Major Changes Ahead for Bangla and English Textbooks at Primary and Secondary Levels

• Certain texts about Mujib and his family will be removed.
• Content related to the July Uprising will be added.
• Write-ups on Maulana Bhashani and Titumir will be rearranged.

The Bangla and English textbooks for primary and secondary education are set to undergo significant changes, with several adjustments to their content. Some sections focusing on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman are being removed, while new content on other historical figures and events is being added. Notably, excerpts and prose related to Sheikh Mujib, adapted from his autobiography Unfinished Memoirs, will be dropped from English textbooks for classes six to nine. At the same time, new write-ups about the student-led mass uprising and other historical topics will be incorporated.

For example, six texts on Sheikh Mujib will be removed from English textbooks of classes six to nine, and four pieces on the July uprising will be included. Similarly, three prose pieces and poems on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman will be excluded from Bangla textbooks for classes six and seven, with additional content about the July uprising replacing them. Write-ups on Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Titumir are also being restructured, with some content being removed from specific textbooks and added to others.

Several prominent writers’ works, including those by Selina Hossain, Prof Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, and Syed Shamsul Haque, will also be removed or replaced with alternative content. NCTB Chairman Prof AKM Reazul Hassan explained that the changes aim to remove exaggerated content and ensure no undue emphasis is placed on any individual leader or event. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman remains a significant presence in the textbooks, with key content about his role in the Liberation War and historic speeches still included.

New additions include write-ups on the Wari-Bateshwar ruins, the July uprising, and other culturally significant themes, while some poems and prose, such as those by Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam, are being removed or replaced. According to officials, these changes aim to create a balanced representation of historical events and leaders while removing inaccuracies or exaggerations.

The updates reflect a broader effort to present a more inclusive narrative in primary and secondary textbooks, focusing on diverse contributions to the nation’s history and culture.