BANGLADESH

The primary education board has published the merit list of 42,611 candidates to be appointed as assistant teachers in the non-government (registered) primary schools.

A media statement from the board said on Sunday that assistant teachers would be appointed from among the candidates based on the merit position.

"The merit list has been prepared based on the marks obtained by the candidates in the written and viva tests," the statement said.

According to the concerned schools' management committee regulations, teachers would be appointed against vacancy based on the merit list," the statement added.

The recruitment test took place on Dec 9, 2010 under the primary education board.

Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) has estimated the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) failed to count 3.97 percent of the population in the 2011 census.

"The error is lower than the 2001 census when 4.98 percent people were left out," director-general Dr Mustafa K Mujeri said as he disclosed the results of the post-enumeration check at his office on Monday

The preliminary results of the Population and Housing Census 2011 released on July 16 last year showed Bangladesh's total population at 142.319 million on Mar 15, the census night.

To eliminate the error, BIDS was assigned the task of post-enumeration check to determine the coverage and content errors of the census.

If the undercount is adjusted in the preliminary results, the number of population will be 5.7 million more.

"But the number will be even more once we finalise the final results of the census," BBS director-general Md Shahjahan Ali Mollah said, adding they will be able to produce the final results by June.

"We will adjust this 3.97 percent in the final count," he said.

Bangladesh has a long history of census. The first one was conducted in 1872. Since then census has been conducted every 10 years.

After independence, the first population and housing census was held in 1974, when the preliminary results projected country's population at 71.48 million. The adjusted population was 76.40 million.

The final results of the census will provide population size, growth, composition and distribution of the projection of food, education, infrastructure, employment, healthcare and assessment of other basic requirements as well as analysis of past, present and future growth of population.

According to Election Commission rules, it is mandatory to update the electoral rolls based on census results.

Since many raised questions about the 'competence' of BBS to hold the census, the BIDS was assigned for the first time for the task.

According to BIDS director general, they had collected samples from 33,600 households of 280 enumeration areas from last year's Apr 10-14. The number of enumeration areas was 296,718 during the Census.

"We have retrained experienced enumerators of BBS who worked during the census to collect data. They were assigned in areas different from those covered during the main census," Mujeri said.

Of the 280 areas, 140 were taken from rural areas while 20 from upazilla headquarters, 60 from municipalities and as many from city corporations.

People of the municipal areas missed out the most, 5.26 percent, while it was lowest in city Corporation and rural areas, 3.85 percent and 3.79 percent respectively.

Mujeri said it was usual that many people would be left unaccounted for in any census in the world. "The post-check helps to adjust the number."

The preliminary results of the fifth census last year also showed 964 people live in every square kilometre in Bangladesh with an almost equal number of males and females.

It also suggested that the population was growing at a rate of 1.34 percent annually, 0.24 percentage points decline from the 2001's 1.58 percent.

The growth rate put Bangladesh in the fourth spot in the region's lower population growing countries after Thailand, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.

At 2.1 percent, Sylhet has the highest growth rate followed by Dhaka at 1.8 percent and Chittagong 1.4 percent, while Barisal's population growth rate is zero.

With 8,111 people living every square kilometre, Dhaka is the most densely-populated district, while Bandarban is at the other extreme with only 86 people every square kilometre.

The number of households stands at 32.068 million, with average 4.4 people constituting one household.

The BBS director general on Monday said the US Census Bureau provided them with modern software and scanners, while the European Union and UNFPA are giving financial assistance, apart from those coming from the government.

The enumerators went door to door to collect data from people who stayed in Bangladesh during that period. At night, they counted floating people.

Foreigners who stayed during that time in Bangladesh were also counted, as they used 'de facto census' method. But the results did not present any count of foreigners in the country.

Although the telecom regulator formed a special team almost three months back to crack down on cyber crimes, it is yet to devise a way to pass on cyber crime-related information to the team.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) formed the 11-member Bangladesh Computer Security Incident Response Team (BD-CSIRT) on Jan 25 to curb cyber crimes.

