The government is set to introduce changes to history and skills-based subjects in textbooks for the next academic year (2027). Alongside the inclusion of several new topics in secondary-level Bangladesh and Global Studies and History of Bangladesh and World Civilization textbooks, extensive revisions are being made to a number of books.
Among the additions to history subjects are detailed descriptions of the sectors of the Liberation War, the events of 7 November 1975, and the role of former prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia in the mass uprising of the 1990s.
At the same time, new subjects are being introduced and existing books revised to place greater emphasis on joyful learning, sports, culture, and technical education. This includes the introduction of a “joyful learning” book in Class VI and a new sports and culture book in Class IV. In addition, the Class VI Work and Life-Oriented Education book is being extensively revised to highlight the importance of technical education.
These details were learned from sources at the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB). Students will receive these free textbooks in the new academic year beginning next January.
Officials at the NCTB said policy-level decisions have already been made regarding the contents of the textbooks. The finalisation of content, presentation, and class-wise arrangement is now underway. The books are being revised in line with the promises outlined in the new government’s election manifesto.
Earlier, after the 2024 student-public uprising, the interim government moved away from the then-existing new curriculum and began revising books based on the 2012 curriculum. At the same time, poems, essays, and prose pieces on the July mass uprising were added to Bangla and English textbooks for Classes V through X in 2025.
Later, content related to the July mass uprising was included as part of the history section in Bangladesh and Global Studies textbooks for Classes VI, VII, VIII, and IX-X in the current year’s textbooks. Content on the 1990 mass uprising was also included there.
Now, after one year, textbooks are again undergoing changes. Through a four-day workshop, 99 books for different secondary-level classes have already been revised. Work is now set to begin on revising 36 primary-level books. However, these revisions apply only to next year’s textbooks.
The government’s plan is to begin implementing an entirely new curriculum from 2028. Work on preparing the framework for this curriculum is expected to begin soon. However, it has not yet been finalised whether the new curriculum will be implemented across all classes at once from 2028 or introduced gradually.
NCTB chairman Md Mahbubul Haque Patwari (acting) told Prothom Alo that textbooks are revised every year to varying degrees. This time, since a new government has come to power, the revisions are being made in consideration of the promises in its election manifesto.
The work is being carried out through workshops involving around 320 teachers and experts from across the country, with support from the Institute of Education and Research, University of Dhaka. Secondary-level books have already been revised, and work on primary-level books will begin tomorrow, Tuesday.
Every year, the government distributes free textbooks from pre-primary through Class IX. The government plans to print around 300 million books next year for nearly 40 million students.
NCTB sources said they are working with a plan to print and distribute all next year’s textbooks to the field level by 15 November of this year. They hope this will make it possible for students to receive all books at the very beginning of the year.
The changes being made in the books
A new book titled ‘Learning with Happiness’ will be introduced in Class VI next year. A teacher involved in the revision process told Prothom Alo that work will now begin on determining how the book will be structured.
A new textbook on sports and culture will be introduced in Class IV. NCTB officials said it will include concepts related to seven different sports.
An NCTB official, speaking anonymously, told Prothom Alo that there is still a sense of inferiority in the country regarding technical education. To overcome this mindset, students will be introduced to technical education from an early age so that interested students may pursue that path in the future. For this reason, major changes are being made to the Class VI Work and Life-Oriented Education book to highlight the importance of technical education.
Another official said detailed discussions on artificial intelligence (AI) are being added to secondary-level Information and Communication Technology (ICT) textbooks. Greater emphasis will also be placed on technology-based new subjects and practical skills.
Descriptions of the newly added historical topics will vary by class level. Comparatively shorter descriptions will appear in Classes VI through VIII, while Class IX textbooks will contain more detailed discussions. These history-related changes will be finalised after review and scrutiny at various stages.
Professor SM Hafizur Rahman, who is involved in this year’s textbook revision process, told Prothom Alo that the revisions are being carried out in two phases. One phase involves minor revisions, including sentence-level and word-level corrections. The other phase involves major revisions focusing on content and activities.