154 more primary schools ready to upgrade to eighth grade
Around 154 additional primary schools in the country are ready to extend their programmes till eighth grade, said Farid Ahmed, the secretary of the primary and mass education ministry today.
"If the ministry wants, we have the infrastructure to extend 1,000 more schools [till eight grade] within the next three years," said Farid Ahmed at a press conference at secretariat.
On the occasion of "National Primary Education Week-2024", the secretary said the education ministry decided to gradually upgrade free primary education till eighth grade.
"If we can introduce and offer free education till eighth grade in nearly 5,000 schools, among the 65,566 primary schools and 23,000 secondary and lower secondary schools, then the government's decision can be fully implemented."
"To achieve this, three challenges need to be addressed -- infrastructure, teacher recruitment and training, and position creation. Our current teacher training is up to fifth grade," Farid Ahmed said.
Meanwhile, he also said schools with low numbers of students will not be merged with nearby schools.
"We have already identified around 150 schools where the number of students is 10-50. We have decided not to suddenly close these schools or merge them," he added.
However, if one school has 10-12 students and another school, within 500 yards, has 200 students, such schools will be merged.
"We have already started this process. Decisions will be made considering the local realities and in consultation with all stakeholders," he added.
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