Editorial
Textbook Festival Day for students
A promising start to the New Year
What could be a greater gift for students than textbooks, and free at that? Thus the new year's joy of students in primary and secondary schools, Ebdetai and Dakhil madrasas and technical institutions across the country when, on the first day of the year, they were handed free textbooks for the new academic session.
As noted by the education minister at one of the distribution ceremonies, Bangladesh is the only country to give out such a large volume of textbooks for free. Needless to say, this is a highly commendable act on the part of the government, especially in a country where, at times, textbooks were not available on time for the academic year, or were in shortage. This year, the textbooks come on time and for free, and, according to some parents as quoted in newspaper reports, are of better quality than in previous years. The minister has also asked that parents notify the authorities if the books are found to be sold out.
As the education minister has also pointed out, free textbook distribution improves the quality of education on several levels, including curbing dropout rates, peaking the interest and attentiveness of students and reducing both students' and parents' anxiety over not receiving books on time. Not only is it our hope that this step will encourage students to enjoy school, study more attentively and contribute to the future of the nation, but also that this gesture by the government is not a one-time phenomenon and that the trend will continue in future years. Education is a basic right of the people, and access to quality education with available resources comes with it. We hope that this New Year's celebration of education will be reflected in more such positive achievements in the education sector and nation overall throughout the year.
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