Bangladesh was once part of the Indian state of Bengal. East and West Bengal together was called Greater Bengal. In 1947, India became independent and a new country was created from the two parts called Pakistan where Muslims were in the majority. East Pakistan actually was East Bengal which is now Bangladesh. After a brief period of conflict with Pakistan, Bangladesh came into existence on 16th December1971.
Bangladesh occupies part of the north eastern corner of the Indian subcontinent. It is surrounded by India apart from a short boarder with Myanmar and its 580 kilometre coastline. Most of the coastline is not continuous but broken up by the channels of delta. There are many rivers which flow through the delta and end up at the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. These rivers are the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna etc. The Ganges and the Brahmaputra start in the Himalaya Mountains. In Bangladesh the Ganges is known as the Padma and the Brahmaputra becomes the Jamuna. These rivers drain about 2500000 sq kilometres of land. The land of Bangladesh is very flat and low. The highest point is the hills in the north east and southeast. About 15 percents of land is covered with forests. More than 75 percent of Bangladesh is less than 10 meters above sea level. Bangladesh is the largest delta in the world. The area of Bangladesh is 55126Sq Miles.
In Bangladesh about 35 percent adults are literate. Poor families cannot afford to let their children go to school so instead they work. Although primary schools are free, only about 80 percent of eligible pupils attend them. Only 25 percent of them will complete five years of basic education.
After having completed basic or primary education pupils start class 6 at high school and get their Secondary School Certificate after they have studied another 4 years.
Subjects include English, Bengali, General Maths, Additional Math, optional, Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Home Economics, Religious studies. Students need to study for two more years to get Higher Secondary Certificate which are the equivalent of A levels. In higher education a student must complete 2 years for ordinary graduation and 3 years for an Honours degree. Ordinary graduates need two more years for a Masters whilst an Honours graduate need only study for one more year.
Bangladesh is hot and humid in summer and cool in winter. During the monsoon, it rains heavily average rainfall being 136. The climate is characterised by moderately high temperature for about eight months in the year, maximum temperature in summer ranges between 30 and 38, while the minimum during the winter is 9.
