A book reading festival is underway in Sreemangal, Moulvibazar, with the slogan ‘Read books, build minds’ in mind. The festival has been organized by the upazila administration with the aim of weaning students from their addiction to mobile phones and the internet and engaging them in the joy of reading books, instilling a reading habit, and developing knowledge and mindfulness.
The festival was inaugurated at Srimangal Government Girls High School on July 21. About 25,000 students from 38 secondary and higher educational institutions in the upazila are participating in the festival, organized in coordination with Srimangal Recitation Festival and in collaboration with Uttaran Path.
About 25,000 students participated in the written test of the book reading competition on Monday. Based on the test results, 10 people will be selected for the second phase. In the next phase, the best three of them will be selected for the final phase.
Students from secondary, higher secondary, postgraduate and open university are participating in the competition in four categories: ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’. In addition to the prescribed books, students are getting the opportunity to read various types of books including stories and novels. Those who pass the written and oral exams will be promoted to the next level.
In addition, students and anyone who reads books have the opportunity to participate in the open category. Registration to participate in this category was open until August 17 through the Upazila Executive Officer’s website.
A total of 14 books suitable for students of different classes and levels have been selected for the book reading competition. Among them, Abdullah Al-Muti Sharfuddin’s ‘Abhishkarer Neshay’ and A. P. J. Abdul Kalam’s ‘Wings of Fire’ for class 6; Shahed Ali’s ‘Jibrailer Dana’ and Jules Verne’s ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ for class 7; Humayun Azad’s ‘Lal Neel Dipavali or Biography of Bengali Literature’ and George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ for class 8.
For class 9, Muhammad Abdul Hai’s ‘Bilete Sasho Din’ and Kazi Nazrul Islam’s ‘Mrityukhudha’ have been selected; for class 10, Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Rashier Chithi’ and Syed Mujtaba Ali’s ‘Desh Bideshye’ have been selected. For classes 11 and 12, Ahmed Safa’s ‘Arek Falgun’ and Anwar Pasha’s ‘Rifle Roti Aurat’ have been selected, and for degree (pass)/honors level, various books including Bibhutibhushan Banerjee’s ‘Aranyak’ and Kazi Nazrul Islam’s ‘Mrityukhudha’ have been kept.
To make the book reading festival a success, Srimangal Upazila Executive Officer Ziaur Rahman has already visited 15 educational institutions in the upazila. He has also held several meetings with journalists, the legal community and various stakeholders.
Srimangal Upazila Executive Officer Ziaur Rahman said, “The upazila administration has organized this book reading festival with the aim of inspiring this generation, who are absorbed in mobile phones, to enjoy reading books and to develop the talent and mindfulness of the next generation.”
