Prime Minister stresses investment on education & health as foundation of nation-building

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has announced plans to incorporate football, cricket, chess, karate, and swimming into the national curriculum from Grade 4 through higher secondary education as part of efforts to build a more balanced and future-ready education system.

In a message issued ahead of the “Primary School Gold Cup Football Tournament (Boys and Girls) 2026,” the Prime Minister emphasized that investment in children's education and health remains the most important investment for nation-building.

He said academic learning alone is not enough to develop a confident, skilled, and compassionate generation. Sports, culture, and creative activities must play an equally important role in shaping young minds.

According to the Prime Minister, the government is modernizing the education system under its election manifesto, “Bangladesh First,” and plans to gradually introduce football, cricket, chess, karate, and swimming into the formal curriculum.

He noted that students will be required to participate in practical sports activities alongside classroom instruction and assessments. Such initiatives, he said, could help address social challenges including drug abuse and excessive mobile phone dependency among young people.

Tarique Rahman also highlighted the scale of the Primary School Gold Cup Football Tournament, stating that students from 65,569 government primary schools—nearly 9.95 million children—have been given the opportunity to participate.

A total of 123,974 matches have been organized nationwide in both boys’ and girls’ categories, making the tournament one of the largest football competitions in the world in terms of participation and scale.

The Prime Minister expressed confidence that participants in the tournament would become the country's future sporting talents and help elevate Bangladesh’s profile on the international stage.