Govt to monitor private, kindergarten and English-medium primary schools: Bobby Hajjaj

All primary-level educational institutions, including private schools, kindergartens and English-medium schools, will be brought under government monitoring, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj said at a training workshop in Chattogram today (19 August).

The state minister said the monitoring system of the Directorate of Primary Education had so far focused mainly on government primary schools.

"Under the new policy, all types of primary schools will be brought under this monitoring system," he said.

He said inspections of schools in 25 upazilas had already revealed significant discrepancies between field-level conditions and reports submitted by district and upazila primary education officials.

Particularly significant discrepancies were found in data on students' foundational learning skills, stressing that education administration must be based on accurate field-level information, her added.

Under the new policy, the government will also appoint assistant upazila primary education officers against vacant posts in every upazila to strengthen monitoring and accountability, Bobby said.

The monitoring will cover school buildings, classrooms, playgrounds, learning environments, textbooks and curriculum compliance, as well as teacher recruitment and training.

Private institutions will also be required to ensure safe and adequate facilities for primary education, he further added.

Emphasising teacher training, he said, "We do not want to see any untrained teacher in the classroom."

The state minister also said the government plans to introduce a school feeding programme in all government primary schools next year.

He added that a nationwide quiz competition is also being planned to encourage children's creativity and intellectual development, with the programme expected to be broadcast on television.