People’s perceptions, mentality and habits are standing in the way of implementing a new education curriculum in Bangladesh, according to Education Minister Dipu Moni.
“We are used to following a certain teaching method. The parents are accustomed to the existing education system. They must shift their focus from how much their children score in the exams and what are their positions in the class to what they have learnt or whether the child is becoming a good human being,” she said at an event on Tuesday.
“We won’t be able to implement the new curriculum successfully if it doesn’t match the aspirations of the teachers, students and parents. We need to come out of the competitive mindset and we can all play a role in doing so,” she said.
Dipu Moni urged everyone to flag any mistake made by the authorities in implementing the new curriculum, reports bdnews24.com.
“Please point out the mistakes, but don’t judge [the curriculum]. We want to make the new curriculum flawless and that can only be done when everyone puts in the effort.”
Teachers play a key role in implementing the new curriculum, the education minister said. “From now on, teaching will be different from what it used to be. There’s no alternative to training the teachers to prepare them to face the revolutionary change in the education system.”
Accordingly, the government has arranged a training programme for all teachers at the secondary level, she said. Teachers across the country will be trained at the same time.
The minister inaugurated an online training app that she says will help teachers understand their roles in the new curriculum.
More than 400,000 teachers will receive training, she said.
A gradual change in the textbooks and learning system will take place before a complete overhaul of the curriculum in 2025, according to Dipu Moni.
“Piloting is underway in two schools. The new curriculum will be implemented for grades six and seven at 33,000 educational institutions. We’ll get feedback from teachers, students and parents, which will be reflected in the textbooks. This will be an ongoing process.”
