Initiatives to Be Taken to Promote Skilled and Experienced Teachers: State Minister

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj has stressed the importance of increasing children's interest in learning through games and enjoyable activities, as well as assessing their learning skills. He also said the government would consider promoting teachers based on their skills and experience.

The state minister said necessary steps would be taken to consider such promotions in coordination with existing recruitment rules and the procedures of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC). Once the recruitment of headteachers is completed, the need to recruit assistant teachers will also be reassessed, he added.

He made the remarks on Monday, October 26, while visiting Mahutuli Renaissance Government Primary School and Prasanna Poddar Lane Government Primary School in Kotwali, Old Dhaka. During the visits, he distributed learning toys among students and observed their learning skills through play-based activities. He also assessed their Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) skills.

Speaking about efforts to fill vacant headteacher positions in government primary schools, Hajjaj said around 34,500 posts were currently vacant across the country. Discussions are underway with the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC) to expedite recruitment for these positions. Completing the process quickly would help make school administration and leadership more effective, he said.

During the visits, the state minister observed that children were using learning toys to understand different concepts and subjects more easily and enjoyably. Some topics that take longer to explain through conventional classroom methods could be understood more readily through toys and hands-on learning materials. He noted that such resources could help increase students' interest, enthusiasm and participation in learning.

Hajjaj said improving the quality of primary education required more than developing school infrastructure or ensuring student attendance. Authorities must regularly assess what children are learning in classrooms, whether they are achieving the prescribed learning outcomes and how effectively teachers are delivering lessons.

He said school inspections were therefore focusing not only on infrastructure, classrooms, furniture, washrooms, teacher attendance and teaching methods, but also on students' actual learning skills.

He further stressed the need to identify and address gaps in foundational skills, particularly in mathematics and English. Such gaps could be addressed through assessments of grade-specific learning outcomes and child-friendly, enjoyable and participatory educational activities.

The state minister said the government would also consider how effective teaching methods, including the use of learning toys, could be expanded based on the experience gained from school visits.