Photo: BSS

JASHORE, Sept 2, 2026 (BSS) - State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj today said the quality of students' learning, rather than infrastructure development, will be the key benchmark for measuring success in primary education.

He made the remarks while speaking to local media after attending an exchange of views following a workshop organised by the Khulna Divisional Primary Education Office at the Jashore PTI Auditorium this afternoon. Teachers undergoing training at the PTI took part in the workshop.

Bobby said success in the past was often measured by the number of buildings constructed and the amount of money spent. "From now on, the success of the ministry and the primary education system will be assessed by how much students are actually learning," he said.

He added that everyone involved in the primary education system, from teachers to district primary education officers (DPOs), deputy directors (DDs) and officials at the ministry level, would be evaluated based on this criterion.

The state minister said the country needs around 7,000 primary teachers every year. Many vacant posts that had remained tied up in lawsuits for a long time have now been cleared, he said.

The recruitment process for 13,500 teachers, which began about a year ago, is now in its final stage. The appointment process will begin in October and is expected to be completed by the end of this year, he added.

Under the new policy, no teacher will be allowed to take charge of a classroom without receiving training, Bobby said.

"Newly appointed teachers will enter classrooms after completing two months of initial orientation training, followed by long-term training," he said, adding that district-level PTIs and upazila-level UPTIs are being reactivated for this purpose.

Bobby said initiatives are also underway to bring private educational institutions under greater monitoring. He observed that many parents had shifted their children to private institutions in the past due to declining quality in government primary schools.

"If the quality of education improves, parents will return to government primary schools," he said.

Regarding the inclusion of sports in the primary curriculum, the state minister said sports textbooks for Classes IV and V would be introduced in 2027, while sports would be fully integrated into the curriculum from 2028.

With support from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, initiatives have also been taken to share playgrounds and trainers at the upazila and union levels and to establish new playgrounds, he said.

On the school feeding programme, Bobby said a pilot project is currently providing more than 30 lakh students in 151 upazilas with milk, fortified biscuits, boiled eggs, bananas and bread rolls.

He said the programme would be expanded nationwide next year, alongside a separate pilot project to assess the feasibility of providing freshly cooked meals to students.