If one says cadet colleges have not lived up to their expectation, he or she is gravely mistaken
- The army is one among many ways to be of service
The members of the parliamentary standing committee on defence ministry led by Subid Ali Bhuiyan in a recent meeting wanted to know about the contribution of the students from cadet colleges in the defence forces of the country.
The committee thought that the number of students at cadet colleges should be doubled. The committee members also commented that the objective of supplying officers in the armed forces would not be fulfilled if the cadets didn’t join.
The committee members have also raised a few questions about the cadet colleges. They have given statistics of the government’s expenditure on each cadet. It has been said that the government spends about Tk20,000 to Tk22,000 for each cadet every month. The committee also said the state spends about Tk100cr every year for these 12 cadet colleges.
It seemed that they were asking: What is the use for cadet colleges if the cadets don’t join the armed forces? Why is the government spending so much on them? What are they doing for the country? Yes, the cadets, when they join the cadet colleges, they go there knowing full well that at the end of their education in cadet colleges they would be joining the armed forces. However, in the course of time, many things change in their lives; many don’t join the forces and many don’t get the opportunity to serve in the forces even if they want to.
However, if their contribution to nation-building is questioned, the standing committee members, and for that matter, the government officials, are grossly in the dark about these cadet college graduates. Yes, the government indeed needs to assess their contribution.
No one has actually ever done any survey on whether these students lived up to the expectations of the nation. Look at the history, these boys and girls weren’t destined to be military personnel only; they were trained in such a way that their moral becomes high, they have balanced mental capacity, vision, physical toughness or fitness, leadership quality, as well as the capacity to run the administrative machinery of the country.
If one says cadet colleges have not lived up to their expectation, he or she is gravely mistaken. For a long time, these schools have been supplying extremely bright officers to the armed forces, and they are still doing so.
They have become big industrialists who employ a huge number of other professionals. They have gone for foreign office, NGOs, government offices, as well as the media. The banking sector in Bangladesh is full of products from these colleges; they are even holding leading positions in foreign banks.
The Bangladesh Bank governor, ex-CEO of Citibank NA, high-ranking officials in Standard Chartered and HSBC, leading garments businessmen, and many former chiefs of army staff are all ex-cadets. There were at least two ex-cadets in last caretaker government’s cabinet.
No one has ever run any study to evaluate the performance of the students of these institutions in the games and sports. Our football federation, cricket board, and athletics authorities could have been benefitted by considering the cadet college students in the national teams. These small boys and girls learn game and sports, side by side their education, with passion. They develop an instinct to win matches. I’ve asked our sports officials several times for visiting these colleges in order to assess their skills. They never bothered to do so.
The standing committee has suggested an increase of seats in cadet colleges. Well, firstly, this wouldn’t be a good idea as the architectures of these colleges wouldn’t allow that. Sending all existing 600 graduating cadets to the armed forces academies won’t sound right as the academies would also fail to accommodate them. So, you see, increasing the number of seats isn’t a solution.
Yes, a good number of cadets leave the country for higher studies and settle abroad. Many ex-cadets are working in foreign universities, research organisations, and think-tanks across the world with global level efficiency. The government should find out how to involve them in the development of Bangladesh.
Perhaps, it’s time to really assess the contribution of these students who studied in cadet colleges. For the authorities, it wouldn’t be a difficult task. All these colleges have ex-cadets’ associations who have the whereabouts of their members.
As Mr Subid Ali Bhuiyan asked, we also think it’s really time for assessing what these students have done so far. All the best.
Source: Dhaka Tirbune
