Govt plans common standards for Bangla, English-medium students: Hajjaj

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj said the government will align Bangla- and English-medium curricula to ensure students meet a common minimum standard of basic knowledge and skills.

"Regardless of the medium in which students study, there should not be significant disparities in their basic learning," he said.

The state minister made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the School Leaders Conference 2026, organised by OxfordAQA International Qualifications at a hotel in Dhaka today (12 September).

He said, "The government aims to build an education system in Bangladesh that goes beyond adopting global best practices and eventually serves as a model for other countries."

Highlighting the need for urgent reforms in key areas of primary education, Bobby said, "Clear minimum standards should be established for school hours and effective learning hours, student numbers in relation to classroom size, infrastructure and trained teachers."

"No teacher should be given responsibility for a classroom without any form of training," he added, stressing the importance of teacher training.

Bobby also urged the importance of consulting relevant stakeholders while developing a new curriculum.

"No one should be able to say that they were not consulted during the curriculum development process," he said.