The Ministry of Education has taken the final decision to change the controversial ‘Story of Sharifa’ from the textbook of class VII.

In the book that will be printed for next year, this story will be replaced by a new story about ‘third gender’ or ‘Hijra’ community. The Ministry of Education has taken this decision based on the recommendations given by the expert committee.

The Ministry of Education has officially informed about this instruction through a letter to the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) recently.

NCTB Chairman (Routine Duties) Professor Md Moshiuzzaman said, ‘We have received a letter in this regard. The letter asks for the story to be corrected, revised, or replaced with a new story. There we will keep a story about the Hijra community’.

In January this year, there was a heated debate across the country, particularly on social media, regarding the lesson’s inclusion in the textbook.

Amid the debate, a five-member committee was formed by the Ministry of Education to review ‘The Story of Sharifa’.

Five months later, in May, the committee sent a recommendation to the education ministry to drop ‘The Story of Sharifa’.