‘All Educational Institutions in the Country Are Coming Under Monitoring’

Photo: Collected

News Desk: State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj said there is a plan to gradually bring all types of primary educational institutions in the country under monitoring. The programme will be implemented step by step by developing the necessary manpower, training, and capacity.

He further said that success should not be limited to the implementation of any project or construction of infrastructure; how much students are learning in the classroom and how much change has occurred in their learning outcomes should be the main measure of success in primary education.

He made these remarks today (September 19) while speaking as the chief guest at a dialogue titled ‘Citizen Platform Dialogue: How Far Has the Government Progressed? Focus on Primary Education,’ organized by Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, at Lakeshore Hotel in the capital.

Regarding the Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP), Bobby Hajjaj said that for a long time, project-based development has taken place in primary education infrastructure, technology, administrative capacity and other areas. Although these initiatives are necessary, the entire system needs to be organized more effectively with students’ learning outcomes at its center.

Saying that initiatives have been taken for long-term reforms in teacher management alongside addressing the teacher shortage, the State Minister said work is underway to bring teacher recruitment, professional careers, evaluation, training and development under an integrated framework. He said work is underway to organize, in a practical and logical manner, issues including teacher recruitment, what their career trajectory will be, how they will be evaluated, and how their training will be conducted.

The State Minister also said that new thinking is being given to the schedules of primary schools, the introduction of a single shift, and ensuring effective learning time in classrooms. At the same time, initiatives have been taken to involve child psychologists and early education experts more effectively in curriculum development.

State Minister Bobby Hajjaj said there is a plan to gradually bring all types of government and private primary-level educational institutions in the country under an effective monitoring system. He said the state has a responsibility to ensure the quality of education in Bangla-medium, English-medium, kindergarten and other primary-level educational institutions. No matter what type of educational institution exists on the soil of this country, the state has a responsibility to ensure the quality of education there.

The dialogue was chaired by Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). Special guests included Faridpur-1 constituency Member of Parliament Md. Elias Molla, reserved women’s seat Member of Parliament Nusrat Tabassum, Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education Shahina Ferdousi, CPD Executive Director Dr. Nazneen Ahmed, Campaign for Popular Education Executive Director Rasheda K. Chowdhury, Bengal Foundation Director General Luva Nahid Chowdhury, Jahangirnagar University Professor Dr. Nahrin Islam Khan, and physician Tasnim Jara.