BSS) - Education Minister Dr A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon today said revised and updated textbooks for the 2027 academic year will be delivered to all schools across the country by December this year.

He said effective measures are being taken to reduce session backlogs so that students can enroll in colleges and universities immediately after the publication of examination results.

Milon, also minister for Primary and Mass Education Ministry, made the remarks while inaugurating the central-level events of the National Primary Education Medal Competition-2026 as the chief guest at the Government College of Physical Education ground in the capital’s Mohammadpur.

The sports, cultural, scouting and debate competitions were organized by the Directorate of Primary Education under the initiative of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education.

Highlighting various government initiatives aimed at modernizing primary education, Milon said the government will begin distributing free school uniforms to primary school students from next July to encourage school attendance and prevent dropouts.

In addition, a nationwide mid-day meal programme will be introduced, he said, adding that the government is also working to establish multimedia classrooms to make teaching more relevant to the demands of the modern era.

The minister urged teachers and guardians to place the highest importance on extracurricular and co-curricular activities alongside academic studies to ensure the physical and mental development of students rather than confining them solely to classroom learning.

He said the government aims to develop the young students into skilled human resources to realize the vision of Bangladesh of Tomorrow.

Highest priority has been given to education as the government allocated 2 percent of GDP to the sector in the new budget, he said.

Nearly 2.18 crore students from across the country participated in the medal competition, which was organized in phases from the school level to the national level.

A total of 400 top-performing students who advanced to the national stage are taking part in the final competition.

Organizers expressed hope that the talent-search competition would play a positive role in developing skilled, talented and compassionate citizens.

At the end of the programme, the minister distributed prizes among the winners of the primary-level competition.

Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education Shahina Ferdousi chaired the meeting while senior officials of the ministry and the directorate were present.