Amidst widespread controversy surrounding the implementation of the new curriculum in three grades last year, and amid extensive calls for revision from experts, teachers, and guardians, the newly appointed education minister, Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, has said the decision on the extent of curriculum revision will be made by the end of this year.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Sun, the education minister also said decisions regarding any changes must be made by considering the feedback received so far and by discussing with the experts, educators or all stakeholders involved in the curriculum.

About the changes in the evaluation system, he said it is uncertain whether there will be any revision in the assessment system.

The new curriculum, introduced in 2023, initially encompassed the first, sixth and seventh grades. The expansion plan aims to include the second, third, eighth and ninth grades this year, with the fourth, fifth and tenth grades slated for inclusion next year.

“There was a gap in the assessment system earlier, it is still there, and it will continue in the future. There is no 100% accurate assessment method in the world. However, it is necessary to work on how assessment can reflect the skills of students properly,” said Mohibul Hasan.

“However, in doing so, we want to ensure that assessment should not become a hindrance for students. Many parents say that examinations or tests are necessary to make students disciplined, which I would say is not the goal of assessment,” he added.

Highlighting the government’s plans for lower secondary education, Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury said, “We see that after completing the lower secondary level, a large number of students in the country are deprived of the opportunity to study at the secondary level. Currently, we can admit about two crore students from primary to lower secondary level, but only 20 lakh of them reach the secondary level. It will be another big achievement for us to make this large number of dropout students pass at least the eighth grade. If this can be done, unskilled workers will become skilled. As a result, it will be possible to transform into a knowledge-based economy.”

Regarding the employment of students, the education minister said when students enter the workplace employers are concerned about whether they have work-related skills. The Ministry of Education wants to address this.

There are different types of job-related skills. Basic skills include presentation, communication, research and teamwork. Numeracy, literacy, typing skills, linguistic competency, etc are very important too. The ministry aims to infuse such essential skills into all levels of education.

The minister also said, “We have to generate different types of professionals. For example, we do not have adequate medical professionals, such as nurses and medical assistants, against the number of doctors. It is not possible to ensure medical care only with doctors. The global standard is to have at least four healthcare professionals against one doctor whereas we have half here.”

The Nursing and Midwifery Council estimates that there are currently 70,000 registered nurses in the country while there are more than one lakh doctors. As a result, it appears that there is a big crisis of nurses in the country. Many of these jobs are being created in the new economy. Students should be encouraged to come to these professions. If Bangladesh is to enter a knowledge-based economy, it needs to train students in the service and manufacturing sectors, he said further.

About the inclusion of teachers in the MPO, the minister said, “After the teachers’ movement, we have worked on the matter. Financial matters are involved in doing that. We are working on how much can be done in this regard considering the current economic situation. I hope we can take a measure in the case of teachers’ discriminatory income.

The minister also talked about the negative activities of many vice-chancellors of universities. “There is leadership competition among teachers at the university level, because of which such criticism often comes. We have received complaints about irregularities, which must be addressed.”

Regarding the intervention of governing body in educational institutions, the minister said, “We will strengthen the special wing in the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education and the

Directorate of Madrasha Education where people can file complaints against managing committees of private schools.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has set our objectives and goals in the election manifesto. We are here for a political purpose but it will be implemented by experts and academics. We will work with everyone to implement our political philosophy – smart generation, education system and work,” the education minister concluded.