Staff Reporter:
Prime Minister’s Education Adviser Dr Mahdi Amin yesterday said the government is working to trans-form the country’s overall education system into a “360-degree holistic approach” by integrating culture, sports and co-curricular activities into mainstream education alongside academic learning.
He said students would no longer be confined only to textbook-based or rote learning, as the new educa-tion system would provide equal importance to cultural, sporting and co-curricular activities.
The adviser made the remarks at a press conference held at the conference room of the Ministry of Edu-cation at the Secretariat yesterday ahead of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent ex-aminations beginning today.
Education Minister Dr A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon, Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division Abdul Khaleque and Director General of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education Professor Dr. Khan Moinuddin Al Mahmud Sohel, among others, were present at the press conference.
Mahdi Amin said, “We are restructuring our education system and curriculum in such a way that every student will have the opportunity to develop their intellect, analytical ability and creativity alongside academic studies.”
“A student who wishes to pursue a particular field or excels in a specific area will receive the necessary support from the state to develop his or her potential,” he added.
He said, in line with the Prime Minister’s directive, technical and vocational education would be made compulsory from Class VI.
Initially, the program would be introduced as theoretical instruction and later incorporated into the cur-riculum through practical training.
The adviser also said there are plans to introduce a “third language” into the education system to enhance the international competitiveness of Bangladeshi students.
The program is expected to be launched institutionally in the academic years following the next one, he added.
Referring to qualitative reforms in education, Mahdi Amin said, “The current government has had only four and a half months since assuming office.”
“In such a short period, there has been very limited time to introduce visible curriculum reforms or print new textbooks for the upcoming academic year. However, from the following academic year, all guide-lines in line with the Prime Minister’s clearly defined vision will be incorporated into the textbooks. This is an ongoing process,” he said.
Highlighting the role of teachers, he said the Prime Minister believes a teacher’s responsibility is to pre-pare students for the future through a friendly relationship with them.
He said the new education program would place special emphasis on moral education, family values and social values.
“The main objective is to ensure that students become skilled citizens capable of contributing both at home and abroad or emerge as successful entrepreneurs in the future,” he added.
Presenting HSC examination statistics, Dr. Mahdi Amin said it is encouraging that female candidates outnumber male candidates in this year’s examinations.
While the number of male candidates stands at 621,000, the number of female candidates exceeds 648,000, he said.
He further said, “During the SSC examinations, we successfully eliminated the long-standing practices of cheating and question paper leaks through strict measures.”
“All necessary preparations have been completed to ensure that the HSC examinations are held in a fair, fear-free and pressure-free environment,” he added.
The adviser sought the cooperation of students, teachers, guardians and the people of the country to en-sure the smooth conduct of the examinations.
