Education appeared to be a prime sector in post-independence reconstruction campaign with Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman seeking to ensure a solid primary education of universal nature and academic freedom for qualitative standards in university level.
Revisiting Bangabandhu initiatives for education in the month of mourning, academics and experts said Bangabandhu wholeheartedly realized that war-ravaged Bangladesh crucially needed human resources for its reconstruction and gradual development which could be ensured through a mass-oriented and universal education system, requiring access of all to schools.
“Bangabandhu felt that an independent country needs an education system which will help ensure education for all levels of people . . . so he engaged great scientist and educationist Dr. Muhammad Qudrat-i-Khuda in formulating a comprehensive policy,” Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Professor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique said.
The Qudrat-i-Khuda Commission, he said, therefore, prepared a report on primary, secondary and higher education aiming to bring a qualitative change in education sector and handed it over to Bangabandhu in 1974.
But the subsequent assassination of Bangabandhu along with most of his family members sealed its fate for decades until the incumbent government developed the Education Policy 2010 on the basis of that report.
Substantiating Prof Siddique, Director General of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Prof Dr SM Wahiduzzaman recalled Bangabandhu nationalized 37000 primary schools to ensure universal access to education.
“It was really an ambitious and courageous initiative as nationalization of such a huge number of primary school was very tough step for a war-torn country,” he said adding that it reflected Bangabandhu’s mindset in giving priority to education.
Wahiduzzaman, however, added that following Bangabandhu’s footsteps Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina nationalized nearly 26,000 non-government primary schools during her tenure.
