Prime Minister Tarique Rahman informed Parliament that the government is implementing short, medium, and long-term plans by identifying 43 key areas in the education sector, with the aim to increase the budgetary allocation for education to 5 percent of GDP. The premier said this while replying to a tabled question from treasury bench lawmaker from Sirajganj-1 Md Salim Reza. Rahman said that the current democratic government considers education the best investment for the nation and remains committed to building a quality, life-oriented, and inclusive education system, with a particular focus on improving the quality of primary education.
Pointing to the ruling BNP's manifesto, the prime minister said free school uniforms will be distributed among 200,000 primary school students across the country within the current fiscal, with a plan to gradually expand this initiative to all upazilas of the country. To meet the nutritional needs of primary school students, Rahman said there is a plan to provide school mid-day meals in all upazilas in phases.
A Cumilla court ordered to cross-match the DNA profiles of three former Army personnel with those collected from the clothing of Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a Cumilla Victoria College student who was murdered in 2016. Cumilla chief judicial magistrate Md Mominul Haque passed the order after PBI inspector Tariqul Islam, also the investigating officer of the case, appeared before the court and sought permission to carry out the DNA cross-matching. According to the investigation officer, DNA profiles had previously been extracted from Tonu's personal clothing soon after the incident but they were never matched with any suspects at the time.
Tariqul added that the three suspects are former army personnel who have since retired. Their identities were not disclosed, but Tonu's parents have in the past pointed the finger at two Army men - sergeant 'Zahid' and member 'Zahid' at the Comilla Cantonment. Tonu was last known to be headed to Sergeant Zahid's house, where she took tuition classes, before her body was found near her home.
The National Sports Council dissolved the Aminul Islam Bulbul-led board of the Bangladesh Cricket Board following an investigation that allegedly uncovered widespread fraud, coercion, and government interference during the last election. Former national captain Tamim Iqbal has been appointed to lead an 11-member ad-hoc committee to steer the organisation. NSC Sports Director Aminul Ehsan announced that the ad-hoc committee is mandated to manage the board's daily operations and hold a free, fair, and transparent election within the next three months before handing over power to a newly elected body.
The NSC claimed the investigation revealed a highly coordinated effort to rig the election, heavily utilising a compromised e-voting system. Investigators found that voters were coerced by government officials into casting electronic ballots collectively from a specific location-the Hotel Sheraton in Banani-destroying the fundamental democratic principle of a secret ballot. It also said the electronic system was pre-planned specifically to manipulate the outcome.
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury informed Parliament that as of December 31, 2025, the total amount of defaulted loans in the banking sector stood at Tk 544,831 crore (almost Tk 5.45 trillion). He further stated that of this amount, Tk 11,117 crore (Tk 111.17 billion), just over 2 percent, is held by current Members of Parliament and their related entities. Additionally, some Tk 3,330 crore (over Tk 33.30 billion) technically qualify as non-performing, but has not been classified as such on court directives.
The finance minister also gave a list of the top 20 loan defaulters. The list was dominated by the disgraced S. Alam Group and its related entities, with 11 of them directly or indirectly belonging to the Chattogram-based business group. A major portion of their loans were taken from state-run Janata Bank, and Islami Bank, which was run into the ground under the group's ownership.
