Govt wants knowledge and merit-based state: PM

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has called upon teachers to come forward as the vanguard and role models for social change, as the government aims to build a knowledge and merit-based state and society. Speaking at the inauguration of a teacher training programme on job-oriented and technical education organised by the National University at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre on Sunday morning, June 7, the prime minister said that if the country's students and youth can be transformed into skilled human resources in technology, a prosperous and self-reliant Bangladesh will become a world role model.

Alongside acquiring technical knowledge, citizens must enrich themselves with the country's traditional religious and social moral values, the PM said. Learning a third language besides Bangla and English would ensure no shortage of employment opportunities at home and abroad. The government, which is accountable to the people, wants to build a knowledge and merit-based state and society.

Tarique Rahman emphasised shifting from certificate-based education to a skill-based, technology-driven, practical and job-oriented education system.

The foundation of a knowledge and merit-based society is creating an environment where education, research, intellect, competence and creativity receive the highest priority, the PM said. In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, modernising the existing curriculum to make it time-befitting is essential to tackle the challenges of AI and automation.

The prime minister stressed that to honour the contributions of courageous people who have sacrificed for democracy, the country's independence and the freedom of its people at every turn of history — from the Liberation War to today — the nation must prepare itself through education, knowledge, science and technology. Otherwise, surviving in global competition will be difficult.

Acknowledging the National University's contribution to expanding higher education, the PM noted that over four million students are currently studying in more than 2,000 affiliated colleges across the country. The late former prime minister Khaleda Zia established this university in 1992 to address the crisis in higher education management and ensure educational opportunities for all. The institution can play the most vital role in expanding modern, technology-driven higher education in the country, he added.