Many class 4, 5 students struggle to read Bangla

Many students in classes four and five lack basic Bangla reading skills, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj has said, stressing that simply following the prescribed curriculum will not help children who have fallen behind.

He made the remarks at a national consultation workshop on primary education held at a hotel in Dhaka on Sunday.

The workshop, titled “Accelerating Foundational Learning in Bangladesh,” was organised by the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education in collaboration with Unicef Bangladesh.

Bobby said the government aims to ensure that no child remains out of school and plans to introduce free school uniforms to encourage attendance. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to inaugurate the government’s first free school uniform programme on August 16. The initiative will initially be piloted before being expanded, he said.

Expressing concern over weak foundational learning, the state minister said many students in classes four and five had yet to acquire basic Bangla reading skills.

“If a student is in class five but has not mastered material appropriate for that level, simply teaching the prescribed curriculum will not help. We have to take the student back to the level where they need to start learning,” he said.

He also said the government was working to strengthen programmes for children outside the formal education system.

Regarding the midday meal programme, Bobby said the first phase, covering 151 upazilas, had not progressed as expected. However, the pilot helped identify problems and develop corrective measures, he added.

The state minister also criticised excessive dependence on private tutoring and said the government was working on a new teacher policy, stronger monitoring and technology-based systems to track students’ learning.

Primary education will put greater emphasis on mathematics, design, art and practical learning, including science toys and mathematics laboratories, he said.

“Education is not a sector where major changes can be brought about in a short time,” Bobby said, adding that the government hopes to transform the education system over the next four to five years.
Unicef Bangladesh Representative Gillian Mellsop said every child deserves the opportunity to develop the skills needed to succeed in school and in life.