Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday stressed the need for grooming up children with the knowledge of science and technology to make them worthy citizen as they can conquer the moon in the future.
"We have to go to the moon one day. We have to conquer the moon. So, we have to provide our children with science based education from their childhood," she said.
The prime minister made the remarks while inaugurating the National Primary Education Week-2024 as the chief guest at a function with a renewed pledge to ensure quality education for children.
The Primary and Mass Education Ministry organised the programme at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital city of Dhaka on Thursday morning.
To pursue the knowledge of science and technology, the premier said her government has already built an aerospace and aviation university (Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Aviation and Aerospace University) and aeronautical research centre to encourage the children to avail such education.
She also distributed Primary Education Medal-2023 among the stakeholders on the occasion.
The prime minister asked all concerned to make collective efforts to make the children skilled in all sectors that include education, sports and culture.
"We are doing everything to make our children worthy citizens in all aspects that include education, sports and culture," she said.
She added the children should be prepared from their childhoods by giving them required knowledge and training. The prime minister
said the time is the era of technology.
"So, we have to prepare our people with the knowledge of technology and for that reason, we have taken all kinds of measure to fulfill the target," she said.
Sheikh Hasina said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman wanted to build Sonar Bangla, calling children as its soldier.
The prime minister said her government has built digital Bangladesh which helped provide proper education among the children online and on television.
"Digital system is now available everywhere in Bangladesh. We have launched Bangabandhu Satellite-1 and spread broadband and wifi connection across the country," she added.
The technology has offered the children to know the world, she said, adding the children will now learn by not only study book but also opening their eyes.
"It will be better for the children to learn as much as possible from their childhood as the children are good learners than the aged people," she opined.
The prime minister said she wanted to transform Bangladesh into a Smart country with building smart citizens, economy and society.
"We need to prepare the children with the knowledge of technology from their childhood," she said.
She also said her government is modernising the curriculum prioritising science and technology to flourish the latent talents of the students.
"Just reading books is not enough. We'll have to extract the talents of the small children. It needs to create scopes for them so that their hidden intelligence can be flourished. Keeping it in mind, we've added modern technology-knowledge into the curriculum," she said.
The prime minister said her government is working to develop a balanced, public welfare-oriented, universal and standard education system.
A computer lab will be set up in every school of the country, she said.
"Initially we started setting up computer labs in the secondary schools and now we've a goal to do it in the primary schools as well," she added.
The prime minister said the children will be grown up in such a way as they can take the country ahead with newer innovations.
"Today's children will be the leaders of the country one day. Some of the children will be prime minister, minister, high government official and scientist," she said.
She continued the children will build Smart Bangladesh by 2041 and run the state towards prosperity by implementing the Delta Plan 2100 to ensure better life for generation after generation.
Sheikh Hasina said that they t want to make the pre-primary education for a two-year period instead of one-year one for flourishing the hidden talents of small children through sports and games, not for study.
The Premier said the government distributed a total of 464,74,29880 copies of free textbooks from 2010 to 2024.
The government wants to introduce a community-based school feeding system, she said.
As part of the National Primary Education Week-2024, a total of 126 stakeholders were honoured with the medal in 18 categories as 36 students, 15 persons and three organisations received the medal directly from the prime minister.
The theme of the week is 'Shishu Bandhov Prathomik Shikkha, Smart Bangladesher Deekkha'.
State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Rumana Ali and Secretary Farid Ahmed spoke at the function.
A video documentary on the activities of the development of primary and mass education across the country was also screened.
