After 2028, no untrained teacher will teach in any primary classroom in the country. The policy will apply to all educational institutions, government, private, kindergarten and English-medium, the State Minister for Primary and Mass Education, Bobby Hajjaj, has said.
He said real progress in education was not possible only through building infrastructure; it also required skilled teachers, an up-to-date curriculum and a joyful learning environment for children. The child must be at the centre of the education system, he said, adding that education must be ensured in such a way that learning becomes a source of joy for them rather than a burden.
He made the remarks on Monday as chief guest at a national dialogue on early childhood development policy, jointly organised by Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) and the Bangladesh ECD Network at IUB’s multipurpose hall in Bashundhara, in the capital.
The state minister said the government was working to complete the reorganisation of the curriculum within the next year. He pledged to ensure that the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) could work professionally and independently, free from undue influence.
The quality of education could not be improved without improving teachers’ standard of living, the state minister said. If a teacher could not live a financially, socially and professionally dignified life, the desired change in the education system would never be achieved, he said.
On converting government primary schools to a single shift, the state minister said that, because of the two-shift system, students in many cases were not getting enough time and attention. A plan had therefore been taken to convert all government primary schools in the country into one-shift schools in phases, he said.
The event was presided over by the vice-chancellor of IUB, Professor M Tamim. Those present included the director general of the National Academy for Primary Education, Farid Ahmad; the chairman of the IUB Trustee Board, Didar A Hossain; representatives of various government and non-government organisations; and media personnel.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report