Education minister visits ‘blue sky’ school on PM’s directive

Education and Primary and Mass Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon on Sunday visited the Bangladesh Air Force-run “Blue Sky” School in the capital on the directive of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

During the visit, the minister directed the authorities to reduce admission fees for children from ordinary families and increase facilities at the specialised school for children with special needs.

“The tuition fees at the institution are very high. The Prime Minister has asked me to visit the school and take necessary steps to increase facilities for children with special needs, make admission easier for children from ordinary families and reduce costs,” he said.

The minister said providing specialised education to autistic children is expensive as a teacher cannot usually manage more than five students, while in some cases one teacher is assigned to a single student.

He suggested exploring ways to reduce costs while maintaining the quality of specialised education.

He also said a plan would be developed to train educated parents of the students and involve them in supporting the school’s activities.

The minister stressed the need for government support for the institution and said modernising the school and strengthening specialised education could help address the challenges faced by children with autism.

Air Commodore Md Abbas Ali, chairman of the school’s governing body; Air Commodore Imranur Rahman, director of the Education Department at Air Headquarters; and Group Captain Md Nur Ullah, principal of Blue Sky School, were present during the visit.

The school is located beside the field of the old Tejgaon airport in the capital.