Education is the Best Investment for the Nation: PM

The government considers education the best investment for the nation and is committed to building a quality, life-oriented, and inclusive education system, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said.

The Prime Minister made the remarks in response to a written question from MP Md. Selim Reza during a National Assembly session on Wednesday, presided over by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram.

She said the government plans to raise the education sector allocation to 5% of GDP in phases, as outlined in its election manifesto. To achieve this, short-, medium-, and long-term initiatives are being implemented across 43 identified areas in education.

The manifesto prioritizes improving primary education. Under this plan, free school uniforms will be provided to 200,000 government primary school students this fiscal year, with a phased expansion to all upazilas. School feeding programs/mid-day meals are also planned to meet students’ nutritional needs.

To prepare students for global competition, multimedia classrooms will be introduced in primary, secondary, and equivalent educational institutions. Free Wi-Fi connections are planned for 1,500 schools, colleges, and universities, alongside the issuance of a unique digital identity or “Edu-ID” for every student and teacher.

At the secondary level, technical education will become mandatory. Technical schools and colleges will be established in all upazilas, and polytechnic institutes in all districts. Modernization of technical and madrasa institutions will include smart classrooms, teacher training, and the introduction of technical courses. Free Wi-Fi will be rolled out in 2,336 technical and 8,232 madrasa institutions within 180 days.

The Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) will train students in Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Mobile App Development (Flutter), Python programming, and AI-based digital marketing over the next six months.