He said these things while speaking as the chief guest at the annual sports competition prize-giving and cultural event of Abbas Uddin High School in Mirpur, the capital, on Thursday.

Aminul Haque said the government wants to build students into a healthy, humane and disciplined generation by keeping them away from drugs and antisocial activities through sports alongside studies. With this goal, from the new academic year, the book ‘Sports’ will be handed over to fourth-grade students.

He said discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Education about launching 10 events of ‘Notun Kuri Sports’ at the school level. Opportunities will be created for students to participate regularly in various sports, including football, cricket, volleyball, table tennis, chess, martial arts and swimming.

The state minister said initiatives are being taken to engage students in sports and cultural practice throughout the year, not limiting sports to only annual sports competitions.

Teachers, officials and others concerned of the educational institution were present at the event. Later, the state minister took part in the prize-giving ceremony of the annual sports and cultural competition of Mirpur Bangla School and College. Earlier, he inaugurated two water pumps of WASA and a mortuary in the Mirpur Section-11 area.