Highlights
- 8th-grade Bangla textbook will not include the historic 7th March speech by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
- Other textbooks for different grades will still include the speech.
- Decision made by the advisory committee under the interim government.
- Controversy arose during the approval meeting for 2026 academic year textbooks.
7th March Speech Removed from 8th-Grade Bangla Textbook
The interim government has decided to remove the historic 7th March speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the Bangla literature textbook ‘Sahitya Konika’ for 8th-grade students. However, the speech will remain in other textbooks for different grades.
“সাধারণ ডিম বিক্রি করে আমরা কীভাবে ১৫ লক্ষ কাস্টমার এনেছি—এই বইয়ে আছে তার বাস্তব কাহিনি!”
Advisory Committee Decision
The decision was made during a meeting of the advisory committee at the Ministry of Education’s Secondary and Higher Education Division on Sunday (19 October).
“আপনার ব্যবসা এখন অনলাইনে— Storola-এর সাথে সহজ ও স্মার্টভাবে!”
Professor Dr. Mohammad Moninur Rashid of the Institute of Education and Research (IER), University of Dhaka, a member of the committee, confirmed the change.
“অষ্টম শ্রেণির বাংলা বই থেকে ৭ মার্চের ভাষণ বাদ দেওয়া হয়েছে। এ বইয়ের সঙ্গে এ ভাষণ যায় না। তবে অন্যান্য শ্রেণির বইয়ের বিভিন্ন অংশে বঙ্গবন্ধুর ভাষণ থাকবে। এটি ইতিহাসের অংশ।”
Translation: “The 7th March speech has been removed from the 8th-grade Bangla book. It does not fit with this textbook. However, in other grade books, different parts of Bangabandhu’s speech will remain. It is part of history.”
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Background of the Controversy
On 18 August, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) held a meeting of the National Curriculum Coordination Committee (NCCC) to approve textbooks for the 2026 academic year. During this meeting, the inclusion of the 7th March speech in the 8th-grade literature book sparked a heated debate.
The government has stated that the decision only affects the 8th-grade textbook, and the speech will continue to be taught in other grades.
Source: Jago News 24
