Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said Bangladesh can achieve inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning by 2030 facing all the challenges.

‘Education is one of the areas receiving my government’s highest budgetary allocation,’ she said while addressing the inaugural session of the 3-day E-9 Ministerial Meeting on Education 2030 at a city hotel in the morning.

The Prime Minister also mentioned that the challenges of terrorism, violent extremism and armed conflicts affecting human rights and peace and stability of the world today can be addressed with innovation, understanding, right attitude and farsighted policies. ‘We’re reforming our curricula and learning materials keeping peace building in view.’

To improve the quality, she said, a special emphasis must be given on teachers’ education and training programmes. ‘Considering the challenge of developing a qualified workforce for teaching profession policy options and incentive plans need to be explored for motivation.’

The Prime Minister further said, ‘Learning environment in educational institutes, a component for sustainable development, should be ensured by improving sanitation, water, hygiene and infrastructure. This would also have positive impact on health and education outcomes.’

She said it was expected timely and pragmatic recommendations and pathways coming from this E-9 meeting for realising SDG-4. ‘I hope, this meeting will start the process of sharing our best practices, devising action plan and programmes, finding new modes of partnership as well as welcoming regional and international dialogues on education.’

She was also confident that all would work together for a connected and knowledge-based North-South-South in this process.

‘I hope, our journey towards quality with quantity in attaining SDG-4 will start from this meeting and ‘Dhaka declaration’ would come to be a source of our inspiration,’ she added.

Noting that inclusive education by 2030 might prove challenging to achieve, Hasina said, ‘But, we’ve to overcome that by sharing our respective initiatives, practices and plan of action for future. Concerted efforts would give us the most effective results. E-9 has to work in close cooperation for that.’

She mentioned that Bangladesh have adopted a well consulted education policy in 2010 and is taking strategic policies and steps.

Hasina said the Era of SDGs that all have stepped in makes it very timely and meaningful now to hold this E-9 Ministerial meeting and align and integrate particularly SDG-4 on education with our E9 initiatives and strategies taking along the lessons and achievements of MDGs and EFA.

Created in 1993, the E-9 Initiative is still working on the common educational goals of nine developing countries representing more than half the world’s population.

She hoped the esteemed educationists and policy makers present here will revitalize the past efforts and deliberate adjustments and new orientations for these nine countries sharing their aspirations, commitments, and priorities based on SDG 4-Education 2030.

Primary and Mass Education Minister Mustafizur Rahman Fizar delivered the welcome address. Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, Director General of Unesco Irina Bokova and Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training of Pakistan Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rehman spoke on the occasion.

Before her speech, Baligh formally handed over the chairmanship of E-9 to Nurul Islam Nahid.