Govt. To Frame Policy To Ensure Students' Admission To Schools

A policy is also being framed to give financial support to the students in case of sustaining critical injury in any accident.

It was told in an advisory council meeting of the Prime Minister's Education Assistant Trust Fund with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at her Tejgaon office here today.

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhit, Planning Minister AHM Mostafa Kamal, Minister for Primary and Mass Education Mustafizur Rahman, chairman of University Grant Commission (UGC) Prof. A K Azad Chowdhury, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry Qazi Akram Uddin Ahmad and concerned secretaries were present.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, PM's Press Secretary AKM Shameem Chowdhury said the policy to provide financial assistance for ensuring admission of the poor and meritorious students to schools and colleges would reduce drop-outs of the students.

Addressing the meeting, the Prime Minister asked the officials to take initiative to raise the fund of the trust constituted with the seed money of Taka 1,000 crore. She urged the well-off people to donate to the fund.

She said education assistance under the trust fund would be given to the students on a particular day across the country like distribution of textbooks on the very first day of the academic year.

Sheikh Hasina said the main objective of her government is to build an educated nation to stamp out poverty. There is no alternative to education to make the country hunger and poverty free, she said adding in view of this, priority has been given to technical and vocational education.

Sheikh Hasina said the government has taken initiative for residential arrangement for the students of schools situated in the remote and char areas of hilly and coastal regions.

The government constituted the Prime Minister's Education Assistance Trust Fund in the fiscal year 2012-2013 with Taka 1,000 crore to support the poor and brilliant female students to continue their higher studies. But in 2013-2014 male students were also included in the programme.

Under the programme students are being given scholarship with the proceeds of the fund deposited in five commercial banks.

In the 2012-2013 fiscal year a total of 1,16,000 female students were given scholarship of about Taka 73 crore from the fund while in 2013-2014 a total of 1,74,446 male and female students were given the scholarship of over Taka 98 crore.