Four New Textbooks Get Final Approval at Tomorrow's NCC Meeting, 15 Million Copies to Be Printed
Four new, differently focused textbooks are being added for two classes in primary and secondary schools in the 2027 academic year, in a bid to move students away from the rote learning and exam-centred mindset of the conventional education system. The books will receive final approval at the meeting of the National Curriculum Coordination Committee (NCC) on Sunday (25 October).
The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has prepared the books with the aim of developing students' physical and mental growth, ethics, creative thinking and practical work skills. The books are 'Kheladhula' (Sports) and 'Bangladesher Sangskriti' (The Culture of Bangladesh) for Class Four, and 'Learning with Happiness' and 'Amar Karigori Shikkha' (My Technical Education) for Class Six.
Mahdi Amin, the prime minister's adviser on education and on primary and mass education, said, 'Drawing on his long political experience, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has taken multifaceted plans to repair the state structure. As part of that, the prime minister has also focused on necessary reforms in education. He has worked for long years to make the education system joyful, practical and rich in moral values. The new books are being added to the curriculum as an expression of the thinking, experience and research the prime minister has conducted on the education system.'
He added that the prime minister wants the education system to build humane values, social etiquette, family culture and the qualities of good citizens among students, and also to create employment through education. After winning the election, he said, the NCTB was engaged to carry the programme forward on the prime minister's instructions. The board formed a team including those who had assisted the prime minister in formulating education policy, while distinguished educationists involved in education at various levels held a series of consultations and meetings to implement the prime minister's vision.
NCTB officials said the textbooks have been prepared in line with the government's election manifesto, combining joy, sports and culture with hands-on technical skills. The new textbooks will change the learning methods and experience of the new generation. The NCTB said about 15 million copies of the four books will be printed.
NCTB Chairman Professor Mohammad Fakhrul Maula said, 'The manuscript preparation and validation work for the four new textbooks has already been completed successfully. Once approved at the NCC meeting on 25 October, the content will be sent to press for printing.'
The NCTB said the outlines of the books were presented at a high-level workshop of four ministries at the International Mother Language Institute on 12 July, after which the final manuscripts were prepared with experts and educationists. NCTB member (textbooks) Professor Mohammad Abu Naser Tuku said all processes are at the final stage, and they hope printing of about 15 million copies will be completed by 15 December after the NCC's approval.
The NCTB said the Class Four 'Kheladhula' book has been prepared considering students' age and mental development. Arranged in 14 dynamic chapters, its main aim is to interest children in a healthy lifestyle and sporting practice from childhood. The basic rules of football, cricket, kabaddi, badminton, swimming, athletics and chess are presented simply, while self-defence techniques such as karate, judo and taekwondo have been included to build physical capacity and self-protection skills.
Beyond the games themselves, the book shows through realistic pictures what to do in situations such as cuts, sprains, nosebleeds or heat stroke on the field. Students will learn hands-on how to use first-aid supplies and prevent injuries, and importance has also been given to nutrition, social skills and patriotism. The first chapter's inspirational story, 'Swapno Jokhon Akash Chhoa', tells how primary school teacher Ayman Sir and his colleague Sadia Apa formed a girls' football team in a remote village — and how Mehjabin and other students overcame social barriers and superstition to win at national level, showing how sport can drive socioeconomic change as a profession. The NCTB chairman said, 'The Sports book has been prepared for the first time with special attention to ensuring that students' studies do not become one-track and tiresome.'
To give young students an intimate introduction to the country's rich history, heritage and folk culture, the Class Four book 'Bangladesher Sangskriti' has been prepared in 11 chapters. It depicts language, dress, art, food culture, social customs and the traditional lifestyles of small ethnic communities in vivid pictures. Alongside practice of the Bengali alphabet, school festivals, hoisting the national flag and pitha-puli gatherings, it also shows modern forms of parents' joint decision-making and mutual cooperation in household work. A special chapter includes the history of the children's talent hunt 'Notun Kuri', its launch in 1976 by former president Ziaur Rahman, and rare photographs of its winners.
Prepared in six chapters for Class Six with the philosophy of making study fear-free and joyful, 'Learning with Happiness' is a new concept being added to Bangladesh's education system. It shows how knowledge can be gained through joyful experience, mutual interaction and co-curricular activities instead of the conventional examination system. NCTB officials said the book will help students understand that learning is not only about memorising or preparing for exams — it is also possible through one's own life, health, environment, safety, creativity, relationships and daily experience. The book will also lighten the study load considerably, they said.
To build hands-on learning habits and a problem-solving mindset for the challenges of the twenty-first century, the Class Six book 'Amar Karigori Shikkha' has been prepared in eight chapters. Its core philosophy is to make students self-reliant in 'what I can do' rather than confining them to the theory of 'what I know'. Covering an introduction to technical education, the technology around us and the new world, small initiatives with big potential, green technology and sustainable living, the book will lay a strong foundation for identifying real-life technical problems and finding basic solutions with the help of technology. All four new books also include a special glossary-like chapter.
Adviser Mahdi Amin said the sports and culture subjects beginning in Class Four will start in the coming academic year and later be expanded from Class One to Class Five, while 'Learning with Happiness' and technical education will be added to all classes from Six to Ten. NCTB member (curriculum) Professor Dr A. K. M. Shawkat Ali Khan said, 'With the introduction of these four new textbooks, students will get the opportunity to gain practical, skills-based knowledge in a joyful environment, beyond bookish learning.'
All eyes are now on Sunday's NCC meeting. Once approval is given, the manuscripts will go to press, and the NCTB is moving forward with the target of finishing printing 15 million copies by 15 December — so that the new books reach Class Four and Class Six students at the start of the 2027 academic year.
