Nurturing children’s talents will strengthen the nation’s foundation: Tarique Rahman

Prime Minister Mr. Tarique Rahman said every child in the country has some talent. He said the government will create a chance for children to learn foreign languages such as Arabic, Mandarin, German and Japanese, along with Bangla and English. He said a third language will be very helpful for those who will go abroad in future for higher studies or jobs. With it, they will gain extra strength to compete with people from other countries in the international field.

He said that to grow their talent, there must be a chance to take part in sports, arts and culture, music and different creative activities, along with study. He said every child has some quality. He said what we need is to give each child the chance to grow. He also called on children to grow up as humane people. The Prime Minister said this in his speech as chief guest at a programme held yesterday, Tuesday, for Child Rights Day 2026 and the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh Shishu Academy.

The Prime Minister said children are an important base of the family. When children grow up in the right way, the base of the country will become strong along with the family. He said that if we can give all our children the chance to develop properly, the base of our country will be much stronger. He hoped that if children are raised properly, they will lead Bangladesh in the competitive world in future and build a strong Bangladesh.

He told the children that it is not enough to be good only at studies. They must do well in sports, arts, culture, music and other fields too. He said, “I will not talk to you about studies today. I will say that you must play.” He said one child can draw well, another can recite poems, another likes to sing or play an instrument, and another is skilled in dance or Quran recitation. Every child must get the chance to grow according to their choice and interest.

Mr. Tarique Rahman said the government is creating chances for sports along with the growth of talent. He said a nationwide football competition for boys and girls was recently held at the primary level. He said, “For the first time in Bangladesh, about 2.2 million children from primary schools, 1.1 million boys and 1.1 million girls, took part in a football competition.” He hoped that if this step continues, international standard players will rise from among them one day.

He said Martyr President Mr. Ziaur Rahman started the Notun Kuri programme to grow the cultural talent of children. He said the present government has taken a new programme for the growth of children’s sports along with that step. The Prime Minister said the government wants every child to get the chance to gain skill in at least one area among arts, culture, music and sports. He said the government is trying to create chances for art, culture, sports and music from the school level, so that children even in remote villages can get them.

He said preparation for this work has moved ahead a lot. The aim is to carry it out fully from 2027 or 2028. He said every child will get the chance to choose one of learning songs, playing an instrument or different sports, as they like. Stressing that children should learn foreign languages with their future careers in mind, he repeated that the chance to learn Arabic, Mandarin, German, Japanese and other languages will be created, along with Bangla and English.

Calling on children to grow up as humane people, he said a person is not complete only by study, sports, arts and culture or by knowing many languages. He said a person must be humane. He told the children, “You must be humane. You must be humane to the nature and the animals and birds of this country too.” He said the government wants to build a humane Bangladesh, where people are kind not only to people but also to nature and the creations of nature.

He called on children to take care of trees and animals and birds. He said a tree must be raised with care like a child. In the same way, they must be kind to the animals and birds around them. He said, “If we are kind to nature, nature will surely be kind to us.” Stressing the role of children in keeping the environment clean, he said the habit of throwing dirt and waste anywhere on the road must stop. He called on children to politely ask any elder to throw waste in the right place when they see one throwing it anywhere.

He told the children they can say to the elder, “Please throw the waste in the right place. If you damage the environment, I will be harmed. If I am harmed, it means millions of children of Bangladesh are harmed.” He also called on guardians to build love and a sense of duty for nature, the environment and biodiversity in their children. He said everyone has the duty to build the country. He said a clean, beautiful, humane and strong Bangladesh can be built if everyone makes joint efforts through small works.

After his speech, the Prime Minister enjoyed a cultural programme performed by children. He exchanged greetings with the performing children and joined a photo session. He answered many questions from the children at that time. Then he visited the pictures drawn by the children and a photo gallery. After the programme, the Prime Minister went to the Children’s Museum building and opened a solar panel and a substation on the ground floor of the building.