Mohammad Mozammel Haque

Nobody knows the fate of our children who are now studying following the syllabi forcefully imposed on the nation by The Sheikh Hasina Government. Hundreds of books have been written on various subjects in the name of providing our sons and daughters with the so-called ‘new curricula which is, as they opined, similar to the curricula of International arena.’ This is what was stated by the then domestic Member Curriculum of NCTB-Professor Moshiuzzaman, one of the key conspirators who left no stone unturned to tarnish our education system. I don’t know whether the sons and daughters of Professor Md. Farhadul Islam, former Chairman of NCTB, Professor Moshiuzzaman and other schemers are studying in Bangladesh or they have already left this land. A new committee to revise the national curricula and set a time-befitting one to save the nation from what has already been lost is the demand of the time. The students who are now studying in class nine are undoubtedly going to suffer more as they have already spent one year by studying the books prepared by the pro-Awami League writers. All praises be to Allah the Almighty Who has protected our nation from being devoured by the vultures of Sheikh Hasina.

The new curricula are totally different from what and how they were before. No questions for assessment policy have been set in the books. The criteria about how to assess the students are not clear even to the teachers who are directly teaching the students. Before the victory of July-August 2024, we have seen that our children are not studying at home even before the exam. This is because they are getting the question papers with answers online at the mid-night before the day of exam; they are sleeping the first half of the night and getting up at mid-night to take preparation. And what is most surprising as well as heart-touching is that they are not studying the books, rather they are operating smart phones to get the ‘homeopathic doses’ posted in the YouTube by one of the ‘specialists.’ Most interestingly, the students are allowed to write the answers by discussing the questions with their friends, or even by keeping the books open in the exam hall. These are what we saw just before the 2nd Independence of Bangladesh.

Now, let me give an example here why I am raising this issue today. I have talked to some math teachers from schools, colleges and universities and asked their opinions about the newly written math books for different classes. All of them to whom I have talked have clearly stated that the students will hardly know the basics as well as other details of mathematics by studying these books. “Even our students will not be able to compete in the International arena if they are taught these books,” they stated. Most of these math teachers are teaching both the old and the new math books to their children. One of my colleagues who is teaching in a University advised me to teach the old math books to my children.

But I didn’t follow what he advised me. Now, since the government has already made a declaration about replacing the new curricula with the previous ones, the teachers of different schools are following the old books. By talking to some math teachers of different institutions, I have come to know that they were used to follow the old books from the beginning of the year thinking the betterment of the students. But what is unfortunate in this regard is that they are teaching the old math books not in the regular classrooms, but in the coaching centers where only the students of those families who can afford the coaching fees are studying. What about other students who fail to attend coaching or who cannot afford even to pay a house tutor? This is the condition of the schools of Dhaka city. I doubt what the teachers of the thousands of schools outside the capital are doing. This is not a fault with the teachers of those schools if they do not follow the old books. This is because if the previous government came to know that a few teachers are following the old syllabus even in some coaching centers and in some houses, the government would take them to the prisons. Now, the condition of the fate of our children is easily imaginable.

Furthermore, same condition goes with English subject. By studying the newly designed books, the students will hardly come to know about grammar, for which they will not be able to acquire the skill of free hand writing. It is mentioned here that I am talking about the condition of English subjects of Bangla and English version students, not about the English medium students. Anyway, there goes a proverb-like talk in our country- যে জানেনা ব্যকরণ, শিক্ষাটাই তার অকারণ। Thus, for the students of Bangla and English version, it is quite difficult to learn the correct syntactical arrangements of different elements of a sentence to make it meaningful by studying these books. What is interesting, and at the same time shocking, is that in the case of English, some teachers and conscious guardians are teaching grammar to their students. Now, those who have been teaching grammar to their children since the beginning of the year are now the gainers. But this number is very few. Most of the students of the schools of Dhaka city and outside Dhaka have taught the newly designed books without following the grammatical rules and regulations; and now they are in quite danger. The case is same about almost all the subjects. Now, when the government has declared to go back to the previous syllabuses, the guardians are worried about what their children have lost. By perusing the present syllabuses of our country, I cannot help remembering what our national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam wrote in 18th century: বিশ্ব যখন এগিয়ে চলেছে আমরা তখন পিছে, বিবি তালাকের ফতোয়া খুজিছি হাদিস-ফেকাহ চষে ।।

Anyway, the total system overturned by the ‘patriotic’ pro-Awami NCTB officers and decision makers seems to have lagged our nation 100 years backwards. The mastermind as well as the expert planners of this system must be brought to book, and their collaborators who are still holding so many prestigious posts in the government should not go unpunished. Though most of the people know that these people of NCTB tried to implement the prescription prescribed by the ‘expert doctors’ from the opposite side of the Ganga, but a serious case must be filed against them in the International Tribunal Court and the present interim government should try to find out what these mastermind planned to ‘educate’ our children. It will never be an exaggeration to opine that the previous decision makers and other concerned officers of NCTB are treacherous, traitors, and enemies of our country.

Moreover, though the interim government has come for a very short period of time, they must try their best to start their reform activities with the education field. I am not telling that we should go back to the previous syllabus quite identically; rather a committee including the renowned as well as eminent educationists, scholars, scientists, intellectuals, doctors, physicians, and professors of the country should be formed immediately. The committee can be requested to take necessary steps about saving our nation by formulating a time-befitting curriculum keeping pace with the syllabi of the developed countries of this technologically advanced world. This committee must not be given a time-limit of more than a month. And special steps should be taken to save the lives of the students who are studying in class IX now. I hope and believe the government will put special emphasis on this issue and the most priority will be given on education sector. Let us all hope for the better.

The writer is a, Assistant Professor Department of English Northern University Bangladesh