Govt mulls to build 1000 new primary schools: minister
State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Md Zakir Hossen on Wednesday said the government is considering the construction of 1,000 new primary schools in the country.
“We are planning to build 1,000 new primary schools in the school-less areas across the country. A detailed project profile (DPP) is in progress to this end,” he said while taking part in the discussion on the thanksgiving motion on President’s January 9 address to House.
The State Minster Primary and Mass Education Md Zakir Hossen highlighted the government’s successes in the education sector in the last 11 years and said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina nationalized some 26,193 registered primary schools in 2013.
Noting that no government had paid attention to the education sector after the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, he said, adding that Bangabandhu established 36,165 government primary schools across the war-torn country after the Liberation War.
After Bangabandhu, BNP government didn’t develop any primary school, the state minister regretted, saying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina established 65,626 government primary schools since 2009.
Referring to the salutary impacts of different programmes undertaken by the present government for the development of the primary education, Zakir said, “We have recruited 197,864 teachers for primary schools and set up pre-primary schools while some 35,78,384 students got enrolled in the pre-primary schools across the country”.
The school dropout rate has been reduced to 18 percent from 47.2 percent during the BNP regime in 2001-06, he said, adding that on the occasion of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu, the government is providing midday meal at all primary schools across the country.
Awami League lawmakers Shaikh Salahuddin, Md Motahar Hossain, Md Israfil Alam, Md Shahiduzzaman Sarker and Md Shafiqul Azam Khan also took part in the discussion with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.
Taking part in the discussion, the lawmakers thanked the President for his time-worthy speech, saying that President Abdul Hamid in his 163-page speech has projected the government’s success in all sectors in the last 11 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and outlined the government’s future plans for transforming the country into a developed and prosperous one by 2041.
Highlighting the President’s speech on the celebration of the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the lawmakers said celebration of Bangabandhu’s birth centenary will remain as a milestone in the country’s history.
The lawmakers congratulated the newly elected mayors of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh and Md Atiqul Islam respectively on their victory.
Earlier, the lawmakers paid rich tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for his sacrifice and contribution to establish an independent Bangladesh.
They also paid rich tributes to the national four leaders and martyrs of the 1975 carnage and the Language Movement.
