Dhaka, April 9 -- The Directorate of Madrasha Education has instructed all madrasas - both government-run and private - to organise festive celebrations marking the Bengali New Year.

The order, issued on Wednesday, mandates a two-day programme to be held in a "festive atmosphere and with pomp and show" in observance of the Bengali New Year, Chaitra Sankranti, which is the last day of a Bengali year, and new year celebrations of the country's indigenous communities.

"The Technical and Madrasah Education Division of the education ministry has issued an order asking all madrasas to celebrate Chaitra Sankranti and Bangla New Year through a two-day event under their own management," Mohammad Arifur Rahman Majumder, deputy director of adminis...