Students of any level should not be lined up to greet any person except for the president and the prime minister as they are the head of state and government, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said yesterday.
He added that it would be a matter of “good-luck” for the students to see the top two personalities of the country.
He claimed that there had been a clear instruction from the ministry to stop queuing up of students and it was followed in the last five years.
“But recently, some over-enthusiasts have started to violate the instructions of the government. It should be stopped and prevented in cooperation with all concerned,” the minister said at a programme in Barisal Shaheed Abdur Rob Serniabad Stadium yesterday morning.
“If any lawmaker, minister of distinguished guest goes to visit any place or institution, s/he will be greeted by the authorities concerned within the institution compound,” the minister said reiterating the warning given in a circular issued on January 27.
He said these while inaugurating the 43rd National Winter Sports and Athletics Competition 2014 arranged by Bangladesh National School and Madrasa Sports Association.
Prof Fahima Khatun, director general of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, presided over the inaugural session of the five-day long competition where a total of 672 competitors from 231 educational institutions of the country participated in the final round of 35 events.
The primary and mass education ministry issued the circular asking the authorities concerned not to force primary school children to queue on the roads to welcome public representatives. Legal action would be taken against those repeating such practice in future. “This is in no way acceptable,” said the circular.
However, the minister the same day said the educational institutions might arrange programmes to greet “honourable guests” on the school premises.
The circular was issued after newspapers reported on schoolchildren in different parts of the country being forced to queue under the sun to welcome the newly-elected public representatives and ministers. The issue triggered severe criticism from the masses.
Nahid yesterday said: “Only infrastructural development of the education sector is not the main aim of the government. Our principal objective is to introduce and develop a world-class education system for the young generation.”
Decision on Doraemon to be reviewed
Replying to questions about resuming the screening of cartoon “Doraemon” on televisions, the education minister said he would talk about this with the information minister.
The government in February last year banned the Japanese manga cartoon from its TV screens over fears that youngsters who are hooked on the Hindi-dubbed version are struggling to learn Bengali, AFP reported. Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu told parliament that television channels which were screening Doraemon had been sent official notifications ordering them to take the series off air.
The move came after several newspapers called for a ban on the cartoon, worried that Doraemon addicts were speaking Hindi to each other instead of Bengali.
Created by manga artist Fujiko F Fujio, Doraemon revolves around a robotic cat who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a pre-teen boy, Nobita. Tokyo’s foreign ministry appointed Doraemon as its first “anime ambassador” in 2008 in an effort to deepen foreign interest in Japanese culture, adds the AFP.