The government is going bring major changes to the primary education curriculum. Under the new plan, sports will be made compulsory for students from Class 4, and a total of eight sporting events will be included in the curriculum. The main objective is to keep students away from device addiction and drugs, and to build a healthy, strong, and disciplined generation.
Sources said the initiative is as part of the government’s election manifesto.
For this purpose, a high-level committee has already been formed, headed by the Secretary of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, to prepare initial recommendations and a detailed action plan.
It is learned that an inter-ministerial meeting on this issue was held on May 6 at the conference room of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The meeting was chaired by State Minister Md. Aminul Haque. It was attended by the State Minister for Primary and Mass Education, secretaries of both ministries, and senior officials from the Directorate of Technical and Madrasah Education.
The meeting decided that under the “Nobonkur Sports” programme, eight events—football, cricket, kabaddi, martial arts/volleyball, athletics, badminton, chess, and swimming—will be made compulsory.
It was also stated that the newly formed committee will prepare a structured curriculum and time-bound implementation plan to include sports in education. The committee has been instructed to submit its detailed action plan along with preliminary recommendations by June 10.
The proposed plan also mentions that to implement this initiative, three subject-based sports teachers will be appointed for each of the eight events in every upazila across the country, creating a total of 11,880 posts. In addition, 495 upazila sports officers under the Ministry of Youth and Sports will also be appointed soon.