PM urges Muslim Ummah to invest more for children's education

Laying special emphasis on the necessity of the development of science and modern technology, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the Muslim Ummah to invest more in the field of science and technology education for their children to bring back the lost heritage.

"We need to invest more for the study of our children," she said while addressing as the chief guest the 35th Convocation of the Islamic University of Technology (IUT) on its campus in Gazipur on Tuesday.

Mentioning that Muslims have possession of a significant amount of wealth, Sheikh Hasina said, "We have to use this resource to develop science and modern technology to bring back our lost heritage. I believe that we can do it."

"Whenever I visit any OIC member country, I make this request," she added.

The prime minister said that at the golden age of Islam, the contribution of Muslim scholars in the fields of world civilisation, science, history, literature, philosophy, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, geography, and in many other branches of knowledge has built a glorious history of heritage.

Muslim Scholars of that era dominated the world in culture, knowledge acquisition, scientific discoveries, and contemporary literature, she said.

"We need to analyse the reasons behind this lag behind of the vibrant dominance of the Muslim Ummah," she added.

The premier noted that internal conflict, lack of mutual respect and harmony between the Muslim Countries, lack of knowledge and science and many other issues have factored in the collective fall of the Muslim Ummah.

"To regain this lost glory, I think we the Muslim Ummah will have to work united, forgetting differences," she said, adding that the Muslim countries will particularly have to invest more in the education and science of their own students as well as to develop science and modern technology.

Sheikh Hasina opined that "Muslim nations need stronger endeavours in the fields of science and technology so that they can contribute more."

The Muslim community should not fall behind in tackling the challenges presented by the 4th Industrial Revolution, especially in the sectors of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Internet of Things, Quantum Computing and others, she added.

With Secretary General of OIC and Chancellor of the Islamic University of Technology (IUT) Hissein Brahim Taha in the chair while IUT Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Mohammad Rafiqul Islam delivered a welcome address.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni also spoke.

Students of academic years 2021 and 2022 have been conferred degrees of bachelor, master's, PhD and diploma at the convocation.

Two types of gold medals – the IUT gold medal and the OIC gold medal – have been given to students for their outstanding results.

At the outset, a video documentary on IUT was screened at the function.

The prime minister also inaugurated the newly built female hall of IUT, which was also financed by the Premier. The IUT is an educational and research institution in Bangladesh, run and funded by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

IUT’s main objective is to contribute to developing the human resources of the member states of the OIC, particularly in the fields of engineering, technology and technical education.

IUT receives direct endowment from OIC member countries and offers scholarships to its students in the form of free tuition, boarding, lodging and Medicare.