National University Vice-Chancellor Professor ASM Amanullah has called for ensuring good governance in the country through a cultural revolution involving teachers and students.
He made this call to the students on Thursday at the inauguration ceremony of the “National Debate Festival 2026”, organised by Tejgaon College in the capital.
Speaking on the occasion, Professor Amanullah said, “A cultural revolution is urgent for awakening patriotism and a sense of responsibility, and for ensuring good governance. The problem we have faced since independence is that a cultural revolution did not take place.
It did not happen after the 1990 mass movement, and it did not happen after the 2024 mass uprising either. We want to accomplish this across the country through our children.”
A total of 64 teams – including 32 college-level and 32 university-level teams – are participating in this competition organised by the Tejgaon College Debating Club.
Urging National University students not to feel insignificant, Professor Amanullah advised them to focus on developing their careers.
During this time, he said, “If the CEO of Grameenphone can be a graduate of the National University, if the chief justice can be from the national university, and if the chief of army staff, chief of naval staff, and chief of air staff can all be from the National University – then why not me? Every student must have this conviction.”
“Without our National University students, banks, insurance, and the country’s top-tier large corporate companies cannot run for a single day, and the financial market cannot operate for a single day,” the vice-chancellor added.
He continued, “More than 80 per cent of the country’s jobs are in the private sector, and 82 to 83 per cent of graduates in this sector are from the National University. Therefore, there is no reason to feel small.
“We are building an industry-academia relationship for the sake of expanding our students’ job market, which will help increase the quality of education and the work efficiency of National University students.”
The vice-chancellor also shared that initiatives are being taken under the National University to teach foreign languages, skill development using artificial intelligence, matrices, data analysis, and data science.
Regarding campus politics, the educationist remarked, “Politics will remain, but that politics must be constructive. No one is outside of politics. When teachers enter colleges, they must work in the interest of the institution.
“You will work in such a way that your institution runs well. Students will work in the interest of students. This should be the politics of educational institutions.”
He also shared that a decision has been taken to write “National University” prominently on top of all affiliated colleges across the country.
He said, “If one lakh National University graduates can work in North America – if this is the case in just America and Canada alone – then why not me? This conviction must be awakened within oneself. An attorney of the US Supreme Court is a graduate of the National University.
“I have asked him to come to Bangladesh. We will send him to at least 50 colleges of the National University. We are working with the goal of increasing the quality of education of the National University alongside enhancing the work efficiency of the students.”
