EDUCATION & STRUGGLE
Born on December 1, 1973, in a rural family of a remote village Barcharra, Purbogool of PS Patharkandi, Dist Karimganj, Assam, Mahbubul Hoque had a turbulent life since his early childhood, he lost his parents and later his brother in a conspiracy. To maintain his study at a very early age, he started with tuitions of the young children in the vicinity and went to the extent of selling homegrown vegetables in the local market. In spite of all such difficulties, he went on with his studies and secured 2nd rank in matriculation from Karimganj, did his 10+2 from GC College Silchar, B.Sc (Hons) with star marks and ultimately Masters in Computer Science (MCA) from prestigious oldest central university AMU in the year 2000 by securing 1st Class 2nd Rank.
Although he had lucrative job offers from multinationals within the country & abroad, after completing his Masters’s in Computer Science (MCA), he came back to his native place and started his career as an Educational Entrepreneur with a strong commitment to guiding underprivileged rural talents and to contribute in the field of science and technology educational scenario of North-Eastern India.
With only one computer and four students carrying just Rs 85 in his pocket in February 2001, Mahbubul Hoque started a computer training center under Manipal Group. He did assembling of computers and sold them in the market to generate revenue for the promotion of a computer lab for the trainers. Within 5 years the center became 2nd largest in the country and received Excellence Award in 5 consecutive times from Manipal. This is just beginning and after that, he did not have to look back.
HUMBLE BEGINNING AS AN EDUCATIONAL ENTREPRENEUR
GROWTH & EXPANSION:
BUILDING INSTITUTIONS FROM KG TO PG TO PH.D
He continued his struggle and succeeded to achieve milestones one after another traversing several impediments to set up the institutions first in Assam and then in Meghalaya with allied educational activities in the whole of northeast India. For further expansion, he established Education Research and Development Foundation (ERDF) and under the foundation created a number of pioneer educational institutions in Meghalaya and Assam disseminating quality education from KG to PG to Ph.D. having a present enrollment of 7500+ students out of which 20% students belonging to poor meritorious who are getting free education.
As M Hoque himself was a victim of brutal poverty during his student life, he is always ready to extend his helping hand to the poor meritorious students of underprivileged rural areas. In all institutions, 50% of seats are reserved for girls, 20% seats for poor meritorious students in schools for free education, and 15% in colleges and universities. Altogether more than 900 students undergoing free/concessional education in its various institutions and they are showing excellent results in final examinations and becoming true alumni ambassadors of ERDF. Besides proving free education to poor students, Hoque has taken the challenge of providing education to all Students of Meghalaya by giving 50% concession in the normal fees charged, so that not a single student has to go out of the State of Meghalaya or be deprived of higher education.
RESERVATION FOR GIRLS AND FREE EDUCATION FOR POOR MERITORIOUS STUDENTS:
PAYBACK ON CRACKING COMPETITIVE EXAM
To encourage the students for competitive examinations, M Hoque has decided to return the entire fee from 1st semester to the last semester including Admission Fees to the students who qualify for NET, GATE, SLET, or any other top-level competitive examinations conducted by State & Central Govt. Those who qualify for IAS will get an amount of Rs 5,00,000/- (Rupees Five Lakhs) as a cash award.
He has created avenues of job opportunity for 800 quality manpower in his own institutions whereas another 500 skilled manpower are indirectly associated with different projects of the foundation. More than 20,000 students who passed out are either working in different organizations or doing some courses in different prestigious institutions for specialized studies.
PRODUCING QUALITY and SKILLED HUMAN RESOURCES:
Creation of Job Opportunities
PROMOTING SCIENCE & BUILD NATION:
Addressed more than 5 Lakhs Students
He always instigates stakeholders to promote science for the country’s future development. He has developed platforms like Children Talent Fest, Winter Carnivals, Celebration of Science Day, Engineers Day, etc only to provide a platform for showcasing the student’s talent and creating a competitive mindset among future students. These all programs have become a guiding force for the student community ie promoting a scientific mindset. Because of this contribution DST, Govt of India has extensively supported for DST Inspire program for science students to be implemented at USTM.
He has interacted with more than 5 lakhs students on such occasions and in various schools during their annual festivals. More than 3000 science models have been developed by his institutions in various occasions and some are adopted by institutions like NIT Silchar.
Mr. M Hoque always emphasizes that until and unless rural education is not given priority India cannot be a developed country as more than 85% of people are rural-based. Therefore, he has established all his institutions in remote areas of backward districts giving the facility of city-like institutions and after evaluation, it has been reflected that more than 80% of students studying are from remote rural areas and getting the vision for NEW INDIA.
QUALITY RURAL EDUCATION IS THE KEY TO MAKING A DEVELOPED COUNTRY
ADOPTION OF NEARBY VILLAGES OF USTM
Under Mr. M Hoque’s leadership, all the Departments of USTM have adopted a village in the vicinity of the University. The main objective of this unique initiative is to create awareness of issues related to education, health, and the economy. Special sessions for training and guidance especially for the village women are conducted by the depts. Many initiatives are taken by USTM to empower the rural folk through various entrepreneurship and skill development training.
He has streamlined to set up an academy for Physically Challenged boys and Girls of age above 14 years commencing from the Boys section first to guide them for various job skills based on their strength. Very soon separate hostel for boys and girls will be established. 35 Boys have been selected to start the journey and 4 of them have been engaged in different departments.
