Principal Mohammed Feroz Mukul, researcher and innovator of FM Method, was born in a village named Torki under Munshigonj district on December 17, 1959. He got his primary schooling from a very ordinary school at Patrokala Tea Estate under Moulvibazar District, where his father, Alhaz Abul Bashar, had been serving. He got his secondary education from Adampur MA Wahab High School and took Higher Secondary education from Haraganga College, both in science group. He obtained Bachelor of Honors and Masters’ degrees, both in English Literature, from Chittagong University and Dhaka University respectively. The English Teaching System that he has innovated through his long, untiring research, since 1986, is popularly known after his name as FM Method.
As a university student, he distinguished himself five times in English debate and set speech competitions. He joined as a lecturer in English, first in a non-government college, and then he served in different government Colleges and Govt. Madrasha-E-Alia, Dhaka. He outshone all the govt. college teachers who were his opponents to become the gold medalist in an English Debate Competition on the 37th Foundation Training Course for BCS General Education.
Mr. Mukul is popularly known as FM Sir, for his research-oriented innovation of FM Method and the revolutionary contribution, since 1986, in the field of Teaching English, marking clear philosophical distinctions and making differentiation between our more than 250-year-old grammar-based English Teaching System and his innovation, FM Method.
He had been carrying on a self-guided research on Proper Methodology of Teaching English for the Bengali Speaking People till he succeeded in developing FM Method. In his research, the aspects on which the investigations were made are:
In course of his research, when to his utter surprise he found that our conventional English Teaching System was ineffective, unscientific, impractical, unnatural, un-pragmatic and unfruitful, he resigned the govt. job protesting the impractical English Teaching System prevailing in our country education system, since the inception of the British administration in this sub-continent.
He then set up at Farmgate, in Dhaka, the head office of FM ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING RESEARCH INSTITUTE (FM Institute) and the branches of it in different parts of the country. It needs no mention that FM ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING RESEARCH INSTITUTE is the sole organization of its kind in Bangladesh.
On 14th September 1992, at the VIP Lounge in the National Press Club, Dhaka, he explained the method (though that was partially developed at that time) before a good number of journalists over a press conference on Scientific way of Learning Spoken English.
On 27th September 1992 he talked to Mr. Abdur Rahman Biswas, the then President of Bangladesh about the method.
On 31st December 1992 Begum Khaleda Zia, the then Prime Minister of Bangladesh, had an interview with Mohammed Feroz Mukul over some of the lessons made by him. The interview was also attended by the former Education Minister Barrister Jamir Uddin Sirker, Works minister Barrister Rafiqul Islam Mia, Food Minister Mr. Samsul Islam and others.
Thereafter, by the orders of the then Prime Minister, the ministry of education formed a board of experts headed by Late Principal Eunus Khan, the then State Minister for Education. The board was comprised of eminent educationists from the universities and other bureaucrats having educational background in English.
On the 3rd of February 1993 the board held a thorough discussion with Mohammed Feroz Mukul on the lessons made by him and on his first publication ‘A new Thought, a new Approach Towards Teaching English, Scientific Method of Teaching English, Computer Technology Applied in Teaching English from Bangla.’ Being fully satisfied, the board referred it to NCTB (National Curriculum and Text Book Board) with strong recommendation for giving Mohammed Feroz Mukul a chance to explain his innovation. But the board formed by the NCTB totally ignored the recommendation. The members insisted on having the books for their private reading and understanding, for which Mr. Mukul supplied them with his books. They were mistaken for their routine works, which they usually do. ’What do they usually do?’ They get the books written by some authors, study them and then make comments whether the books are good or bad for any particular class. But the book written by Mohammed Feroz Mukul was not a book like that. The book was based on a new approach – which was more to be realized than to be understood; more to be explained than to be read. Therefore, the result was - it was doomed, as it was not destined to be.
But Mohammed Feroz Mukul carried on and on his research and finally innovated the Method, which got its nomenclature after his name.
Mr. Mukul has been presenting his method, since 1986, in series of seminars, every Friday at 9.30a.m. in FM Institute, and occasionally at the auditoriums in different districts and divisions of the country as well as had been presenting English Teaching Programs on different TV channels like BTV, Channel-i, Bangla Vision, Baishakhi TV, Islamic TV, Desh TV, Diganta TV etc.
On 9 July, 2009, he presented the key-note in a round-table discussion organized by the daily Bhorer Kagoj, at Hotel Sonargaon, which was administered by Mr. Shaymol Datta, editor of the daily. Mr. Faruk Khan (retd. colonel), the then honorable commerce minister was the chief guest. Dignified personality like ANM Ehsanul Haq Milon, former State Minister for Education also took part in the discussion and deliberately supported the method. Distinguished educationists like, Mr. Khondaker Rezaur Rahman (VC, IBAIS University, and Ex-Prof. of English, DU), Prof. Nazrul Islam, (Chairman UGC), Prof. Abdus Samad, (VC, Prime University), Prof. Mustafa Nurul Islam, Prof. Dr. M Shamsher Ali (VC, East West University), Prof. AK Azad Chowdhury, (Ex-VC, DU), Prof. Momotaz Uddin Patwary, Professor Aminul Islam, (VC, Daffodil International University), Salima Jahan, Professor Joynul Abedin Chowdhury and other educationists also highly talked about the method. Diplomats like, M Jamir, Syed Muazzem Ali and Nasim Ferdous, journalists like, Jaglul Ahmed Chowdhury, Talk-show personality like, Syed Abul Maksud and other eminent scholars of the soil took part in the discussion. The program was live telecast by Bangla Vision.
On 6 Sept 2012, Mr. Mukul was invited to a talk show of Independent TV, under the banner ‘Amader Gurura’ meaning Our Pioneers’, to be interviewed before the nation. Among other ‘gurus’ from other ‘horizons’, Mr. Mukul was the only one on English.
During the tenure of the 1/11 govt. Mr. Mukul was asked, and advised with sincerity, first to hold the post of District Administrator of Munshigonj and secondly the post of DG of Shishu Academy, both of which he very politely refused to accept. All these he had done only not to be derailed from his mission and vision, which he thinks comes to be accomplished with the introduction of the distant e-learning platform. He thinks, the whole Bangladesh and the Bengalis will see a radical change in the realm of intellectual achievement.
In recognition of his success in making the easiest, most scientific and creative way of teaching English for the Bengalis, he has been honored with the following awards :-