Dr Zubaida Rahman, Vice President of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation (ZRF), on Sunday said greater emphasis will be placed on teamwork, practical learning and moral education from Class VII to help students develop skills and values necessary for the future.

She made the remarks while addressing the closing and prize-giving ceremony of the Dhaka district-level Startup, Science Project and Innovation Idea Showcasing Competition organised by Dhaka district administration at BAF Shaheen College in the capital.

Zubaida Rahman inaugurates ‘Shishu Shorgo Model' at Korail Slum

Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon attended the programme as a special guest.

Highlighting challenges in the education sector, Dr Zubaida Rahman said many educational institutions continue to suffer from poor infrastructure.

“Regardless of whether students come from wealthy or underprivileged backgrounds, appropriate measures will be taken in disadvantaged areas to make future education more accessible,” she said.

The district-level competition followed the upazila-level round held on Friday, where the best teams were selected to participate in the innovation showcase and contest.

Under the competition format, one winning team from each upazila and two winning teams from each metropolitan education zone advanced to the district-level event. In total, around 550 teams participated.

Each team consisted of three students and two teachers.

The large-scale programme has been organised for the first time under the Educational Excellence Support Scheme of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) under the Ministry of Education.

The initiative involves students and teachers from Class VI to Class XII and is being conducted in three phases—upazila/thana, district and national levels.

The exhibition of innovative ideas, science projects and startup concepts has turned into a vibrant festival of young talent, where students are presenting new ideas, practical solutions to real-world problems and entrepreneurial aspirations.