Education in 2024: New curriculum awaits students, teachers

In 2024, an Education Ministry directive will abolish separate departments for science, business education, and humanities in the new curriculum. 

Students in the 9th and 10th grades will now study within a unified department. The new curriculum, launched in 2023, initially covered the first grade of primary school, sixth and seventh grades of secondary school. 

The expansion plan includes the second, third, eighth, and ninth grades of primary school in 2024, and the fourth, fifth grades of primary and tenth grade of secondary school in 2025. 

Future phases include the introduction of the new curriculum for Class XI in 2026 and Class XII in 2027. 

The effect of the new curriculum and challenges will be visible after the one-year run. So, 2024 will be a crucial year for the adoption of the new curriculum.

However, the government is focusing on overall improvement in the education sector too next year. According to the budget for the fiscal year 2023-24, the education sector has received a boost in funding. The allocation for education has been increased to Tk88,162 crore from Tk81,449 crore in the revised budget for FY24.

The primary education sector will receive Tk34,722 crore for the next fiscal year, up from Tk31,761 crore in the last fiscal year. The allocation for the secondary and higher education sector has been raised to Tk42,838 crore from Tk39,961 crore.

At the tertiary level, university admissions may come under some changes too. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has urged universities that are out of the cluster admission test, including Dhaka University and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, to join the cluster this year. 

However, these institutions have evaded the call so far. What happens in 2024 remains to be seen. 

Miraz Hossain. Sketch: TBS