Sports education to become mandatory from 2027 in Bangladesh.
Sports education will be made mandatory from the next year, State Minister for Youth and Sports Md Aminul Haque today.
"We are making many things mandatory in the education sector. We are going to make sports mandatory from the 2027 academic year," he told reporters after the first session of the Deputy Commissioners' Conference.
The Cabinet Division arranged the conference at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.
Aminul said the government is implementing multifaceted programmes to make the country's youth skilled, capable and self-reliant.
He mentioned that there is a deep and inseparable relationship between the youth and sports, which can play an important role in national development.
Keeping this goal in mind, the government is working simultaneously in the youth development and sports sectors, he added.
Aminul said different training-based programmes, including freelancing, caregiving, mobile servicing, have been launched to create employment opportunities for the youth.
Through these initiatives, opportunities are being created for them to enter local and international labour market by increasing their skills, he said.
He said these projects are underway in different regions of the country, including Dhaka city, and there are plans to expand the projects further in phases.
The state minister said the active role of the administration at the field level is very important for the successful implementation of these projects.
He called upon the Deputy Commissioners and Divisional Commissioners to work in coordination with the ministry and establish direct connections with the youth at the grassroots level, so that the youth of remote areas can also come under the ambit of these facilities.
Aminul hoped that if this coordination is strengthened, it will be possible to create employment and achieve visible progress in youth development.
Regarding the sports sector, he said new sports activities have been started in 64 district stadiums of the country, where competitions are being held in eight different events.
Especially, he said, the spontaneous participation of teenagers aged 12 to 14 is taking this initiative towards success.
The state minister said if this continuity is maintained, it will be possible to create a strong sports base across the country in the next few years.
About stadium management, he said in many cases in the past, stadiums have been used to organise fairs, which has disrupted the sports environment.
He said the incumbent government has taken a policy decision in this regard that stadiums will not be allowed to be used for fairs in the future.
In addition, Aminul said, an integrated project has been taken to renovate stadiums and sports complexes that have become ineffective due to long-term mismanagement.
Under this project, various sports infrastructures, including swimming complexes, will be modernised, he said.
He said ministers and officials of the concerned ministries have already jointly inspected different playgrounds under Dhaka north and south city corporations to this end.
Aminul said talks are underway with shareholders concerned regarding not conducting any other activities on the playgrounds.
