The government is considering inclusion of general knowledge about land in textbooks of school level so that students can have basic knowledge of land-related matters.
There was a proposal from various conscientious quarters and guardians to introduce students to the basic issues of land management and surveys from school life.
The argument was that almost all citizens, directly and indirectly, have a connection with land. Again, when becoming an owner of land after buying or inheriting land on becoming an adult, it is observed that most people do not have even the minimum idea about the basics of land management.
In this context, the Ministry of Land took the public proposal seriously and organized a workshop with various stakeholders and experts at the Land Administration Training Center under the Ministry in 2018.
Based on the recommendations of the workshop, the Ministry of Land sent a proposal to the Ministry of Education in 2019. The proposal was later forwarded to the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) in 2019.
The then Land Minister stressed the inclusion of general knowledge about land in school textbooks several times on different platforms. Considering the importance of the issue, Land Secretary, Md. Khalilur Rahman, upon joining the Ministry of Land, emphasized this matter several times.
According to the Ministry of Education, the matter was under review at that time. Finally, NCTB included basic knowledge of land management in the Class IX 'Life and Livelihood' textbook, effective from 2024.
Referring to land education in the ninth-grade textbook recently, the Land Minister Narayon Chandra Chanda said during a discussion with senior officials of the Ministry of Land at Bhumi Bhaban, "We believe imparting such basic land knowledge to school students will contribute to building a more informed and aware smart society." He also said that common familiarity with the concept of land management and, above all, the concept of cadastre at the secondary level will help them make conscious and responsible decisions as responsible smart citizens, exercise civil rights, and deal with different types of complexities in life. It will accelerate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's plan to build a smart Bangladesh, he added.
In the first chapter of the Life and Livelihood textbook titled 'Financial Thinking', basic knowledge about land has been included under the conviction that there should be a good idea about investing in land or flats. The above textbook states at the outset:
"Investment in land or flats is profitable in normal terms. As it is true that the value of land or flats increases at the end of a certain period. Before such investment, it is important to know well about the various types of documents and papers related to the land or flat, about the rules and regulations for change of lease, about the government rent levied on the land or flat.
If you do not know all these things, in many cases you have to face legal complications as well as financial loss for fake documents and fake papers. Before investing in land or flats, an investor should have a clear idea about certain things. We will now know a little more about them."
Then under the titles of 'Familiarity with various departments related to land and flat-related documents', 'Things to do in case of land purchase', 'Things to do after purchasing land' and 'Namjari or Tax Payment Work of Land Ministry Paying Service Online Platform', the basics of land registration, management and survey and relevant offices were introduced to the students of secondary level in vivid language.
Important basic aspects of land administration were highlighted in the section titled 'Familiarity with various departments related to land and flat-related documents'. This part begins with a brief and simple description of various land-related documents including registration documents, khatian (Record of Rights), mutation, rent and land development tax (Khajna) and land maps. The aim of this section is to establish a fundamental foundation on the various widely used terms and terminology of land administration to the students.
In the 'Things to do in case of land purchase', and 'Things to do after purchasing land' section, general advice has been given about the do's and don'ts after getting new land ownership.
In the section Namjari or Tax Payment Work of Land Ministry Paying Service Online Platform', mutation, LD Tax and above all the digitization of land services and smart land services have been discussed.
