Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the guardians not to get involved in unhealthy competition for the future of their children.
She also mentioned that, "There is no competition among the children, but it exists among the guardians."
Sheikh Hasina came up with the call while inaugurating the National Primary Education Week, 2019 at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka on Wednesday, reports BSS.
“Additional pressure shouldn’t be put on tender-hearted children for studying. It should be taken care by all that the children can get education amid cheerfulness and play and without having fear,” she said.
Speaking about her referral of a child to a school for admission, she said that the school authorities gave the child a printed question paper to answer. The Prime Minister posed a question saying, if the child could answer the question why the kid should go to the school?
The premier asked all concerned to cancel the procedure of giving printed question papers to class one students and suggested making area-wise proper arrangement for admission of children.
Recalling contribution of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to education, the premier said “Bangabandhu took firm steps to build an illiteracy free country by making primary education universal and compulsory and making education free for women after independence in 1971.”
Following the footsteps of Bangabandhu, the Awami League, after assuming power in 1996, took measures for an inclusive education system involving physically challenged and remote areas children and formed education commission to formulate an education policy, she continued.
The education policy finally was formulated in accordance with the Qudrat- e-Khuda Education Commission in 2009 as the Awami League came to power for second term and started its execution in 2011, she added.
In order to ensure quality primary education of all children, currently the fourth primary education programme [2018-2023] has been implemented with a budget of Tk 384.0 million, she also said.
To this contest, the government has already made computer education compulsory in secondary level and is working to make it compulsory in primary level, the premier said.
Multimedia classroom system has already been introduced in many areas and the entire country will be brought under the system in phases, she mentioned.
Highlighting the government measures taken for checking dropouts, the premier said her government has introduced school feeding system along with giving text books free of costs, stipend for female students, constructing schools in every two kilometres.
Describing the children as future of the nation, she said, “You have to read attentively and to be a good citizen of the country as we want to build the next generation with the values inspired by the spirit of our Liberation War, ethics and principles.”
Speaking about his government initiatives in education sector in the last 10 years, she said, “We have appointed around 45 thousand teachers in the last ten years. The post of head teachers has been upgraded to second class while assistant teachers’ salary scale has been upgraded.”
She also called upon all to work together to build a hunger, poverty and illiterate free ‘Sonar Bangla’ as dreamt by Bangabandhu by implementing the ‘Vision-2021’ to make Bangladesh a middle-income country and ‘Vision-2041’ to make it a developed one.
State Minister for Ministry of Primary and Mass Education Md Zakir Hossain presided over the function. The secretary of the ministry, Md. Akram-Al-Hossain, gave the welcome address.
Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, also a former minister, Mostafizur Rahman spoke on the occasion.
A video presentation on progress and success regarding primary education in the country was also screened at the function.
The premier also distributed medals and certificates among the recipients of ‘Primary Education Padak ‘, in 19 categories and students of primacy schools for securing first, second and third position in the cultural and sports competitions in 15 categories.
Director general (DG) of Directorate of Primary Education Dr AFM Manzur Kadir moderated the medal and certificate distributing part of the function.
