PROFESSOR Muhammad Yunus鈥檚 interim government is trading in extremely challenging times. It鈥檚 been battling challenges on many fronts, all because of Hasina鈥檚 anarchic regime that it inherited. It is also working towards creating an environment for free and fair, elections in the future.
There is no denying that not all sectors have been given due attention by the government. For example, education seems to have been placed on the backburner. There have been many commissions for reforming state institutions and/or addressing critical social issues. However, education has not been part of this commissioning work. This may (wrongly) indicate that education is probably too political to be handled by the interim government. Or that education can wait for an elected government for its fixing. Whatever the case, deprioritising education may not have escaped educators鈥� concern. 听
Education demands special reform initiatives for good reasons. It is one of the sectors that fell victim to the Hasina government鈥檚 inefficiency, corruption, and exploitation. And it will not be forgotten that it is the students鈥� movement that brought an end to the despotic rule. Also, education cannot be left behind in a fast-changing world where new technologies are bringing exceptional challenges and opportunities. It鈥檚 imperative for an education system to prime students and graduates for the emerging world of complexity, uncertainty, and unpredictability. The sooner, the better.
It may be the case that some questions of education cannot be addressed without constitutional reforms in the first place. For example, re-articulating the goals of education may need alignment with redefined state principles. This redefining is called for as the nation has come out of the grip of a long autocratic regime. For many, this 鈥榮econd independence鈥� means the nation needs to reassert its identity and sovereignty, freed from regional hegemonic clutches.
Even then, some goals of education can be spelt out and chased separately from the broader national ideals. At the same time, it is plausible to name certain goals of education which are ever critically important. Such time-tested goals can be championed by individuals and institutions from within and beyond the education space.
Considering my experience of learning, teaching and researching in Bangladesh and Australia, I would like to put forward an educational campaign in Bangladesh. I would call it 鈥榃e Love Learning鈥�.
I argue that this love of learning needs to be promoted everywhere 鈥� at home, school, workplace, and marketplace. It calls for advocacy by mainstream and social media and other networks. We can have WLL stickers on rickshaws, buses, trucks, and trains. The poster can be part of linguistic geography in urban and rural areas. Every student at each level of education will have this sticker around their reading area. Every classroom in every institution of learning should have WLL posters.
This love of learning as an educational desideratum is discussed in various branches of psychology. It is linked to such pedagogical approaches as inquiry learning, problem solving, and exploratory education. When students love what they learn, they are distanced from demotivation, disengagement or withdrawal.
The irony of education in our time is that limitless opportunities and affordances for learning do not necessarily lead to love for it. We have discourses of learning anywhere, anytime 鈥� not just in the classroom or during the contact hour. Learning has been brought to students鈥� palms, no matter where they are located. They can explore whatever they want, almost effortlessly. Indeed, students and citizens can be found engrossed in their devices in all sorts of places. However, investigations will probably show that most are absorbed by social media, gaming, or digital fun.
While the WLL campaign can be launched anywhere in society, school and home need to be its forerunners. At school, developing a love of learning can be an extracurricular project. Teachers and school leaders can talk about the love of learning during assemblies and other school events. Prizes and other forms of rewards can be introduced to recognise students who demonstrate love for learning in whatever ways. Students can also be given such roles as WLL ambassadors or champions. Such activities can turn the school into a place where learning is loved and enjoyed.
Parents at home can play an equally important role. They often work as gatekeepers of student learning. 听 They need to emphasise the joy of learning and learning for its own sake in the first place. This value of learning can in no way compromise learning for other goals.
My love-for-learning advocacy is not part of curriculum or pedagogy; it鈥檚 about making love of learning a social agenda. It鈥檚 for creating awareness of why we should learn, whatever the subject of learning is. It is to tell our learning community that loving what we learn is the essence of the learning act. The other goals, such as developing skills and competences, preparing for the world of work, competing with others, and achieving higher grades, are also important. However, at the heart of the education enterprise should be the love of learning 鈥� its intrinsic value.
There is no assumption here that the WLL campaign will find easy traction in society. Indeed, there will be many obstacles on its way. Learning for passing exams and securing only high GPAs are likely to work against this mission. We need an alternative discourse of education and education goals which students can hold on to.
True, there is nothing new about the love of learning. But not all remedies have to be novel or innovative. Old solutions can be applied with new force, urgency, and argument. Not long ago, there was thirst for learning among students in this country. Schools were limited, and learning resources were scarce. However, the love of learning among students was without bounds.
Certainly, we can bring back that love of learning among students and citizens as much as we can.
The interim government is the most auspicious time for running this learning campaign. The chief advisor is encouraging us to dream a different future. He is doing that from a solid foundation of knowledge, wisdom, capacity, and probability. What he says is not like the cheap slogans of building a Sonar Bangla which for a long time were vacuous and exploitative.
Speaking at the opening session of the recent Earthana Summit 2025 in Doha, professor Yunus said that he would like to envision Bangladesh as the 鈥榖eacon of hope鈥� for the world. He means what he means by this. And he can do what he wants to do. The 鈥榥ew鈥� Bangladesh has to be a nation of education to materialise his vision. It has to be an education that nurtures love for learning more than any other goal.
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Obaidul Hamid is an associate professor at the University of Queensland in Australia. He researches language, education, and society in the developing world. He is a co-editor of Current Issues in Language Planning.
