Sports to be added to Class 4-5 curriculum next year: Bobby Hajjaj

Sports will be introduced as a subject for students in Classes 4 and 5 at government primary schools from next year, with the subject to be fully integrated into the curriculum from the 2028 academic year, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj said today (2 September).

"From next year, sports will be included in the curriculum for Classes 4 and 5. It will be fully integrated into the curriculum from the 2028 academic year," he said.

The state minister made the remarks while responding to questions from journalists at a press briefing at the PTI auditorium in Jashore this afternoon.

He was attending a daylong training workshop titled 'Changing Expectations of Classroom Activities, Monitoring, Accountability and Local Administration in Primary Education in Bangladesh'.

Hajjaj said the government wants to encourage students to pursue sports as a career and is working to incorporate sports education into primary schools.

"Sports education will require playgrounds and teachers. We are working with the Ministry of Youth and Sports on playgrounds," he said.

Under the plan, sports facilities and equipment available at upazila and union levels will be shared with primary schools, he said.

The government is also considering the joint use of playgrounds at nearby secondary schools and other educational institutions.

"We are working with the Ministry of Education. In the future, we will sit with deputy commissioners and upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs) to discuss how this can be expedited," Hajjaj said.

A separate project is also being considered to assess the number of playgrounds required by primary schools, he said.

Sports facilities and teachers

Hajjaj said trainers working under the Ministry of Youth and Sports at the upazila and union levels could help train primary school teachers and students.

Authorities are also considering recruiting part-time sports teachers for individual schools, he added.

Learning outcomes to replace infrastructure as key measure

The state minister said previous governments had focused heavily on infrastructure development in primary education, often treating infrastructure as a measure of educational progress.

"Now, we are using learning as the measure of education. We will assess how successful the Directorate of Primary Education is based on how much students are learning," he said.

Midday meals planned for all primary schools from 2027

Hajjaj also said the government plans to introduce midday meals at all government primary schools across the country from the 2027 academic year.

The programme will initially include bread, boiled eggs, bananas, UHT milk and fortified biscuits. Cooked meals will also be introduced under a pilot project, he said.

The workshop brought together officials from the education and local administration sectors to discuss implementation of the planned initiatives.

Primary and Mass Education Ministry Joint Secretary (Development) Matiar Rahman, Jashore Superintendent of Police Syed Rafiqul Islam and Directorate of Primary Education Director (Stipend) Masud Hossain attended the workshop as special guests.

Khulna Divisional Deputy Director of Primary Education Dr Shafiqul Islam delivered the welcome speech, while Jashore Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ashek Hasan chaired the event.

The workshop focused on strengthening classroom activities, monitoring, accountability and teacher training, with an emphasis on developing quality teachers and creating a better learning environment for students.