Textbooks to feature July uprising

The government is set to incorporate content on the student-led uprising into school textbooks for the 2025 academic year.
The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has already begun developing materials depicting the uprising, NCTB Chairman Professor Reazul Hassan told The Daily Star.
He said the materials are likely to appear as images, poems, or essays and will be featured in Bangla and English textbooks of classes five to 10.
The Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government, ousted on August 5, had introduced the National Curriculum-2022, which was rolled out for classes one, six, and seven in 2023, and to classes two, three, eight, and nine this year.
Describing it as “unimplementable”, the interim government decided to discontinue this curriculum and revert to the one framed in 2012.
The textbooks being printed now are of the 2012 curriculum. Printing of Bangla and English books for classes five to 10 has not begun yet.
Asked if stories would focus on individuals who lost their lives, the NCTB chairman said there might be stories about figures like Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayed, Khulna University student Mir Mahfuzur Rahman Mugdho or other individuals.
“There would be materials on all major uprisings in the history of the country. In those articles, we have plans to incorporate the recent uprising and its heroes,” Prof Reazul added.
The textbook board chairman said there will also be content on graffiti and Generation Z (those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s), which played a pivotal role in the uprising, he said.
He also said the cover pages of the textbooks will feature several pieces of graffiti depicting the uprising, which had been decided earlier.
The interim government had decided to remove any “exaggerated” historical information or “unnecessary” glorification of individuals from the 2025 textbooks.
According to NCTB officials, materials reflecting the former government’s narratives, including speeches of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, would also be removed.
While the current textbooks focus heavily on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s role in the Liberation War, the new editions will also feature the contributions of other key figures, such as Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, Tajuddin Ahmad, Syed Nazrul Islam, Gen Ataul Gani Osmani, and Ziaur Rahman, according to some members of the textbook revision committee.
In the Bangladesh and Global Studies book for classes four to 10, there might be a change in the chapter on the history of the Liberation War.
According to NCTB sources, “Declaration of Independence by Bangabandhu on 26th March” may be revised. The text may read: “On March 26, Ziaur Rahman declared independence,” and on March 27, a declaration of independence was made again on behalf of Bangabandhu, they said.
Additionally, various materials in the Bangla textbooks for classes 11 to 12 are undergoing revisions. As part of this, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s essay titled “Days of ’52” will be removed. Pieces by Muhammed Zafar Iqbal and Mahadev Saha are also being dropped, sources said.
Rakhal Raha, a writer and researcher involved in the textbook revision process, said the primary challenge from an educational perspective is how recent movements can be incorporated into the textbooks.
“There were discussions with the stakeholders about where and how this content should be included. Although there are various points of view, everyone agrees that at least a minimal amount of content on the recent uprising must be added,” he said.
He said textbooks are intended to serve educational purposes, which was not reflected in the actions of the previous government. “We are focused on avoiding any potential repetition of those past approaches.”
“Our aim is to retain the integrity of the textbooks’ purpose while considering how and to what extent recent history can be included in a way that keeps textbooks educationally focused,” Rakhal told this newspaper.
Fatihul Quadir, chief editor (in charge) of the NCTB, said there would be poems and essays in some textbooks. “But the contents are not finalised yet. We’re still developing those materials and are hopeful of completing the content within a week.”
This year, the NCTB is printing over 40 crore copies of textbooks for free distribution among over 4 crore students of primary and secondary schools.
Books for classes one to three have already been sent for printing, while the rest is expected to be completed by the coming month.
“We expect to send over 90 percent of textbooks for all classes by December 25 this year. We may see slight delays in distributing the remaining books,” said Prof Reazul.