Primary and Mass Education Adviser Professor Dr Bidhan Ranjan Roy Podder today said the government is committed to ensuring quality education by promoting both the physical and mental development of students. 

If quality education can be ensured at the primary level, children will grow into responsible citizens of the country, he added.

The adviser made the remarks while inaugurating the School Feeding Programme this morning at Khubjipur Government Primary School in Gurudaspur upazila of the district as the chief guest.

He said primary education plays a vital role in developing students' mental well-being, while the supply of nutritious food helps build their physical health, and this will encourage students to attend school regularly and stay focused on their studies. 

"We want to make children interested in education," he said, noting that such interest will help them become responsible citizens and contribute to the welfare of society.

Professor Bidhan said every student is full of potential, and the government is working to nurture that potential. 

Besides academic lessons, co-curricular activities such as sports, music, debates and public speaking contribute significantly to children's development, he observed.

Schools help students in expressing their thoughts, building relationships with teachers and learning discipline, morality and social values, he said, adding, "Primary schools are the foundation for achieving all these."

The adviser further said the goal of primary education is to enable students to read fluently in their mother tongue, write clearly and solve mathematical problems with ease. 

If students can be guided to develop these core skills, they will progress on their own, become assets to the nation and achieve success in life, he added.

Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education Abu Noor Md. Shamsuzzaman presided over the inauguration ceremony. 

Primary and Mass Education Secretary Abu Taher Md. Masud Rana, World Food Programme Resident Representative and Country Director Domenico Scalpelli, Acting Deputy Commissioner Md. Arif Hossain, Gurudaspur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Fahmida Afroz, school head teacher Reena Rani Sarkar, and students Sidratul Munhata and Afrin Sharif also spoke on the occasion. 

Project Director of the School Feeding Programme Mohammad Harun Or Rashid delivered the welcome speech.

According to the project, under the School Feeding Programme, 31,13,000 students in 19,419 government primary schools across 150 upazilas will receive nutritious food, including fortified biscuits, bananas or seasonal fruits, buns, eggs and UHT milk, five days a week until 2027.

Harun Or Rashid said the objective of the initiative is to support inclusive, equitable and quality education in government primary schools while improving students' nutritional status through the supply of nutritious food.

District Primary Education Officer Mohammad Abdul Hannan said a total of 18,466 students from 90 government primary schools in Gurudaspur upazila are being brought under the feeding programme.