Govt to align Bangla, English-medium curricula: Bobby Hajjaj

The government will take steps to align Bangla- and English-medium curricula and establish common minimum standards for students’ basic knowledge and skills, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj said today.

He said students should receive a common standard of basic education regardless of whether they study in Bangla medium, English medium or another stream.

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“There will be differences between good and comparatively less good institutions, but there should not be major disparities in curriculum and the basic standard of education,” he said.

Bobby made the remarks while addressing the School Leaders Conference 2026, organised by OxfordAQA International Qualifications at Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel, Dhaka, as chief guest.

He said the government would take coordinated initiatives involving public and private educational institutions in four areas -- curriculum, infrastructure, teacher training and technology -- to bring institutions onto a level playing field.

“We do not only want to follow the best practices in the world. Our dream is that one day other countries will follow the best practices in education from Bangladesh,” he said.

The government was prepared to invest the necessary time, money and effort to achieve that goal, he added.

Stressing the need for quick reforms in primary education, Bobby said clear minimum standards should be set for school and effective learning hours, classroom size and student numbers, necessary infrastructure and teacher training.

“No teacher should be given responsibility for a classroom without any training,” he said.

Emphasising technology and modern teaching methods, he said primary education would increasingly focus on activity-based learning and learning through play.

At the same time, the government wants to learn from the existing experience of English-medium schools, particularly their use of learning management systems, or LMS, he said.

On the formulation of a new curriculum, Bobby said the government wanted to consult relevant stakeholders.

“When we formulate the new curriculum, we do not want anyone to say that they were not consulted. We want to move forward taking your experience and opinions into account,” he said.

The programme was chaired by Shaheen Reza, OxfordAQA's country director for Bangladesh and Nepal.

University Grants Commission member Prof Abdullah Al Mamun attended as a special guest.

Representatives of the British High Commission and British Council, as well as principals of different English-medium educational institutions in Dhaka, were also present.