Govt to provide free uniforms to primary school students: Bobby Hajjaj
The government will be able to provide mid-day meals in all primary schools by next year, he said.
State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj today (13 April) said free uniforms will be provided to all primary school students across the country.
"Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has given instructions to provide free uniforms to primary school students. We have started working towards that goal. Free uniforms will be provided to students once a year. We believe that we will be able to provide free uniforms to all primary school students in the country in phases during the tenure of the current government," he said.
The state minister made the remarks while addressing a policy dialogue titled 'Primary Education Reforms: Strategic Guidance', organised by BRAC under its Education Programme at the BRAC Centre in the capital.
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The policy dialogue was organised with the aim of incorporating field-level experiences and evidence-based recommendations into policymaking for improving the quality of primary education and advancing education reform programmes in the country.
Mid-day meals have already been introduced in several primary schools, he said, expressing hope that the government will be able to provide mid-day meals in all primary schools by next year.
He said, "We need to address the three Cs—curriculum, classroom and consistency—to develop the education sector. We need to improve classroom infrastructure and the learning environment. There are many shortcomings in our primary education curriculum."
"I have already started on-site visits to schools. After visiting a few schools and asking students, especially those in grades four and five, to read from their textbooks, I saw that reading is quite difficult for them. We need to assess what they are actually learning. The curriculum needs to be reviewed and updated", he added.
Regarding the formulation of a modern curriculum, he said, "We are placing emphasis on students' extracurricular activities. We are working jointly with the Ministry of Sports to include six to seven sports in each school. We are also working with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs to introduce dance, singing and acting."
Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education Abu Noor Md Shamsuzzaman and Director General of the Bureau of Non-Formal Education Debabrata Chakraborty, among others, were present at the event.
