Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has expressed disappointment about the government’s inability to draw meritorious people to the education sector.
“We have trained about one million teachers up to secondary-level education in different manners, but still there is lacking that we can not attract meritorious people in this sector,” the minister told the inauguration ceremony of the three-day seventh Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association (BELTA) International Conference at Dhanmondi’s National Academy for Educational Management (NAEM).
“Teachers are the main force to build a qualified generation and scholars in the country. For this we should try more to support them,” he told the conference, organized by BELTA with the British Council as its lead partner.
Speaking as the chief guest, Nahid also emphasised on the importance of learning and teaching English language, saying: “This is high time that we need to flourish the English language in both learning and teaching system in order to build modern and digital Bangladesh and to implement the ‘Vision 2021.’
“We have already changed the traditional education system and launched a time-befitting and modern education system in the country,” he added.
Also present there, Education Secretary Nazrul Islam Khan said: “English is not only a language; it has now also become a technology and an important tool to develop the country.”
The conference provided a professional forum for English teachers, trainers, policy makers, administrators, materials writers, researchers, educationists and technologists related to English Language Teaching (ELT), Learning, Testing and Administration.
According to BELTA, about 550 participants including representatives from Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are attending the event.
Under the conference’s theme “English Language Education: Directions, Transformations, Sustainability,” presentations would be made offering a range of topics from young learners to adult education, tertiary and secondary education, curriculum and materials design, community-based learning, the use of technology, examinations and their impact on society to the concept of developing innovative practice.
The keynote speaker was Dr Peter Medgyes, who is professor emeritus of Applied Linguistics and Language Pedagogy in Hungary’s Eotvos Lorand University.
British Council Country Director to Bangladesh Barbara Wickham, Asia Pacific University Vice-Chancellor Dr Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, American Centre Director Ann B McConnell and Deputy British High Commissioner Mark Clayton also delivered speeches at the event.
