Mid-Day Meal to be Introduced in All Madrasas

Education, and Primary and Mass Education Minister Dr. A.N.M. Ehsanul Haque Milon has said that mid-day meals will be introduced in all madrasas across the country starting from the current fiscal year. State Minister for Education Mr. Bobby Hajjaj provided this information on behalf of the Education Minister yesterday, Tuesday, during the question-and-answer session in the National Parliament, in response to a question from Mr. Md. Shawkatul Islam, MP for Moulvibazar-2.

Responding to the question, the Education Minister said that under the Ministry of Education’s SEDP program, mid-day meals will be introduced in all madrasas nationwide between fiscal years 2026-27 and 2030-31, and that ebtedayi madrasas would also be included under this program. In response to a question from Mr. Abdul Muntakim, MP for Nilphamari-4, the Education Minister said the country currently has 8,229 MPO-listed madrasas, comprising 5,768 dakhil madrasas, 1,284 alim madrasas, 993 fazil madrasas, and 184 kamil madrasas.

In response to a question from Mr. Rafiqul Islam Khan, MP for Sirajganj-4, the Education Minister said the country currently has 1,873 registered private primary schools, and that the government currently has no plans to nationalize these private primary schools.

In response to a question from Mr. Salah Uddin, MP for Gazipur-4, the Education Minister said the current dropout rate at the primary level stands at 16.25 percent, and that various government initiatives — including school feeding and stipend programs — remain ongoing to curb dropout rates.

In response to a question from Mr. Obaidullah Salafi, MP for Nilphamari-3, the Education Minister said that efforts are underway to bring all kindergarten schools in the country under registration through an online application and processing system, with 1,783 kindergartens having been registered as of July 2026.

In response to a question from Mr. Nazrul Islam, MP for Rajshahi-5, the Education Minister said that the absence of office assistants in government primary schools places an administrative burden on teachers, and that there is a proposal to appoint one office assistant per school, which would be implemented once PEDP-5 is approved. The Education Minister also said the government plans to make regular religious education, fine arts, and music practice mandatory in all primary schools nationwide, aimed at fostering students’ mental, moral, and creative development.

In response to a question from Ms. Rokeya Begum, MP from a reserved seat, the Education Minister said that starting from the 2027 academic year, various aspects of the July mass uprising will be incorporated into textbooks. He said the causes and course of events of the July mass uprising, the mass killings, the sacrifices of the martyrs, the role of women, and its historical significance will be presented in textbooks in a manner suited to students’ age and grade level.

He further said that initiatives have been taken to include, in the ninth-tenth grade textbook “History of Bangladesh and World Civilization,” topics such as enforced disappearances, mass killings, money laundering, the destruction of the electoral system, the Pilkhana tragedy, the killing of journalists, and interference in the media during the Awami League government’s rule. Starting from the 2027 academic year, students will have the opportunity to study these topics in the relevant textbook.