Primary and Mass Education Adviser Professor Dr Bidhan Ranjan Roy Poddar has announced that primary school students will receive 100% of their textbooks in January.
Expressing optimism, the adviser said: “I am confident that primary school students will receive 100% of their textbooks in January. However, we may not be able to distribute them with the same celebratory events as in the past.”
The adviser made these remarks while speaking to local reporters at the inauguration ceremony of a two-day workshop organized by the Directorate of Primary Education at the RDRS premises on Sunday afternoon.
Following the inauguration, Professor Podder attended the workshop, titled "Fifth Phase Primary Education Development Programme," as the chief guest.
Speaking about teacher quality, he said: “There is a noticeable difference in the quality of teachers recruited before the nationalization of primary schools. However, we have our own training programs. If a teacher has potential, there is an opportunity to train them and enhance their performance.”
The adviser emphasized that the main objective of the Directorate of Primary Education is to ensure that fifth-grade students can read and write fluently in their mother tongue and express their thoughts in writing.
Additionally, students should be capable of performing basic calculations, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Efforts are underway to achieve this goal.
During his visits to government primary schools in Nilphamari and Rangpur, he observed that while the infrastructure was well-equipped, student attendance was not at 100%.
“There are teachers, but students have not achieved the expected outcomes. This issue is not new, as annual nationwide surveys reveal similar findings,” he said.
He also mentioned that the primary school syllabus has not undergone significant changes.
“However, we have made some adjustments to the textbooks for third, fourth, and fifth grades. The new fourth- and fifth-grade textbooks will include stories and illustrations depicting student uprisings and public movements,” he added.