Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said her government is going to introduce a fresh national curriculum from the next year to raise Bangladeshi children as global citizens.

"We look forward to raising our children as truly global citizens. We are introducing a new national curriculum from next year. It will prepare our students for the Fourth Industrial Revolution," she said.

The premier said this in a pre-recorded video containing Bangladesh's national statement, played at the UN Secretary General's Transforming Education Summit on Monday here in New York.

She said the new curriculum will make them aware of becoming climate resilient. It will turn them into the real agents of our Vision- 2041 to become a developed, knowledge-based economy.

In higher education, Sheikh Hasina said, "We are giving priority to research and development. For technical education, we aim to have better industry linkages."

She said Bangladeshi children should have skills that they can use anywhere in the world.

"We need international cooperation for mutual recognition of qualifications. We commit to improve access to foundational and lifelong learning," she said.

To promote multilingual education, the Prime Minister said they have developed text books in the mother tongue of some of our ethnic groups.

"We are offering education in Myanmar curriculum to millions of children forcibly displaced from Rakhine State and sheltered in our land," she said.

For quality and inclusive education, she said her government must invest in regular training and incentives for our teachers.

They are responsible for making classrooms a safe space for our children. We commit to increasing budget allocation for education in proportion to our GDP, she said.

The Prime Minister said the development partners of Bangladesh need to live up to their fiscal commitments for SDG-4.

She thanked the UN Secretary General for organising the Transforming Education Summit saying that this Summit marks a new way of thinking about education with future changes in the world of work.

"The COVID - 19 pandemic caused learning losses all over. In Bangladesh, we have enrolled six hundred thousand out - of - school students into non - formal education since December 2021," she said.

The premier said they have started vaccinating children above 5 years of age. "Nearly 23 million students from primary level to high education get stipends and scholarships," she added.

She said Bangladesh shall continue to provide cash incentives through mobile gateways to hard - pressed families. "Our successful programmes involving stipends, midday meals and free text book distribution will be carried on," she said.

The pandemic also opened up scope for innovations in distance learning, she said, adding that a Blended Education Master Plan has been developed in Bangladesh.

"We shall set up nearly 59,780 multimedia classrooms by next year. We shall put focus on reducing the digital divide among our students," she added.

She said Bangladesh has made significant gains in achieving gender parity in primary and secondary schools.

"We shall continue to work on reducing gender gaps in higher and technical education. Educating our girls has always been one of my key priorities," said Sheikh Hasina.