DHAKA: Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said the female students in primary to secondary schools in the country have already exceeded the number of male students.

“Currently, 51 percent students in primary schools and 53 percent in secondary are girls. In higher education, girls will surpass boys in the next six or seven years,” he added.

The minister came up with assertions as chief guest at a ceremony held at LGED Bhaban in city's Agargaon area on Saturday.

Secondary Education Quality and Access Enhancement Project (SEQAEP) signed an agreement with upazila secondary education officials Saturday with presence of the education minster.

With SEQAEP director Dr M Mahmud-ul-Haque in the chair, the singing ceremony was attended by Bishwa Sahitya Kendra team leader professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed, director general of directorate of secondary and higher secondary education Fahima Khatun.

The minister said, ‘In the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), we made a target to bring gender equality among students in 2015. Three years ago, we achieved the target in the primary level, which none could achieve in the world’.

‘Currently, 99 percent children of the country go to primary schools. Ninety-six percent come to school regularly. However, keeping them in schools is the big challenge,’ Nahid informed the audiences.

He said that the progress had been made in education which do not have made anywhere but some European countries.

However, quality education is a big challenge, the minister remarked.

‘We have students but they have to be transformed into human resources with quality education,’ the minister went on.

Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed said, ‘We have students. However, if we could not provide them quality education, then what kind of students they will be? They go to school, but do not get quality education. They will be called students when they will get quality education, otherwise, they will be just human beings’.

‘If you like to call them students, then quality education must be ensured,’ he said putting importance on quality education.

BDST: 1637 HRS, OCT 17, 2015
RS/RR