Pre-primary education period to be extended to two years: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced today (June 27) that the government plans to extend pre-primary education from a one-year to a two-year period.

"The government wants to make the pre-primary education for a two-year period instead of one-year for flourishing the hidden talents of small children through sports and games, not for study," she said while inaugurating the National Primary Education Week-2024 and conferring the Primary Education Medal-2023 in the city's Osmani Memorial Auditorium.

At the event, the prime minister said the curriculum has been modernised to flourish the hidden talents of students.

"Just reading books is not enough. We will have to bring out the talents of small children. It needs to create scopes for them so that their hidden talents can be flourished. Keeping eyes to it, we have brought modern technology-knowledge in the curriculum," she said.

The theme of the week is 'Shishu Bandhov Prathomik Shikkha, Smart Bangladesher Deekkha' (Children-Friendly Primary Education, Lesson of Smart Bangladesh).

"We have to go to the moon one day. We have to conquer the moon. So, we have to take measures so that our children can obtain science-based education right now"

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

The prime minister said the government wants to develop a balanced, public welfare-oriented, universal and standard education system.

She said the government will set up a computer lab in every school in the country. 

"We initially started setting up computer labs in the secondary schools and now we've a goal to do it in the primary schools as well," she added.

Noting that today is the age of technology, Sheikh Hasina said the government wants to develop a population equipped with modern technology knowledge. 

"We have taken all sorts of measures to this end," she added.

She hoped that the country's young generation would start developing gradually as a skilled manpower equipped with technological  knowledge from their childhood. 

"I want them to be imbued with patriotism and come up with new thoughts and more innovations for the development of the country and take Bangladesh forward further," she said.

Noting that today's children are the future leaders of the country, she said the future prime minister, ministers and big scientists would be from among them.

"We have to go to the moon one day. We have to conquer the moon. So, we have to take measures so that our children can obtain science-based education right now," she said.

The PM said her government has already set up an aerospace and aviation university (Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Aviation and Aerospace University) and aeronautical research centre to encourage the children in such education.

She said her government increased the literacy rate to 65.5% from 45% during the 1996-2001 regime. But it came down to 44-45% again in 2009.

According to very recent statistics, the literacy rate has gone up to some 78% now due to steps taken by her government since 2009, she said.

The prime minister said an educated population is a must for building a poverty-free Bangladesh.  

The girls' enrolment in schools has increased to 98.25% and the dropout rate declined to 13.15%, she mentioned.

She cited that there are 118,891 primary schools throughout the country and 657,203 teachers including 403,191 women in the primary schools.

She said the government distributed a total of 464,74,29880 copies of free textbooks from 2010 to 2024.

The government wants to introduce a community-based school feeding system, said Sheikh Hasina.

This year, a total of 126 stakeholders under 18 categories have been honoured with 'Primary Education Medal-2023'. Of them, 54  students, persons and institutes received the medal directly from the Prime Minister.

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Rumana Ali also spoke at the function presided over by Primary and Mass Education Secretary Farid Ahmed.