Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said on Monday some 8.3 million (83 lakh) students from 12,117 educational institutions got the chance of reading books from 2010 until 2017 under the Secondary Education Quality and Access Enhancement Project (SEQAEP), reports UNB.
He came up with the information while speaking as the chief guest at a programme arranged by Bishwo Shahitto Kendro (BSK) at its auditorium marking the World Book and Copyright Day.
The minister said his ministry in association with the BSK has implemented the SEQAEP project in 250 upazilas under which some 3.56 million books were provided to schools and madrasahs.
Besides, 4.54 million books were provided among students as winning prizes, he said.
Claiming that the country's education sector is going through a revolutionary change over the last few years, Nahid said, "Now, 54 per cent of schools have library rooms." He also stressed on the importance of having good and creative books to build good human beings.
Presiding over the programme, BSK founder Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed said though the tenure of the government-funded SEQAEP project ended in December last, the BSK continues the project at its own initiative.
In 2018, over 2.0 million students joined programmes to develop a book-reading habit, he said, adding that the BSK has been working for the last 40 years for creating readership among students.
The habit of book reading has the ability to prevent mental degradation among the young generation, Prof Aby Sayeed said.
Secondary and Higher Education Division Secretary Md Sohrab Hossain, Directorate General of Bangla Academy Prof Shamsuzzaman Khan, Director General of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education Prof Md Mahabubur Rahman, Secretary of Unesco National Commission of Bangladesh Md Manjur Hossain were present at the programme as the special guests.
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