I CAN I WILL ACADEMY for specially Abled
CANCER PATIENT HELP DESK at BBCI:
Taking care of the distressed, patient, and helpless people is a passion of Mr. M Hoque. Besides all coordination and financial cooperation when an emergency arises for such needy people, he has set up linkage with all hospitals and organizations for on-time services. He has established a permanent Patient Helpdesk Booth for cancer patients at B Barooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati for which land has been offered by the institute where official and Social work students were deployed to guide d helpless patients in need. Always there is a crowd in front of the desk to get benefit out of it.
Mr. Hoque is an awe-inspiring figure in the field of educational entrepreneurship, as he keeps setting unique trends for others to imitate. He is the first educational reformist from the region to provide a distinguished platform to all the graduates of the North East Region to voice their concerns and opinions freely by organizing a mega-event called North East Graduate Congress (NEGC) in his Techno city campus. Currently, this event has attained the status of the largest annual event of youngsters in the entire North Eastern Region which is jointly organized by University of science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) and Regional Institute of Science & Technology, 9th Mile (RIST).
M Hoque is the architect behind several other flagship initiations of connecting educated youths and other concern to create a holistic, healthy learning environment leading to career guidance to students community like North East College Principals Conclave, North East Teachers Congress, ERDF Talent Fest, North East Law Graduates Conclave and North East Junior College Principals Meet, Winter Carnivals, Gyan Darshan, Gyan Prabah, Gyan Charcha, ERDF Mobile Library and upcoming NE Inter Institution Sports Festival & NE Business Promoters Conclave. These Unique Events, Solely Conceptualized by Mr Hoque, have established a strong linkage with the institutions, teaching & learning community across the country especially the NER region and so stakeholders have designated USTM as a “People’s University”. He also offers ERDF Excellence Award to persons who have contributed immensely for the cause of societal development besides their contribution in their own profession.
CONNECTING STUDENTS CONNECTING SOCIETY
SUPPORT TO MERITORIOUS & UNDERPRIVILEGED
As Mr Hoque himself was a victim of brutal poverty during his student life, he is always ready to extend his helping hand to the poor meritorious students of underprivileged rural areas. A unique initiative emerged from the kind-hearted M Hoque to give free Education & fee relaxation to meritorious students belonging to families living Below the Poverty Line (BPL) & economically weaker sections especially from underprivileged rural areas and more than 15% of the students of USTM, RIST, Khairun Nessa Begum Women’s College and more than 20% student of Central Public School, Badarpur & Patharkandi are availing concession.
It is his passion to promote R & D activities at University of Science & Technology Meghalaya through innovations and thus he took serious step to go for mutual collaborations with other originations/institutions since the inception of the university. On behalf of the university and the foundation he has signed MoU with a number of reputed national & international institutions & organizations such as IIT- Guwahati, JNU, New Delhi, Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi, Tezpur University, Gauhati University, University of Dhaka, CSIR-NEIST, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delhi, Uskudar University, Turkey, Faith Sultan Mehmet University, Turkey, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Turkey, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER), Guwahati, NIT, Silchar, National Institute Rural Development (NIRD), North East Space Application Centre (NESAC), Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI), Sri Sri University, Odisha (SSU), Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET), Guwahati, Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT) etc.
MOU SIGNED FOR COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH
SEMINARS, CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS
More than 300 seminars, workshops, conferences, panel discussions, and talks have been organized under his patronage to instill and instigate participants toward research which is the principal agenda for empowerment & developed nation.
Under his patronage 7 research journals have been publishing namely Helix+, Spectra, Binary+, Biz Explorer, Vistas-de-Society, Academia, and The Legal Frontier covering thrust areas of various sectors of study and research. A number of books have been published so far under his guidance like “Governance for Development: Issues Concerning Northeast India”, “Challenges in Higher Education North East Perspectives”, “Genres of Belief from a Folkloristic Perspective”, “Customary Laws of North East India Practice and Prevalence”, “Challenges in Sustainable Resource Management and Way Forward”, “ Drug Discovery from Natural Products and Their Traditional Uses”, “ Emerging Issues in Business, Management and Economics”, “Turn Mirrors into Windows Rhetoric of Act East Policy and Beyond”, “Raise with East Vistas of Indian Cooperation with southeast Asian Commerce, Culture Capacity and Connectivity”, “Emerging Trends in Business ion & Economic Development in India with Reference to north-Eastern Region” etc to name some.
PUBLICATIONS: BOOKS AND RESEARCH JOURNALS
EMINENT VISITORS on HIS REQUEST
Former President Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, ISRO Chairman Dr. AS Kiran Kumar, UGC Chairman Prof Ved Prakash, AICTE Chairman Prof SS Mantha, Association of Indian Universities Secretary-General Prof Furqan Qamar, Governor of Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal, Chief Ministers of Meghalaya and Assam, All Vice-Chancellors of Universities of north East including JNU, University of Mumbai, BHU, Calcutta University, IIT Guwahati and several eminent Scientists and dignitaries of international repute have graced various important occasions/conferences on the invitation of Mr. M Hoque. More than 2000 reputed academicians visited the campus to grace the seminar and other events. Everyone has appreciated and later extended their fullest cooperation for the growth of his dream university USTM. Today it has achieved the strength that USTM is the best self-financed university in the whole region.
In addition to the above, Mr M Hoque has initiated numerous other welfare activities such as Scholarships, Endowment Funds, Fellowships, Emergency treatment & medical assistance for poor & economically weaker sections of society, Interest free Loans, Marriage Loans, Awareness Campaigns & Rallies/Street Plays, Relief drives etc. Some Welfare Schemes are Prof Qoumrul Hoque Memorial Scholarship, Khairun Nessa Begum Women’s Endowment, Dr Bhupen Hazarika Fellowship, Prof Qoumrul Hoque Memorial Endowment for Microfinance under which more than forty persons have started their own enterprises.
