Free textbooks for the academic year 2023 have been handed over to the students of primary and secondary schools on the first day of the New Year as the textbook distribution started all over the country like every year.
With the distribution of new books all the schools wore a festive look as students had a huge smile on their faces.
Earlier on Saturday Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the book festival through a function held in capital Dhaka.
While books were being distributed among the students, happy faces were seen at all the schools in the country.
Dhaka University central playground became a bigger festive place where students from various schools of the city flocked to collect their new books.
Gourab Sarkar, a fifth grader of Banianagar Government Primary School, said, "It felt really good to get new books. In addition, I got to see some of my friends."
Yameen, his classmate, was too excited to say anything. He was all smile, holding a set of new books in his hands.
Riya of Gendaria Mahila Samity Primary School chipped in, "This is the first time I have come to a book festival. Look at the new books I got..."
On the occasion, new books of the 2023 academic year were handed over to the students of first and fifth grades of different educational institutions in the capital.
Four members of the Bangladesh women's football team distributed the books among children, which added an extra glamour to the festival.
In the 2023 academic year, a total of 9,66,08,245 books are being distributed among 2,19,84,823 students.
It may be mentioned that the new curriculum takes effect from Sunday, the first day of the New Year, 2023.
With a view to preparing children for the challenges of the modern world, the government has overhauled the curriculum to enable students to acquire competence in communication, listening, and analytical and problem-solving skills.
Students of classes 1, 6 and 7 were given new books based on the new curriculum. However, for students of classes 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9, the new curriculum will take effect in 2024. Students of Class 5 and 10 will get new books in January, 2025.
Before a curriculum takes effect, teachers are given training and provided with a guide to equip themselves to effectively deliver the syllabus.
There are 4.03 lakh teachers in about 1.19 lakh schools and kindergarten teaching more than 2 crore students, according to the directorate of primary education.
The National Curriculum and Textbook Board is now working on the final draft of the online training material for primary teachers, which is likely to take place by January 15.