Shama Obayed, Organizational Secretary of BNP’s Faridpur Division, has stated that if BNP forms the government, it will allocate at least 5% of the country’s GDP to education.
Speaking at a discussion held on Saturday (October 10) at Kazi Nazrul Islam Auditorium, Rajshahi University, she said that BNP has a clear vision for education outlined in point 25 of their 31-point manifesto. If elected, the party pledges to spend a minimum of 5% of GDP on education.
The event, titled “Science Education Policy and Reality: Bangladesh Perspective,” was organized by the Bangladesh Socio-Cultural Forum (BSCF) as part of a three-day astronomy camp, which was attended by thousands of students from various institutions in Rajshahi and Bogura.
Criticizing the current education system, Shama Obayed said, “When we were young, we were taught that education is the backbone of the nation. Today, it feels like that backbone is broken. One major issue is that students are not allowed to choose subjects based on their interests. Another problem is that education has turned into a business.”
She further criticized the establishment of universities across districts over the past 17 years, saying, “Science, technology, and agriculture universities have been set up in nearly every district, not for education but to create opportunities for corruption and theft.”
Other speakers at the event included Samantha Sharmin, Senior Joint Convenor of NCIP; young women leader Umama Fatema; Professor Raihana Shams Islam from the Department of Physics, Rajshahi University; Saeed Ahmed, CEO of the Institute of Informatics and Development (IID); and Rezaul Karim, a science teacher at Rajbari Government High School.
