Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday pledged continued government support to promote mathematics education and expand Mathematics Olympiad activities across the country, with a particular focus on taking the initiative to the grassroots and school levels.

“We’ll provide whatever support is required from the government in the future to further expand mathematics practice and Mathematics Olympiad activities in the country,” he said, agreeing to proposals to establish a fund for school-level Mathematics Olympiad programmes and introduce activity-oriented mathematics in schools.

The prime minister made the commitments when Bangladeshi medal winners of the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) and European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) paid a courtesy call on him at his office at the Cabinet Division of the Secretariat, said PM’s Deputy Press Secretary Shahadat Shadhin.

During the meeting, the medal-winning students exchanged greetings with the prime minister and shared their experiences of participating in international mathematics competitions and their achievements.

The prime minister congratulated the students on their outstanding performances and wished them greater success in the future.

Representatives of the Bangladesh Girls’ Mathematical Foundation sought the prime minister’s support to expand and make Mathematics Olympiad activities more effective at the grassroots level.

The prime minister assured them of all necessary government support for the initiative.

When a proposal was made to establish a fund for conducting and expanding Mathematics Olympiad activities at the school level, the prime minister gave immediate consent to provide funding through the education ministry.

The Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad Committee (BdMO) also proposed introducing activity-oriented mathematics at the school level, which received the prime minister’s approval.

Another proposal was placed to introduce a separate mathematics competency assessment test for schoolteachers, modelled on the IELTS examination for assessing English-language proficiency.

The prime minister assured that he would consider the proposal with due importance.