The government planned to set up public library at every upazila, Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad said on Thursday, urging younger generations to nurture reading habit.
'Library has a great role in developing reading habit and expanding the horizon of knowledge in every individual,' he said as chief guest at the inaugural function of a workshop on 'Role of Library and Information in Human Resource Development' held at Central Public Library in Dhaka.
Dhaka University vice-chancellor Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique, acting secretary of cultural affairs ministry Suraiya Begum, director of public library Noor Hossain Talukder and director of Bangladesh Knowledge and Creative Publisher Association Khan Mahbub, among others, spoke on the occasion.
Azad said the habit of reading should be made a social movement so that the vast population of the country could be turned into human resources. He said knowledge was the base for every development for an individual and a society as a whole.
'The nation is to progress fast when the younger generations are equipped with modern education and a love for book,' the minister said adding Bangladesh has to be made a middle-income country by 2021, mainly through human resources development.
Azad said the government has increased the budget allocation for cultural affairs ministry and his ministry has also been trying to bring a qualitative change to its every department and directorate. He also hoped that the newer generations imbued with the spirit of Liberation War would be able to make Bangladesh a developed nation in near future.
Professor Arefin Siddique said both the government and families must focus on quality education of the students of the country.
Source : New Age
