The national pass rate has fallen to 58.83%, the lowest in 21 years. Over half a million students failed, while 77,000 fewer than last year achieved the highest marks (GPA-5). Scholars and educators are questioning the reasons for the crisis. Catholic schools are spared, although they too have recorded a (minimal) decline in results.
Last night, a serious act of intimidation struck the largest Catholic parish in Bangladesh, in the Tejgaon neighbourhood. No casualties or injuries have been reported, but there is great concern about the gesture and the message it conveys. Parish priest Fr Joyonto Sylvester Gomes: ‘Our church had never been targeted before’ . The Bangladesh Christian Association: ‘The government must identify those responsible and address the situation’.
More than fifty people are showing symptoms consistent with the disease, which is transmitted from livestock to humans. For the first time, cases have also been reported in the Rangpur region. The government has launched mass vaccinations and awareness campaigns, but experts warn that surveillance structures remain fragile and the risk of new infections is high.
Today's historic decision by the Church of England, which will see a female head of the primatial see for the first time, is also highly significant for the Asian Churches that are part of the Anglican Communion. Among them are the United Churches of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, which have already opened up the ordained ministry to women, with female bishops in some Indian dioceses.
In a new violent incident involving a minority, three people were killed in the country's southeastern hill region home to a large Buddhist ethnic group. Soldiers opened fire on a roadblock manned by local activists protesting the authorities’ failure to arrest those responsible for the rape of a girl. An adviser to the Home Affairs Ministry in Bangladesh’s interim government added fuel to the fire by claiming that the violence was instigated by “fascist groups”.
On the eve of the largest Hindu festival, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council reported at least nine incidents of vandalism and arson between 2 and 23 September. Despite government reassurances and police promises to ensure maximum security, fear is growing among Hindus. This year, more than 33,000 mandaps (temporary pavilions housing idols during the festival) are expected to be set up across the country, nearly 2,000 more than in 2023.
