Dhaka: Dhaka University vice-chancellor Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique thinks the entire education system of the country needs massive overhaul as a preventive approach towards the threat of militancy.

The current approach of schooling is failing to imbue the students with humanitarian values and the vacuum can easily lead the young minds towards militancy and terrorism.

‘The current education system has failed to set a higher objective of life before the students. It should be completely revised, from the primary to university levels’, he said in an interview with BSS on Thursday against the backdrop of the two back-to-back terrorist attacks in which most of the perpetrators were from affluent families and studying in the elite schools and private universities.

Describing mindless the existing approach of engaging children in textbook-based and examination-oriented education alone Siddique said the existing PSC (Primary School Certificate) examination should be scrapped.

‘There should not be any terminal examination for the students at primary and junior school levels to allow students spend more time to focus on extra curriculum activities’, the head of the country’s premier university told BSS.

He denounced a general tendency among parents in pursuing the children for attaining higher grade point average (GPA), leaving little room for learners for extra-curricular activities in cultural, sport and others arenas to explore in themselves tender qualities.

Siddique, a professor of mass communication and journalism, cited examples of Japanese and Sri Lankan education systems which stressed higher humanitarian values in the learning process while he referred to the education philosophy of Shanti Niketon introduced by Rabindranath Tagore saying that where environment around you is considered as your text book.

‘In Japan there is no exam up to the ninth grade as they believe it is very important for children to participate in activities other than their routine studies’, Siddique said suggesting that the authorities consider these systems for launching a reform initiative in the country.

Siddique also suggested introduction of an identical basic curriculum for primary students in public and private schools of both the Bangla and English medium and madrasahs which, he said would enable all to learn and be accustomed with the history of the country, social values and sprit of the Liberation War.

He feared that students of affluent families studying in posh private universities were inclined more to militancy compared to that of the public universities attributing the phenomenon to lack of cultural outlets and lack of scopes for extracurricular activities.

The vice chancellor said some people opened so-called coaching centres to cash in the unhealthy competition among parents to make sure that their children get higher GPA, which in fact would not be of any help in shaping their future.

We could save our children from being attracted to terrorism if we could make sure that our education system equipped to educate them with humanitarian spirits and values and set a higher objective of life, he said.

He also urged the teachers and parents to monitor the children’s out of school activities alongside the studies.