Improving early childhood development requires sustained investment in both curriculum and teacher development, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj said on Monday.
The state minister made the remarks as chief guest at a transdisciplinary seminar titled “National Dialogue on Early Childhood Development Policy and Practice,” jointly organised by Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB)’s School of Pharmacy and Public Health and the Bangladesh ECD Network (BEN).
“Curriculum reform must come first, as it provides the foundation for how children learn and how teachers engage with them. At the pre-primary and primary levels, learning should focus on developing children’s cognitive abilities, curiosity, communication skills, and problem-solving capacity,” Hajjaj said.
“We need to move beyond approaches that emphasize memorisation and examination performance and instead create learning environments that actively engage children in the learning process,” she added.
The government remains committed to strengthening teacher training and modernising educational practices to support these goals, she said.
Farid Ahmed, Director General of the National Academy for Primary Education (NAPE), said early childhood development is a shared responsibility of parents, schools, and the government.
“It goes far beyond counting classrooms, benches, or facilities; it is about creating an environment that supports children’s learning, development, well-being, and future potential from the very beginning,” he said.
Mahmuda Akhter, Vice-Chair of BEN, delivered a keynote highlighting the importance of early childhood development, particularly the pre-primary stage. She discussed the need for coordinated efforts to strengthen early childhood development initiatives.
Dean of IUB’s School of Pharmacy and Public Health Kamran ul Basetpresented on teacher development and training, emphasising the importance of strengthening teacher capacity.
IUB Vice-Chancellor Professor M Tamim, who chaired the session, said the university was fully committed to partnering with government and non-governmental organisations in advancing early childhood development.
The seminar brought together policymakers, academics, development practitioners, and representatives from government and non-government organisations to discuss policy, teacher development, curriculum reform, and implementation strategies.
IUB Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof Daniel W Lund delivered the closing remarks. The programme was hosted by Dr. Tanvir Ahmed, with opening remarks by Dr. Bilkis Banu. Benef is a national platform working to promote early childhood development in Bangladesh.
