400,000 books reach 3.2m readers thru 12-year partnership

More than 400,000 books have reached nearly 3,000 educational institutions and benefited over 3.2 million readers and students through a 12-year partnership between Bishwo Shahitto Kendro and bKash, Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed said.

Calling reading a powerful influence on a person’s development, Bishwo Shahitto Kendro Chairman and Chief Executive Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed recalled how his father inspired him to spread books and cultivate a reading habit.

“What a person observes in childhood, they try to recreate it throughout their life,” he said in a video message at an event in the capital on Friday, marking the 12th anniversary of the partnership between Bishwo Shahitto Kendro and bKash.

Reflecting on the expansion of the book-reading programme, Professor Sayeed said the initiative had faced numerous challenges but received support from individuals, society, institutions and the government.

“Among the non-state organisations that provided major assistance, one was bKash,” he said.
“Over these 12 years, we received 400,000 books from bKash, which were distributed to various educational institutions nationwide. These 400,000 books have been read by at least 3.2 million readers and students. If bKash had invested this money elsewhere, they might have made a profit.

Whether bKash benefited financially from it or not, I don’t know, but the nation has certainly benefited from the partnership,” he added.

He expressed hope that continued efforts from different sections of society would help build an intellectually sound Bangladesh.

“Such a small country, yet such a large population! It is difficult even for the best people in the world to lead this country toward prosperity. But if we all keep trying- each from our own position- then nothing is impossible,” he said.

Education Minister Dr A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon, who attended the event as chief guest, said positive change was necessary in society and stressed the government’s efforts to improve the quality of education.

“The government is giving the highest priority to improving the quality of education in the country, which must begin right from the primary level. Priority is also being given to technical education,” he said.
Milon said the government aimed to gradually raise the education budget to 5.0 percent of the national budget.

“This government has already raised the previous government’s 1.39 percent education budget to 2.0 percent. This year, we have received an education budget of BDT 136,000 crore,” he said.

He also stressed the importance of reading in protecting young people from harmful addictions.
“To pull the new generation away from mobile phone and drug addiction, we must foster the habit of reading books. In this regard, I thank the initiative of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro and bKash, and I hope many more institutions will come forward in the future out of corporate social responsibility,” Milon said.

bKash Founder and Chief Executive Officer Kamal Quadir said the company viewed education and the pursuit of knowledge as fundamental to sustainable development.

“Since the beginning of our journey, bKash’s goal has been to bring a positive change in the economy by driving financial inclusion in the country. At the same time, as a responsible corporate entity, we believe that education and the pursuit of knowledge are among the core foundations of sustainable development,” he said.

Quadir said this belief had driven bKash’s association with the Bishwo Shahitto Kendro programme for the past 12 years.

“bKash has been operating for 15 years and has been making some profit for the past few years, but we have been engaged with Bishwo Shahitto Kendro long before making any profits,” he said.

He added that the company had embraced the opportunity to support the programme when the partnership began 12 years ago.

“We have always prioritised initiatives that take the young generation beyond the boundaries of textbooks and into the world of knowledge, creativity, and open-minded thinking,” Quadir said.

The event was attended by, among others, Major General Sheikh Md Monirul Islam (Retd.), Chief External and Corporate Affairs Officer of bKash, and Khandakar Md Asaduzzaman, Executive Director of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro.

More than 300 students and their teachers from various schools, along with members of civil society, also attended the programme.

Bishwo Shahitto Kendro has been running its nationwide Book Reading Programme for more than four decades to promote reading habits, critical thinking and human values among students.

bKash has been associated with the initiative since 2014 as part of its corporate social responsibility. Through the partnership, more than 400,000 books have been distributed to libraries of educational institutions across the country, reaching nearly 3,000 institutions and directly benefiting over 3.2 million students and readers.