The team is tasked to mark websites with contents that could spread social, political, religious or national hatred.

But the people are yet to know to whom and where to contact to lodge a complaint, as BRTC has not provided name of any website or an email address, thus forcing them to knock at the doors of the court of law for blocking objectionable websites and web pages.

Giasuddin Ahmed, vice-chairman of the commission, who heads the team drawn from commission members, on Monday told that a website and an email address for the purpose will be made available soon.

"CSIRT members will sit in a meeting soon to discuss it," he added.

Ahmed said: "The website and email address will be disclosed soon after the meeting so that the internet users can make complaints directly to the telecom regulator."

BRTC had to act after the High Court on Mar 21 ordered authorities concerned to block five Facebook pages and a website for hurting people's religious sentiments, and identify the people behind them.

The regulator formed the team days after the army said it had foiled an attempted coup by hardline former and serving officers, who used internet and mobile phones to communicate with each other and to provoke others to join the move.

Earlier, a university teacher had in his Facebook status wished death to the prime minister, leading to much uproar.

According to the law, people accused of committing cyber crime may be sentenced to two to five years in jail and fined from Tk 500,000 to Tk 50 million if found guilty.

Abul Kalam Azad, better known as 'Bachchu Razakar', has fled the country and is headed for Pakistan to evade arrest on war crimes charges, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said on Monday.

Quoting his sons, RAB said he crossed the border to India.

RAB media wing director M Suhayel told : "His two sons and brother-in-law told us that he fled to India through Dinajpur's Hili border. His destination is Pakistan."

His sons and brother-in-law have been detained by RAB on Monday, he said.

'Bachchu Razakar' left Dhaka on Mar 30 and entered India on Apr 2, Suhayel said family members told them.

The RAB official said Bachchu Razakar travelled by road to cross the border at Hilli in Dinajpur and entered India on Apr 2, a day before the International Crime Tribunal ordered his arrest on war crimes charges.

A former National University teacher named Dr. Yusuf drove Bachchu to the border in his car, RAB said.

The RAB spokesperson said an hotelier named Abul Kashem Azad, who is a friend of Bachchu Razakar, gave him shelter at Hilli before he crossed the border.

RAB said they arrested Azad on Monday.

Law enforcers, however, could not arrest the teacher who helped Bachchu to reach the border.

RAB organised a media briefing on Bachchu Razakar's escape later on Monday night. His two sons – Shah Mohammad Faisal Azad and Abul Kashem Muhammad Mushfiq Billah Zihad – and brother-in-law Kazi Ehteshamul Haque were produced before the reporters there.

Zihad, in RAB custody, told reporters that his father was taken to the Hili border on Mar 30 night from Yusuf's Agargaon residence. Bachchu Razakar had been lying on the back seat of a black car during the journey.

"After he reached India, he talked with my maternal uncle (Ehtesham) through mobile phone on Apr 3. He then came to know that an arrest warrant was issued against him," Zihad said.

Zihad said his father informed Ehtesham that he was safe in India.

International Crime Tribunal-2 issued arrest warrant against Bachchu Razakar on Apr 3 for 'collaborating with the Pakistan occupation forces and committing excesses during the Liberation War in 1971'.

Police conducted raids at various places to arrest him, but failed to find him.

After failing to find Bachchu Razakar in a drive at his Uttarkhan residence, assistant commissioner of Detective Branch of police Sunanda Roy on Apr 3 told reporters he could flee as their were weaknesses in watch.

However, Suhayel on Monday said, "He didn't leave the country legally. And the border is a huge area. So, it was not possible to keep a watch on the whole border."

RAB detained Bachchu Razakar's sons and his brother-in-law from old Dhaka and they will be produced in court on Tuesday, RAB media wing director Suhayel said.

Meanwhile, Bachchu Razakar's daughter on Monday sought an order from High Court asking police to produce her two brothers and uncle alleging they were picked up by law-enforcers on Apr 6 early morning.

The court fixed Tuesday for hearing the appeal.