The government will bring necessary changes to the Bangla- and English-medium curricula to bring Bangladesh’s education system up to global standards, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj has said.
He made the remarks while addressing the School Leaders Conference 2026, organised by OxfordAQA International Qualifications, at a hotel in the capital on Saturday.
Hajjaj said the government would work with both public and private educational institutions to coordinate efforts in curriculum development, infrastructure, teacher training and technology use.
“We do not want merely to follow the world’s best practices. Our dream is that one day other countries will look to Bangladesh for best practices in education,” he said, adding that the government was prepared to invest the necessary time, resources and effort to achieve the goal.
He said students studying in English-medium, Bangla-medium or other streams should have a common standard of basic knowledge and skills.
“There will be differences between better and less-performing institutions, but there should not be major disparities in the fundamental quality of education and curriculum,” he said.
Highlighting the need for urgent reforms in primary education, the state minister said clear minimum standards should be set for school hours and effective learning hours, student numbers relative to classroom capacity, essential infrastructure and trained teachers.
“No teacher should be assigned to a classroom without proper training,” he said.
Emphasising technology and modern teaching methods, Hajjaj said future primary education would place greater emphasis on activity-based and play-based learning.
He said the government also wanted to learn from the experience of English-medium schools and make effective use of learning management systems (LMS).
Stressing the importance of stakeholder consultation in developing a new curriculum, Hajjaj said, “We do not want anyone to say they were not consulted. We want to move forward by taking your experience and views into account.”
He said the government was working to create a level playing field for all educational institutions through coordinated initiatives in four areas—curriculum, infrastructure, teacher training and technology.
OxfordAQA Bangladesh and Nepal Country Director Shaheen Reza chaired the event, while University Grants Commission (UGC) member Professor Dr Abdullah Al Mamun attended as a special guest.
