Prof. Fazlul Karim Receives Distinguished Teacher Award

Prof. Dr. Md. Fazlul Karim receiving the distinguished teacher Award from Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on October 5 2026.

By Prof. M Zahidul Haque

On the ‘World Teacher’s Day 2026’, Dr. Md. Fazlul Karim, retired Professor of the Department of Agronomy at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, was honored as an outstanding teacher on October 5. Honorable Prime Minister Tarique Rahman gave away the medal along with a certificate and a check for 2 lakh taka to the distinguished teacher. This was the first time 102 distinguished teachers were honored on the auspicious day.

While distributing the award medal and certificate Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said that the dignity of teachers in society is closely linked to the dignity and image of the state, stressing the need to make teaching an attractive and competitive profession so that the most meritorious people choose it as their first career option. He said--“The government is taking various measures to ensure teachers’ financial security and enhance their opportunities, respect and dignity”.

Awareness program on dengue prevention and cleanliness campaign at SAU

The “Dengue Prevention and Cleanliness Campaign-2026” was observed recently at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU) with the aim of preventing dengue, ensuring cleanliness, and raising public awareness over the public health issue.

Md. Shafiqul Islam Khan, Administrator of Dhaka North City Corporation, attended as chief guest. Special guests included Anisur Rahman Talukder, Member of Parliament for Madaripur-3; Engineer Sanjida Islam Tuli, Member of Parliament for Reserved Women's Seat-16; SAU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. Abdul Latif; Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. Belal Hossain; and Treasurer Professor Muhammad Abul Bashar.

The program began with an awareness rally, which started in front of the administrative building and ended in front of Bijoy-24 Hall. Afterward, the chief guest took part in a tree-planting program, during which saplings of amla (Indian gooseberry), rambutan, and avocado were planted.

Organizers of the program said that a one-time campaign alone is not sufficient to prevent dengue; rather, it is essential to control the spread of Aedes mosquitoes through regular cleanliness activities, identifying and destroying potential mosquito breeding sites, and raising public awareness.

Seeds of SAU-developed high-yielding and healthy “SAU Canola-1” variety handed over for expansion

On October 4, 2026, a formal seed handover program for the “SAU Canola-1” variety developed by Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU) was held with a view to increasing production of quality edible oil in the country, reducing import dependency, and expanding canola cultivation and expansion at the farmer’s level, the university handed over seeds of this variety to relevant government and private institutions.

The “SAU Canola-1” variety is a canola-grade mustard variety of the species Brassica juncea. One of its major characteristics is that its oil contains less than 1% erucic acid, which is harmful to the human body. In contrast, it contains high levels of healthy oleic acid (omega-9) at 51.8%, linoleic acid (omega-6) at 32.5%, and linolenic acid (omega-3) at 9.6%. As a result, the oil from this variety is highly healthy, tasty, and nutritious. This improved variety was developed through the research of Professor Dr. Jamilur Rahman of SAU’s Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, with joint cooperation from the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences and SAU. The variety’s registration number is 03(01)-41/23.

At the event, Dr. Md. Shafiqul Islam, Project Director of the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation’s (BADC) “Strengthening Sustainable Nutrition Security through Pulse and Oilseed Production Project (Phase 2),” and Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Director (R&D and Operations) of ACI Seed (ACI PLC), were present and received the seeds.

SAU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. Abdul Latif attended as chief guest.

He said, “Bangladesh’s annual demand for edible oil is about 2.5 million metric tons. Of this, about 1 million metric tons is produced domestically. As a result, we have to import the remaining large quantity of edible oil, which costs us a great deal of foreign currency. To save this foreign currency, we need to encourage farmers to expand cultivation of our “SAU Canola-1 mustard.”

Faculties of Agricultural Journalism Program with the Coordinator of the Program Professor Md. Mahbubul Alam Ph D heartily congratulated the newly appointed Vice Chancellor of Sylhet Agricultural University Professor Dr. Muhammad Shafi Ullah Mozumder with a bouquet of flowers.

Later Colleagues at the Department of Agricultural Extension and Information System, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU), Dhaka, accorded a warm and floral reception to Professor Dr. Muhammad Shafi Ullah Mozumder, a member of the department, on his appointment as the Vice-Chancellor of Sylhet Agricultural University.

The department organized the reception to convey its heartfelt congratulations and best wishes on this well-deserved recognition of his distinguished academic career.

Colleagues of both the departments expressed confidence that Prof. Majumder’s vast experience, academic insight, and proven leadership would further enrich and energize the teaching, research, and administrative functions of Sylhet Agricultural University in the days ahead.

(Professor M Zahidul Haque is an ‘Adjunct Faculty’ of Agricultural Journalism Program at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka)