writing prose and poetry. However, the sequence of words in poetry is different from that of prose. According to Coleridge, the function of poetry is different from that of prose. The main function of prose is to present the truth but that is not the same with poetry.

Coleridge believed that the main function of poetry is to provide pleasure to its reader not to present the truth. Poetry may represent the truth but that is not very important. Coleridge serious discussed on this issue in his essay “Biographia Literaria”. Coleridge said that if we look into scientific prose then we would see that they only present what happened but imagination has a major role in poetry. The main difference between poetry and prose lies in the use of imagination in these two forms. Except novel, there is not much use of imagination in prose. During the time of Coleridge, novel became very popular but many considered poetry equally important.

Coleridge emphasized on the presence of beauty and joy in poetry. Through he tried to say that poetry is an entirely different matter. Wordsworth’s definition of poetry is different from that of Coleridge. There difference in opinion surprises us for they were the pioneers of the Romantic Movement in England.

Literary Criticism: Do you also think that epics and novels can only represent the whole truth in literature?

‘Tragedy and the Whole Truth’ by Aldous Huxley is an important text in the literary criticism of English literature. The text discusses two very important issues: one is ‘tragedy’ and the other is ‘whole truth’. We all know more or less about tragedy and many tragic plays and tragic dramas have become world famous. We can take Oedipus as an example. Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Hamlet could also come to our mind. Whole truth, on the other hand, can be said to be a fairly new concept because before Huxley, very few people mentioned about this issue.

So, first of all, we need to know what Huxley tires to mean by introducing the term ‘whole truth’. By ‘whole truth’, he implies a kind of truth which is ‘super truth’. It is not ‘two and two makes four’ or ‘the earth travels around the sun’ type of truth or fact. Rather, in respect to literature, expressing every detail means whole truth. We may feel that giving every detail of everything in literature is a modern idea, but it has existed since ancient times. Besides portraying every detail, whole truth also brings forward the reality. Huxley finds such an example of whole truth in a description taken from Homer’s Odyssey. One day, Odysseus and his companions saw a monster swallowing six of their companions alive. Having seen that, other terrified companions moved to a safe place. After reaching ashore, they first looked for a safe place for themselves, instead of crying for their lost companions; and once they got a secured place, they first cooked food and filled their stomach and then started shedding tears for their friends before their exhausted bodies succumbed to sleep. This is a good example of whole truth. Many of us may think that what was the need of showing it and how could they eat food without crying when they saw that the demon chewed and devoured their companions. But Homer was realistic and knew that first they would need food and the question of crying would come later.

Over the ages, authors wrote about the concept of whole truth and Huxley tried to show that. However, whole truth cannot be manifested in tragedy because in tragedy, we shed all the lights on a fragmented part or sorrows and pains of life. So, there is a difference between tragedy and whole truth. Whole truth has been largely popular at present age. As a result, whole truth is perfect for novel.

Two types of literature could gain popularity in portraying whole truth. Epic should come first and here we can consider Homer as the best example. The advantage with epic is that it is, by nature, very long in size and so easier to depict whole truth. If it is a 200-page epic, the author can reveal every detail. Portraying whole truth does not only mean expressing all the details, but manifesting the reality as well. In respect to epic, an incident can be portrayed from each and every angle and all the related elements can be shown perfectly.

Another literary form can successfully show the whole truth and that is novel. Same thing can be said about novel. Novel is very long and most of the novels are around 100 pages. So, an author can beautifully present each and every detail in a novel. Another notable characteristic of novel is that the large span of life can be extensively illustrated in this form of literature. So, novel is ideal for whole truth.

Looking at other literary forms other than epic and novel, we can find drama. Even though drama, especially tragic drama, is long, whole truth can be successfully portrayed because tragedy is built on a serious setting and its sole objective is to direct it towards the end. So, the serious mood of tragedy can be diluted at the introduction of light-hearted materials. If that happens, then perhaps many audiences would not like tragedy that much. I do not see many instances of portraying whole truth in tragedy.

Poem is a very popular form of literature. Depicting whole truth in poem is fairly hard too. The problem in relation to poem is that in poetry, emotion is presented through a few lines or stanzas and there is little scope of portraying every detail in poem. Poets often try to present universal or timeless ideas. To do that or present something serious, it becomes tough to focus on whole truth in poetry. Long poems are often written in epic form and I already mentioned that epics are perfect for beautifully depicting whole truth. However, irrespective of literary forms, be it epic or tragedy or novel, the focus of the author is the most important thing. If he or she wants to put emphasis on whole truth, only then it will become possible to portray whole truth. On the other hand, if the whole truth is not given importance then whole truth cannot be shown even in novel.