Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said the most important investment in nation-building is investment in children’s education and health. To build a confident, skilled and humane generation, he said, the importance of sport, culture and creative activity alongside academic study is undeniable.
He said the “Primary School Gold Cup Football Tournament (Boys-Girls) 2026” was being held, and that it was certainly a positive initiative.
He made the remarks in a message marking the “Primary School Gold Cup Football Tournament (Boys-Girls) 2026,” to be held tomorrow.
The prime minister said the government was working to modernise, refine and update the education sector as part of implementing its election manifesto, “Bangladesh First.” For that, the process of including sport in the curriculum was under way. Steps were being taken to include football, cricket, chess, karate and swimming in the curriculum in stages from grade four up to higher secondary.
He said students must take part in these sporting activities not only theoretically but through practical classes and assessment. “I believe this will help resist social problems such as drug addiction and mobile-phone addiction,” he said.
He added that the government had already drawn up the policy for the “Primary School Gold Cup Football Tournament (Boys-Girls) 2026.” Under the policy, all government primary schools in the country — that is, 65,569 government primary schools — and a total of 9,948,956 boys and girls (boys: 4,691,996; girls: 5,256,960) had the chance to take part in both events.
In the message, the prime minister said boys’ and girls’ teams had taken part with equal opportunity. This year, a total of 123,974 matches were held across the country between boys’ and girls’ teams. Considering its scale, the Primary School Gold Cup Football Tournament is regarded as the largest football tournament in the world. The present government, he said, was emphasising students’ participation in sport and cultural activity alongside study, for their physical, mental and intellectual development. As a result, he said, our boys and girls were achieving success in sport — especially football — at home and in international events. “I believe the participants in this tournament will be the bright faces of our tomorrow, who will newly illuminate the country on the international stage. I wish the ‘Primary School Gold Cup Football Tournament (Boys-Girls) 2026’ every success,” he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report