Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon today said there has been no discussion on dropping Bangla, History or Philosophy from honours programmes under the National University.
“We have not heard of any such discussion anywhere, nor have we held any such discussion,” he told reporters at the Secretariat.
“Bangla is our mother tongue. Can it be dropped? No such discussion has taken place, and I am not aware of any such move. I do not know where this news came from,” he added.
The minister's remarks came amid claims circulating on social media and in some media reports that the government was considering scrapping honours courses in several subjects, including Bangla, History and Philosophy, under a proposed education ministry draft model.
Milon said the government is prioritising technical education and modernising the education system by reviewing subjects based on market demand.
“We are regularly introducing courses based on market-driven demand at different universities and at different levels. But there has been no discussion on dropping Bangla, History or Philosophy,” he said.
He added that introducing demand-based subjects has no link to removing traditional disciplines.
“There has been no plan to reduce, curtail or close any such subject. Discussions are only being held on how to improve the education system, meet market-driven demand, and strengthen industry-academia relations,” he said.
Responding to questions about teacher shortages, the minister said the government is recruiting teachers regularly to fill vacancies.
Earlier, National University Vice-Chancellor ASM Amanullah wrote on Facebook that neither the government nor the university had taken any decision to close any honours courses.
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