By Mustafa Aziz Tazwar
I live in Bangladesh which got independent in 1971 and it is one of the highest densely populated countries in the world. Bangladesh is in south-east Asia, it is majorly surrounded by Indian border and the south is opened with Bay of Bengal a part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically, we are in a monsoon region and in the Himalayan belt, a large number of international rivers like Padma, Jamuna and many more are born in Himalaya and pass through Bangladesh and falls in Bay of Bengal. Every year, we keep experiencing floods and sometimes very strong cyclones over the country, a large amount of crop, cattle and households are damaged and many more lives get sacrificed every year. Most of the people in farms do cultivation so these affect them a lot and as a result people are mostly living under poverty. The children are the most sufferers of all, they can’t go to school, they don’t get sufficient food and they are forced to go out for work to support their family for survival. These really affect me a lot and I dream to do something for them so that they can have a good life.
My role model is Dr. Mahathir Mohammad, the prime minister of Malaysia who changed Malaysia from the poor country to the modern country today. So, if I get to be the head of the state for a day, I won't be able to do much but I will motivate and inspire my people to work for a long-term vision like compulsory mass education, awareness against early marriage and skill development.
Policy for education: The literacy rate in Bangladesh is very low. All children cannot go to school and parents are not conscious enough for their schooling, instead they engage them for family work or farm work to support them. So, after becoming the head of state I will establish a policy for compulsory primary education for all the children. I will try to make people realize how important education is. I will set up schools which provide free education accessories and food, which will make the parents, encourage their children to go to school.
I have a long desire, kids would not carry their school bag every day rather books will be kept in school. The heavy bags put extra load on delicate shoulders; it’s something that even I have suffered from. Certainly, this will eliminate drop out from the school. Hence, the children of a country are the main resources for its development and downfall. So, I will try whatever it takes to get them proper education. Furthermore, I will establish Education Bank for financing higher education in abroad. In this way when they come back, they will be skilled enough for the development of the country with their new knowledge and expertise which they learnt in abroad.
Early marriage policy: Due to lack of education and consciousness a vast number of teenage girls have to get married before they complete school and most of the family has a desire for male child because a male child is considered as a source of income and security for the future of the old parents. Thus, the population grows in an unplanned manner. Hence early marriage will be considered as crime.
Skill developments policy: The area of Bangladesh is small; with the increasing population the agricultural lands getting smaller and playgrounds are turning into shopping malls or living place. With the increase of youths, the job facilities are not increasing equally. Thus, the youths are becoming vulnerable to antisocial activities such as drug addiction, terrorism, mugging and so on. We have limited recourses which we need to utilize effectively, to prevent these anti-social activities; I will invest for skill development program which will help in increasing self-employment inside and outside of the country.
Once I am the head of the state for day my key role will be set-up policies and motivate people to work together to run our country at least for the next 20 years. These are not high ambitions nor expensive. Surely, we can do this once we work together. Like they say if you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go together.
I strongly believe my policies will be accepted to all and everybody will be encouraged for its implementation and surely Bangladesh will be changed very soon.