Modified textbooks for class I-IX next yr: Nahid

The government is going to distribute textbooks with modified curriculums to class I-IX students from next January, said Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid yesterday.
The changes, in line with the national education policy recommendations, were brought to 111 textbooks, keeping pace with the demand of time, he said at a press briefing at his ministry's conference room.
"Producing competent and efficient human resources as per the demand of the fast-changing world and globalisation is not possible with the existing curriculum which was prepared back in 1995," Nahid said.
Class XI students will also have textbooks with modified curriculums, he said.
Nahid said six subjects -- Bangla, English, mathematics, Bangladesh O Bishwa Porichoy, Information and Communication Technology, and life-oriented education -- were made mandatory for class VI-X students, including those of madrasas.
The total marks of these subjects will be 650.
Some new chapters like climate change, reproductive health, autism, and right to information have been included in some subjects at secondary level, he said.
Nahid said they also kept some optional subjects like population and development studies, human resource development, human rights and gender studies, and tourism and hospitality for class XI and XII students.
"It is a revolutionary step for the country's education. We have emphasised on humane and moral values in the new curriculum," he said.
National Curriculum and Textbook Board Chairman Prof Mostofa Kamal Uddin said mistakes in the new curriculum could be amended.
Education Secretary Kamal Abdul Naser and Dr Siddiqur Rahman of Institute of Education and Research of Dhaka University also spoke at the briefing.