Bangladesh
Education PM Hasina emphasizes importance of mother tongue as main medium of education
Dhaka, February 22: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the medium of instruction in educational institutions should be mother tongue.
"I think our medium of education should be mother tongue. There should be opportunities to learn other languages as well," she said.
The prime minister said these while inaugurating a four-day program at the International Mother Language Institute at Segunbagicha in the capital on the occasion of Martyrs' Day and International Mother Language Day-2024.
She said, mother tongue is the most important thing for education.
"That's what I believe. Learning through the mother tongue will make it much easier to receive that education, to know that education, to understand that education."
But she said, the whole world is now so close to each other at work that there is a need to learn other languages too.
Sheikh Hasina said that as the children of the country are very talented, it will not be difficult for them to learn two or three languages.
She mentioned that many countries of the world have such systems.
She said, "Since we fought for our mother tongue, I think our medium of education should be mother tongue. And it should start from the primary level."
"If this education program is not started from the primary level, the children will not be able to take it properly. This way the path of acquiring knowledge will be easy and wide," she said.
She criticized the mindset of a class of parents to teach their children in English medium schools by excluding their mother tongue.
She expresses his displeasure that a section of the people in the country now pronounce Bengali with an English accent, which sounds very funny.
Sheikh Hasina, the chief patron of the institute, recalled the contribution of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the language movement in 1952.
Education Minister Mahibul Hasan Chowdhury, Prime Minister's Advisor on Education and Culture. Kamal Abdul Nasser Chowdhury, Minister of State for Primary and Mass Education and Member of Parliament Rumana Ali and Head of Office and Representative of UNESCO in Bangladesh Susan Mary Vij spoke on the occasion.
Secondary and Higher Education Department Secretary Suleiman Khan delivered the welcome address.
Dr. Shishir Bhattacharya, professor of Modern Language Institute of Dhaka University, presented the main article in the seminar.
Professor Dr. Hakeem Arif, Director General of International Mother Language Institute expressed the vote of thanks.
On the occasion, the Prime Minister distributed prizes and certificates to the winners of the Linguistics Olympiad organized by the International Mother Language Institute.
At the beginning of the program, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the 'Mujib 100 Years Museum and Archives' at the premises of the International Mother Language Institute.
Sheikh Hasina unveiled the 'Unfinished Autobiography', 'Mother Language Pedia' and Marti Linguistic Pocket Dictionary' translated into the minority language of the small ethnic groups at the event.
At the beginning of the program, a minute's silence was observed to pay tribute to the martyrs of the language movement.
Children of different languages greet the Prime Minister in their own languages on the occasion of International Mother Language Day.
UNESCO Head of Office and UNESCO Representative Susan Vij presented a document of UNESCO Category-II contract renewal to the Prime Minister at the event.
