Primary education up to class VIII, secondary XII

The National Education Policy Formulation Committee will submit the much-awaited National Education Policy to the government on September 2 with the recommendations of extending the primary education level up to class VIII and secondary level up to class XII.
The committee has already consulted with over 50 organisations, institutions and stakeholders concerned and now it is finalising the policy, said Dr Quazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, co-chair of the committee.
"The policy is now at the final stage and we will submit it to the education minister on September 2," he told The Daily Star yesterday.
He said the ministry is likely to inform the media about the policy on September 2. "We have discussed different aspects of the policy," he said, adding that necessary corrections on the policy are going on.
Dr Ahmad said the policy suggests primary level to be extended up to class VIII from current class V with holding a public examination at its end and secondary level up to class XII from current class X.
According to the sources, the students of all mediums--general, madrasa and English regardless of types of education system and education institutes--will have to study several subjects in the primary level to have better understanding about certain things of the country.
They also said the students of all mediums in secondary level will also have to study three subjects.
Basic ICT and pre-vocational training will be introduced in class VI, they added.
They also said they want to formulate a pragmatic policy aiming at ensuring national consensus, social and moral values and the spirit of the liberation war.
The government formed a 16-member committee on April 8 to review the report of Shamsul Haque Education Committee 1997 in order to formulate a modern national education policy in line with the report of Qudrat-e-Khuda Education Commission 1974.
Headed by National Professor Kabir Chowdhury, the committee held its first meeting on May 3 and co-opted two more members into the committee. They are Bangladesh Open University (BOU) Vice-Chancellor (VC) Dr RIM Aminur Rashid and Jahangirnagar University English Professor Dr Shaheen Kabir.
The committee was supposed to submit its final report by 90 days of its first meeting and according to that the deadline of submission was August 3.
But the committee sought a month more for submitting the report as the committee needed to hold discussions on the draft policy.
National Academy for Educational Management Director Sheikh Ekramul Kabir has been made the member secretary of the committee.
The other members of the committee are National University VC Prof Kazi Shahidullah, noted educationist Prof Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, Dhaka University (DU) Sociology Department Professor Dr Sadika Halim, English Department Professor Fakhrul Alam, Education Research Institute Prof Siddiqur Rahman and Public Administration Prof Jarina Rahman Khan, newly appointed treasurer of National University Principal Kazi Farruque Ahmed, Director General of the Directorate of Technical Education Prof Nitai Chandra Sutradhar, former additional secretary Siraj Uddin Ahmed, Bangladesh Teachers' Association President Principal MA Awal Siddiqui, Moulana Prof ABM Siddikur Rahman, Barrister Nihad Kabir and Mohammad Abu Hafiz.