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Change in curriculum, textbooks to grade XII


Published : 05 May 2019 09:21 PM | Updated : 07 Sep 2020 08:29 PM

The government has taken initiatives to revise the curriculum and textbooks from pre-primary to twelfth grade. Following an instruction from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Primary and Mass Education Ministry is going to recommend National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) not to keep any examination system up to the third grade.

A 10-member committee formed by the ministry is working to submit the recommendation within next two weeks. Government sources said steps have been taken keeping pace with the progress of information technology as well as the changes and demands of time. As per the new initiative, the SSC and HSC examinations of 2024 would be held following the reviewed curriculum and new textbooks would be distributed, if everything is okay, from 2021.

Confirming the news of curriculum review, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni said, “As this year is the scheduled year for evaluation of curriculum, work is going on for reviewing the school and college curriculums.” It is learnt that the curriculum is being reviewed on the basis of four national and international strategies and principles. These are National Education Policy-2010; SDG Goals-2030; Vision-2041 and 2018 Election Manifesto of Awami League.

In this regard, NCTB’s member Professor Mashiuzzaman told media: “Education curriculum is the philosophy of education of a nation. A country’s education curriculum is formulated keeping in mind what challenges the future generation after 20/25 years would face.” “The curriculum has to be formulated to prepare students for the future through demonstrating the aim of education in it. The above mentioned strategies and principles elaborately state where the world would stand in 2030 or towards which goal the country would progress in 2040. That’s why we are conducting the review basing on these documents,” he added.

Mentionable, the country’s education curriculum was last reviewed in 2012, and new textbooks were introduced in 2013. As per the new initiative, the curriculum review activities would be completed by 2020 and the new textbooks following the reviewed curriculum would be distributed in 2021, said Education Ministry sources.

According to the sources, new textbooks would not be introduced to students of all the grades at a time. In 2021, students of grade one, two and six would get new textbooks while in 2022, third, fourth, seventh, ninth and eleventh grade students would get new textbooks. In 2014, SSC and HSC examinations would be held following the new curriculum and textbooks.

As Primary Education Completion examinations for fifth grade students and JSC examinations for eighth grade students, in 2023, would be held following reviewed curriculum, students of class five and eight would get the new textbooks at beginning of the same year. In this regard, NCTB Chairman Narayan Chandra Saha said, “In developed countries, education curriculum is reviewed in every 5/6 years. After eight years, we are reviewing our curriculum. Once the review is done, new textbooks would also be printed following the reviewed curriculum.”

Professor DR AK Reazul Hasan, assigned NCTB member for review of primary curriculum, said, “After collecting information from the field level for need assessment we are at present evaluating the information. After completion of this stage, the work for review of curriculum would start very soon. And once the curriculum is finally reviewed, textbook printing following reviewed curriculum would begin.”