As music, creativity and youthful optimism filled Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed Park on a winter afternoon, BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman laid out a vision of an education system he believes could pull children away from screens and back into playgrounds, classrooms and cultural spaces.
Speaking on Saturday at the “Meet and Greet with Tarique Rahman” programme in Gulshan, he said education must be redesigned so that children and adolescents do not grow up trapped in online addiction, but instead learn with joy, creativity and purpose.
“If the BNP forms the government after the next election, we want an education system where sports, art and cultural activities are mandatory alongside academic studies,” he said, stressing that learning should not feel like pressure but an engaging experience.
The event brought together winners of the national reel-making competition “Bangladesh in My Thoughts”, organised by the BNP, where around 2,500 young participants from across the country showcased their ideas about the nation’s future. Tarique Rahman was accompanied by his daughter, Barrister Jaima Rahman, as they interacted with the young creators, discussing education, society and the aspirations of the next generation.
Tarique Rahman said future education policies should move beyond textbook-based learning. “Passing exams alone cannot be the goal. Students must also pass in sports, creativity and cultural awareness,” he said, adding that involvement in physical and creative activities would ensure children spend more time constructively and less time scrolling online.
According to him, encouraging sports, art and culture from an early age can play a key role in reducing excessive internet use and online dependency among students.
Turning to primary education, the BNP leader said infrastructure alone cannot ensure quality learning. “Improving teachers’ skills and qualifications is more important than building school structures,” he said, emphasising specialised training for primary school teachers so they can instil social and moral values alongside academic lessons.
He also linked education to broader social challenges, including the rise of mob culture and moral decline. Teaching children to distinguish between justice and injustice from an early age, he argued, could help prevent such problems in the future.
From thousands of entries submitted nationwide, ten winners were selected for the reel-making competition through public voting and jury evaluation – many of whom shared their ideas directly with the BNP leader during the programme.
The gathering, blending politics with youth creativity, offered a glimpse into how Tarique Rahman is framing education reform – not just as policy, but as a cultural shift aimed at shaping a more balanced and engaged generation.