Sometimes even the Bangladesh government makes some tiny symbolic gesture, yet appreciated, in favor of the country’s indigenous people.
This year’s Textbook Festival Day, celebrated across the country Sunday, brought an exceptionally beautiful day in the lives of indigenous students as for the first time in the country’s history they got free textbooks printed in their mother tongues.
Textbooks printed in Chakma, Marma, Garo, Sadri and Tripura languages were distributed among pre-primary indigenous students, creating a sensation among the people of hill districts.
The National Curriculum and Textbook Board this year printed 52,000 free textbooks in the five indigenous languages for around 25,000 students.
Since the morning, besides Bangali students, indigenous pupils also started gathering at different schools in Rangamati. They seemed extraordinarily happy after getting their textbooks in their own languages.
Rangamati Hill District Council Chairman Brish Ketu Chakma, as the chief guest at the festival in the district, said: “A total of 12,131 pre-primary students from Chakma, Marma and Tripura communities of Rangamati are getting textbooks and exercise books in their mother tongues.”
He said: “We could not distribute all the books in one day. Rest of the textbooks will reach within two or three days.”
Teachers at the festival observed that the initiative will help improve quality of education and the children will be benefited. Rangamati District Council member Zeben Nesa Rahim attended the program as the special guest while District Educational Officer Mafizur Rahman was also present.
Source: Dhaka Tribune