Md Mohibbulah Hawlader, Pirojpur District Correspondent

State Minister for Housing and Public Works Ahmed Sohel Manjur has said there is no alternative to quality education for Bangladesh to remain competitive in the rapidly globalising world.

He said the government was working to rebuild the education system, with teachers and students playing a central role in shaping the Bangladesh of tomorrow.

The state minister made the remarks as the chief guest at a freshers’ reception organised by the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal at Bhandaria Government College on Thursday (October 1). He later attended a separate exchange meeting with heads of madrasas in the upazila.

Speaking at the event, Sohel Manjur said the government would increase the education budget if necessary under the direction of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. However, he stressed that development should not be limited to infrastructure and that the quality of education must also be improved to enable Bangladesh to compete globally.

He said a talented generation would have to play the leading role in building a prosperous and strong Bangladesh.

Emphasising the need to develop students into responsible citizens, the state minister urged teachers not to limit students to textbooks alone. He said the core objective of education should be to develop students into ideal citizens by instilling humanitarian values, morality and patriotism in them.

He stressed that teachers must play the most responsible role in this regard.

The freshers’ reception was chaired by Bhandaria Government College Principal Md Aman Ullah Khan. Among those present as special guests were Bhandaria Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Hasibul Hasan, Officer-in-Charge of Bhandaria Police Station Dewan Jaglul Hasan, college English department lecturer Shuprabhat Roy, Upazila BNP General Secretary Md Monir Hossain Akn and Municipal BNP Convener A. Mannan Hawlader.

Chhatra Dal leaders Md Tamim and Md Mehedi Hasan, along with students Shraboni Akter and Maksuda Akter, also spoke at the event. The programme concluded with the new students being welcomed with flowers.

Later, the state minister attended an exchange meeting with heads of various madrasas in Bhandaria at the upazila auditorium.

The meeting was chaired by UNO Md Hasibul Hasan. Among the speakers were Bangladesh Madrasa Teachers Association’s Bhandaria upazila unit President Principal Abdullah Mahmud, Principal Kawsar Ul Islam and Principal Mujahidul Islam.

At the meeting, the state minister pledged to prepare a list of madrasas in the upazila and renovate them in phases.