Jamalpur: President Abdul Hamid on Monday cautioned students against dangers of blind faiths asking them to remain alert so such dogmas could not impede their creativity, reports BSS.

The president while addressing a programme on 70^th founding anniversary celebrations of Ashek Mahmud College in Jamalpur said: ‘You have to devote yourselves in pursuit of knowledge for surviving in this competitive world. You must remain alert so that blind faith and fundamentalism cannot inhibit your creativity.’

The president simultaneously asked the students not run after academic certificates alone saying ‘securing a certificate was not the main objective of education’.

He said the prime objective of education was rather to turn the country’s young generation into skilled human resource with ‘knowledge based education and progressive outlook’.

‘(And) Education must be applied for the welfare of the people and you have to remain aware so that any short-term gain or greed cannot mislead you,’ President Hamid said.

Underscoring the need for attaching priority to extracurricular activities, he said cultural associations, debating and language clubs could play important role in preparing students properly in facing the challenge of the globalization.

The president noted with appreciation that the college authorities introduced multimedia facilities in 23 classrooms, set up ICT club and introduced computer programmes in line with Prime Minister’s ‘Digital Bangladesh’ programe and ‘Vision-2021’.

‘I hope that these facilities would attract students to the ICT education,’ he said.

The present government described the incumbent governed as ‘education friendly’ noting that it already enacted National Education Policy 2010 and provided stipends for students from primary to secondary levels.

‘The students are not only given textbooks free of cost, they are also given other facilities to bring down the number of dropout students in schools,’ he said.

President Hamid said Bangladesh is now a lower middle income country and is set on the path of becoming a middle income country soon while it already attained sufficiency in food production.

On the other hand, he said, Bangladesh got international awards for its success in reducing maternal and child mortality rate.

State Minister for Textile and Jute Mirza Azam, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad, Rezaul Karim Hira, MP, education secretary M Sohorab Hossain, among others, spoke on the occasion.

As part of the celebration the college compound wore a festive look with colourful lights, artificial flowers, festoons, banners, paintings and several fountains. A number of colourful arches have been built at different points in the town.

The college authorities have taken a two-day programme to celebrate the founding anniversary of the college