‘Every child needs chance to grow, not just in academics’

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said on Tuesday that the government expects to begin, from 2027 or 2028, giving primary and secondary pupils the chance to learn music and musical instruments and to choose sports according to their interests. 

He also announced plans to offer a third language alongside Bangla and English.

He was speaking at a discussion at Bangladesh Shishu Academy in Dhaka marking Children’s Rights Day 2026 and the academy’s 50th anniversary.

“Today’s children are the pillars of their families. If they can grow up properly, the foundation of their families will become stronger. Likewise, if we can provide all children across Bangladesh with opportunities to develop properly, the foundation of our country will become much stronger,” he said.

Addressing the children as his “little friends”, the prime minister said they should not be confined to academic studies but should also be able to explore their talents in sports, arts, culture and music. 

He urged parents to recognise and nurture their children’s individual qualities rather than pressing them towards conventional academic pursuits alone.

Recalling his own childhood interest in the guitar and keyboard, he told the children: “I want you to complete what I could not.”

Arts, sport and languages in schools

Tarique Rahman said many families, particularly in remote and rural areas, cannot afford extracurricular activities for their children.

“So, from the school level, we are trying to create facilities for arts, culture, sports and music so that every child can choose a subject according to his or her preference,” he said.

He said the government had already taken steps to identify and develop sporting talent, including a nationwide primary-level football competition that drew around 22 lakh boys and girls. 

He expressed hope that continuing such initiatives would produce internationally acclaimed footballers and other sportspeople.

He also said the “Natun Kuri” programme, introduced by Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman to promote children’s cultural talents, had been revived alongside a sports-based “Natun Kuri” initiative.

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On languages, the prime minister said options for a third language would include Arabic, Mandarin, German and Japanese. Knowledge of an additional foreign language, he said, would help children in their future education and employment abroad and allow them to compete more effectively globally.

“Children must also become humane”

The prime minister said academic, sporting, artistic or linguistic achievements alone would not be enough. “Children must also become humane,” he said, urging them to show compassion towards people, nature, animals and birds.

He called on parents and guardians to instil a sense of responsibility towards the environment and other living beings in their children. 

“If we are kind to nature, nature will certainly be kind to us,” he said.

He asked children to care for trees and animals around their homes and schools and to help keep the environment clean. “If you see an adult throwing garbage or waste somewhere and harming the environment, you can tell them to put it in the proper place,” he said.

A clean environment, he added, would help children grow up physically and mentally healthy.

Calling on all sections of society to work together, he said the task did not require major efforts but could be achieved through small, collective actions. “We will build this country ourselves. If we want to build the country, all of us must work together,” he said.

The prime minister also recalled visiting the academy as a child with his younger brother and their parents, Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and Begum Khaleda Zia, at its inauguration. He said he found some of his and his brother’s writings on display there, which took him back five decades.

Zubaida Rahman: Safe childhood, secure future

The prime minister’s wife and Vice-President of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation, Dr Zubaida Rahman, also addressed the event, calling for every child to be given the opportunity to realise and showcase their potential.

“Every child has immense potential within them. They must be given the opportunity to express that talent,” she said. “Let every childhood be safe. Let the future of every child be secure. This is our wish.”

She said the academy, established 50 years ago by Ziaur Rahman, had worked through numerous obstacles to help children build their future. To mark its golden jubilee, she said, it would reach children across the country through modern technology under a new initiative.

Dr Zubaida also recalled the contribution of BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia to children’s rights, saying that as the country’s first woman prime minister she had expanded compulsory and free primary education and free education for girls.

Women and Children Affairs Minister Prof Dr AZM Zahid Hossain chaired the discussion. Earlier, 150 children welcomed the prime minister on his arrival at the academy. The programme began with the national anthem, after which he watched a cultural event by children and visited a gallery of children’s drawings and photographs.