'Strong political will needed to implement edn policy'

He also called for ensuring accountability of the educational institutions so that the teachers perform their duties with greater responsibility.

Campaign for popular Education (Campe) and Bangladesh Legal Education and Services Trust jointly organised the roundtable on 'Primary and Secondary Education Curriculum and Children's Rights', at the National Press Club in the city.

Presenting the keynote paper, Dr Hamidul Haque, chairman of Jiban O Jibika Gobeshona Pratishthan, observed that the education policy is not reflected in the curriculum, as the policy is not based on empirical research.

He suggested that the National Academy for Primary Education (NAPE) should be made active by increasing its capacity so that it can play a significant role in overall development of primary education.

He also called for inclusion of a subject on child rights in the curriculum to make children aware of their rights mentioned in the UN Children's Rights Convention.

At the roundtable, the speakers suggested monitoring the educational institutions with regard to whether the children are enjoying their rights at their schools.

AYM Mosharraf Hossain, director of Bangladesh Shishu Odhikar Forum, underscored the need for material adaptation and simplified curriculum to motivate the children.

He also called for better coordination at all levels and among the government and non-government organisations to this end.

Prof Dr Mahmuda Islam of the Department of Social Science, Dhaka University, said the children should not be overburdened with more subjects on human rights.

"The curriculum at different levels of education should be selected carefully," she added.

Dr Rezwan Siddiqui, director general of Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB), laid emphasis on the role of teachers as they communicate directly with the students.

He also suggested imparting training to the teachers to enhance their skills.

Rasheda K Chowdhury, director of CAMPE, Prof M Moniruzzaman Miah, commissioner of Anti-Corruption Commission, Abdus Sattar Mollah, material development specialist of National Curriculum and Textbook Board, Prof Hannana Begum, former curriculum specialist of NCTB, and Advocate Elina Khan, executive director of Bangladesh Manobadhikar Bastabayan Sangstha, also spoke.