Radio debate competition to be held at regional level across Bangladesh: State Minister

State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Yaser Khan Chowdhury MP has said initiatives will be taken to organise the Bangladesh Betar Debate Competition at the regional level in different districts across the country in the future.

He said debate helps students develop their knowledge, reasoning ability, information analysis skills and public speaking capabilities. However, he stressed that debate should not become an exercise in arguing for the sake of argument. The information presented during debates must be accurate, reliable and knowledge-based, he added.

The state minister made the remarks while addressing the closing ceremony of the ‘Betar Debate Competition 2026’, organised by Bangladesh Betar in the capital on Wednesday (October 7).

He said students need to study a wide range of subjects and expand their knowledge to participate effectively in debate competitions. Today’s students will become engineers, doctors, journalists and professionals in various fields in the future. Therefore, they should take an active part in extracurricular activities alongside their academic studies.

“Achieving good academic results alone is not enough in today’s world,” Yaser said, stressing the importance of students’ involvement in sports, debates, cultural activities and other extracurricular programmes.

He said such activities contribute to the development of students’ personalities, leadership qualities and creativity, while also helping them demonstrate these qualities in their future professional lives.

Yaser Khan Chowdhury said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has placed particular emphasis on the development of sports. As part of this initiative, the government has undertaken plans to establish a playground in every union and a mini stadium in every upazila.

He said the first phase of the initiative had already been implemented in many upazilas, while mini stadiums would be constructed in every upazila across the country during the second and third phases.

The state minister said the government had also undertaken various initiatives to promote the intellectual development of students nationwide.

“Under the prime minister’s directives, initiatives have been taken to organise nationwide quiz competitions for students at the primary, secondary, higher secondary, college and university levels, as well as beyond these levels,” he said.

He added that there were also plans to broadcast the competitions on Bangladesh Television.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the Education Ministry are working jointly to expand and strengthen such initiatives, Yaser said.

He expressed hope that these programmes would enrich students’ knowledge and intellectual development while preparing them to make meaningful contributions to the country in the future.

Addressing the younger generation, the state minister said Bangladeshi youths remain the children of Bangladesh wherever they live in the world. “They must work for the welfare of the country and its people,” he said.

Yaser congratulated St Joseph School, the champion of the ‘Betar Debate Competition 2026’, and Shamsul Haque Khan School, the runners-up. He also congratulated the other participating students, teachers and parents.

He praised the participants for demonstrating courage and confidence while taking part in the debate competition at such a young age.

The event was also addressed by Md Shah Alam, Additional Secretary (Administration and Press) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and moderator of the final debate.

A S M Zahid, Director General of Bangladesh Betar, chaired the programme.

Earlier, trophies, certificates and crests were presented to members of the champion and runners-up teams.