Gold Cup Football to boost student engagement

Over one crore students, more than 400,000 teachers and millions of people have been directly or indirectly involved in the Government Primary School Gold Cup Football Tournament, officials said.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is expected to attend the final matches of the tournament at the National Stadium on June 20.

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj announced the programme at a press conference held at the ministry on Thursday.

He said the tournament is not merely a sporting competition but a major initiative aimed at supporting the healthy development of children and adolescents while fostering leadership qualities.

Bobby Hajjaj said the ministry is working with international football organisations to arrange world-class training camps and overseas training opportunities for winning teams.

He urged the media to provide greater coverage of such events in future so that the achievements of talented children and young people can be highlighted.

The State Minister said Bangladesh’s women footballers have already gained international recognition and brought pride to the country.

He added that the government will continue to provide necessary support to develop both male and female athletes into world-class performers.

He said the government is also working to develop a comprehensive education framework that integrates sports, culture, science, mathematics and innovation, rather than relying solely on textbook-based learning.

Addressing concerns about education reform, he said there have been misconceptions in some quarters that the government is focusing only on culture and sports.

In reality, he said equal importance is being given to language, mathematics, science, technology, culture and sports.

He further announced plans to gradually introduce “Math Labs” in primary schools to help students overcome fear of mathematics, alongside initiatives to establish modern science laboratories to strengthen science education in line with the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

He stressed that there is no alternative to science and technology education in meeting future challenges.

One of the government’s key objectives, he added, is to reduce excessive dependence on mobile phones and tablets among children and encourage engagement in creative and productive activities.

Cultural education, sports and creative learning activities are being integrated into the education system for this purpose, he said.

The government is also introducing governance-based competitions to promote civic responsibility, with a pilot programme already launched in the Dhaka-13 constituency and set to be expanded gradually.

He added that the concept of “Happiness Classrooms” is being developed to create a more enjoyable learning environment from the beginning to the end of the school day.

By making education more engaging, participatory and practical, he said, it would be possible to nurture skilled, humane and responsible citizens for the future.