Dhaka: Sports education will be made mandatory starting from the 2027 academic year, announced State Minister for Youth and Sports Md Aminul Haque today. “We are making many things mandatory in the education sector. We are going to make sports mandatory from the 2027 academic year,” he stated to reporters following the first session of the Deputy Commissioners’ Conference.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the conference was organized by the Cabinet Division at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital. Aminul highlighted that the government is executing multiple programs aimed at equipping the country’s youth with skills, capabilities, and self-reliance. He emphasized the intrinsic connection between youth and sports, which can significantly contribute to national development.
The government is actively working on both youth development and sports sectors to achieve this goal, Aminul added. Various training-based initiatives, including freelancing, caregiving, and mobile servicing, have been launched to create job opportunities for the youth. These efforts aim to enhance their skills, enabling them to enter local and international labor markets.
These projects are currently underway in different regions, including Dhaka city, with plans for phased expansion. Aminul stressed the importance of field-level administrative involvement for the successful implementation of these projects. He urged Deputy Commissioners and Divisional Commissioners to coordinate with the ministry and establish direct connections with grassroots youth, ensuring that even those in remote areas benefit from these facilities.
Aminul expressed optimism that strengthened coordination would result in employment creation and visible progress in youth development. In the sports sector, new activities have commenced in 64 district stadiums, featuring competitions in eight different events. The enthusiastic participation of teenagers aged 12 to 14 is driving the initiative towards success.
If this momentum continues, Aminul believes a robust sports foundation across the country can be achieved in the coming years. Addressing stadium management, he noted past instances where stadiums were used for fairs, disrupting the sports environment. The current government has decided to prohibit the use of stadiums for fairs in the future.
Furthermore, an integrated project has been launched to renovate stadiums and sports complexes affected by long-term mismanagement. This project includes modernizing various sports infrastructures, such as swimming complexes. Ministers and officials from relevant ministries have already inspected different playgrounds under Dhaka’s north and south city corporations as part of these efforts. Discussions are ongoing with stakeholders to prevent non-sporting activities on these grounds.