Sports and cultural education will become compulsory from Class IV under the national curriculum next year, with separate textbooks and written and practical examinations, Youth and Sports State Minister Aminul Haque said on Monday.

“Our election pledge was to introduce an enjoyable education system. To achieve that goal, sports and culture are being incorporated into the national curriculum. Students will sit written examinations on sports alongside practical field tests,” he said.

The state minister was addressing the prize-giving ceremony of the Annual Sports Competition 2026 at Rupnagar Residential School and College in the capital as chief guest.

Debate, Quran recitation, music, traditional games and other cultural activities will also be included in the curriculum, he said.

Aminul, also Convener of the BNP’s Dhaka North city unit, said the government was working to make education more enjoyable and reduce reliance on textbook-based learning.

He said an education system integrating sports, cultural activities and moral education would be developed so that learning became a source of enjoyment rather than fear.

The state minister highlighted the importance of sports in ensuring the healthy physical and mental development of children and adolescents.

Participation in sports would help young people avoid excessive dependence on mobile phones and digital devices while protecting them from drugs and other social ills, he said.

Aminul said the government had already taken initiatives to address the shortage of playgrounds in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country.

Following the prime minister’s directive, vacant government land would be developed into playgrounds for children and adolescents, he said, adding that a high-level committee was working to implement the plan.

Aminul also urged teachers to spend at least five minutes at the beginning of each class discussing moral education and social values with students.

“A student may earn the highest academic qualifications, but if they lack honesty, humanity and social values, the true value of that education is lost,” he said.

The programme was chaired by Acting Principal of Rupnagar Residential School and College Umme Salma.