State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Sultan Salauddin Tuku said the prime minister has given education the highest priority.
He spoke to journalists after inaugurating a mid-day meal programme and attending a guardians' assembly at Ichhapur Sher-e-Bangla High School in Kalihati upazila, Tangail, on the morning of 1 August.
Tuku said the meal programme had been launched alongside initiatives to upgrade educational institutions, and that the country would advance through everyone's combined efforts.
The state minister said the government wants students to take part in extracurricular activities and to have opportunities to build careers in more than one profession after completing their studies.
Tuku said the education system's development must start from the primary level, recalling that free education was introduced at that stage during Khaleda Zia's tenure and later expanded up to degree level.
He said the government is prioritising students' protein needs and is considering how to meet protein requirements at the school level.
School ad hoc committee president Abdur Razzak chaired the event, where Tangail-4 Member of Parliament Lutfor Rahman Matin, Kalihati Upazila Executive Officer Farzana Akter and head teacher Abdul Mannan Molla also spoke.
Speakers said the meal initiative would help curb student dropout and improve both health and education standards.