Shamsad Mortuza

In a rare public call, our prime minister has asked us all to maintain austerity.

The recent spate of attacks on teachers by individual students or certain groups make many of us revisit the very notion of respect for teachers.

One of my favourite films, Love Actually (2003), begins with the narrative voice of “the British prime minister” (Hugh Grant) saying, “Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport.

The allocation for education in the proposed budget for FY2022-23 leaves a lot to be desired.

The creator of the Harry Potter series, JK Rowling, is probably the richest author in the world, with an estimated net worth of USD 1 billion. In one estimate, Rowling made USD 181 per minute or USD 4.37 per word in 2016-17.

While the better private universities have realigned their focuses on creating a "whole" education with a 360-degree perspective, the public system has reached the nadir from which students have a tunnel vision of becoming government cadres.

When 12 members of Charlie Hebdo were shot dead for their alleged blasphemous depiction of Prophet Muhammad, the freedom-loving

Back in 2013, my wife’s job took her to Kunming, the capital province of Yunnan in China. Google translator back then was in its infancy, and the amount of

One marker for the oft-chanted prophecy of Bangladesh as the Asian Tiger can be explained through the rise and rise of motorcycles.

There’s a good chance your screen time increased significantly during this weeklong Eid break unless you are one of those reported one million outbound tourists who shored up in various travel destinations or one of those million others who journeyed within the country to visit your near and dear ones.

A small “puti” fish leaps out of the water and plops back in. Yes, even fish can contort muscles and use their fins in ingenious ways to glide, squiggle or somersault.

Is a call for justice a glorified cry for revenge? Is justice noble, while revenge unworthy?

When a private university organised a flash mob and another one a concert to welcome back its students to campus post Covid shutdown, we looked at the safety protocol prepared for our campus in pity.

The “Oscar Slap” has created a virtual cottage industry that profits from processing a particular on-stage action that took place during the 94th Academy Awards-giving gala on March 27.

When was the last time you looked at the face of the rickshaw-puller who gave you a ride? Or the guard who opened the door for you at a mall?

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all its affiliates to implement the semester system by July 1.

It is common for modern day leaders to use teleprompters, in which words are projected onto transparent beam-splitter mirrors, making their speeches appear impromptu and spontaneous.

“The Book (Le Livre)” was an ambitious project of the 19th century French poet Stephane Mallarme.

There was a time, not long ago, when Bangla news editors would use the phrase “like the price of water” to connote the low cost of an item.

A colleague teaching abroad recently called to ask, “What’s the minimum criteria for becoming a vice-chancellor in Bangladesh?