Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Monday underscored the need for modernising the education system, enhancing teachers’ dignity and ensuring their financial security to build a knowledge-based society capable of facing global challenges.
He also called for greater use of technology in education while stressing that artificial intelligence and other technologies should support teachers rather than replace them.
The Prime Minister made the remarks while addressing a discussion marking World Teachers’ Day 2026 at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.
The discussion, organised by the Ministry of Education, highlighted teachers’ dignity, rights, professional development and the need to ensure quality education.
This year’s World Teachers’ Day is being observed under the theme “Standing with Teachers: Sixty Years of Protecting the Profession, Advancing its Status, Shaping our Futures.”
Tarique Rahman congratulated teachers who were recognised on the occasion and paid tribute to teachers from primary schools to universities for their contribution to educating future generations.
He said teachers become students’ role models after they move beyond the family environment and stressed that teachers should be able to present themselves confidently as role models before their students.
Curriculum needs modernisation
The Prime Minister said the rapid development of social media and artificial intelligence has made it necessary to move beyond traditional education methods.
“Technical and practical education has become essential. Therefore, changing teaching and learning strategies and modernising the education curriculum have become a necessity of the time,” he said.
Tarique Rahman said the government is working on a new curriculum and hoped that students will receive textbooks based on it this year.
He stressed that students should not merely memorise information but should be encouraged to ask questions such as “why” and “how”.
“If students can develop the habit of asking why and how, they can gradually become their own teachers,” the Prime Minister said.
He also highlighted the importance of joyful learning, saying the government has introduced a book titled “Learning with Happiness” for Class VI students for the first time this year, saying the initiative will gradually be extended to other classes.
Technology as teachers’ tool
Tarique Rahman said the education sector is facing both opportunities and challenges amid the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence.
He underlined the need to modernise teacher-training colleges to equip teachers with the skills required to respond to changing educational needs. “We do not want to see technology as a substitute for teachers. Rather, technology will be a tool for teachers,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the government will advance the “One Teacher, One Tab” programme so that teachers could use tablets for digital lesson plans, question banks, monitoring students’ learning progress and accessing educational materials.
The government is also taking initiatives to expand multimedia classes and free Wi-Fi facilities in educational institutions across the country, he said.
No child should be deprived of education
Tarique Rahman said the government wants to build an education system where no child will remain deprived of education and no one will have to drop out at any stage of their educational life.
He said education has received the highest priority from the government and that the country has allocated its highest-ever budget for the education sector. “We have plans to increase the education budget further over the next five years to achieve the targets we have set,” he said.
The Prime Minister sought teachers’ cooperation in implementing the government’s education plans, saying their support will be essential to achieving the targets.
He said the secondary education sector alone has around 21,000 institutions and more than 300,000 teachers, with a large part of the country’s education system dependent on private and MPO-listed institutions.
Tarique Rahman acknowledged disparities in educational opportunities between urban and rural areas and said the government is working to ensure that students everywhere could benefit from qualified teachers and modern technology.
He said the government’s education reform vision is based on equal opportunities, quality education and non-discriminatory access.
Education must build character
The Prime Minister said employment-oriented education is necessary considering the country’s realities, but employment should not be considered the sole purpose of education.
“Ethics and character building should certainly be the main objectives of education,” he said.
“If knowledge is not connected with morality, that knowledge may become a cause of harm to society instead of contributing to its welfare,” Tarique Rahman said.
He stressed making truthfulness, responsibility, empathy, patriotism, humanity, discipline and respect for others integral parts of education.
The Prime Minister said teachers, after families, could play the most important role in instilling moral values in students.
Teaching should be a first-choice profession
Tarique Rahman said the government is taking various measures to ensure financial security for teachers, particularly those working at primary, secondary and higher-secondary levels, and to make teaching a competitive profession in terms of opportunities and respect.
“Teaching can never be a last resort or just another ordinary job,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the government wants talented people to choose teaching as their first career option.
“The dignity of teachers in the state and society is linked to the dignity of the state itself,” he said.
Tarique Rahman also directed the relevant authorities to ensure that, from this year, at least one primary school teacher and one secondary school teacher are invited to state functions marking major national days, including Independence Day and Victory Day.
He said teachers, whether serving or retired, should be honoured by the state because of the dignity of their profession.
The Prime Minister also instructed the relevant ministry to ensure that teachers do not have to visit government offices repeatedly to receive their salaries or retirement benefits.
“A teacher should not have to suffer by going from office to office for their salary or retirement benefits. Their entitled payments must reach them through banks on time and according to the rules,” he said.
Tarique Rahman described teachers as one of the main pillars of building a knowledge-based state and society.
He concluded by paying tribute to teachers in Bangladesh and around the world on World Teachers’ Day.
At the programme, 102 distinguished teachers from different levels of education were honoured in recognition of their contributions to education and nation-building.
The Prime Minister handed over the awards to the teachers.
Each of the distinguished teachers received Tk 200,000, a crest and a certificate of recognition. -UNB
