Small help makes big difference
When Farzana Ahmed was studying hard to achieve the highest score in the SSC examinations in 2013, her father was struggling to put together a paltry Tk 2,000 required to register for the public exam.
She was so saddened that her father Amzad Hossain, employee of a small business, had to borrow the money at a high interest rate.
“We had to struggle to survive with the only earning of my father. Besides, my elder sister is physically challenged. So I had a dream…to end the hardship,” said Farzana, who hails from the suburb of Khulna city.
She now studies medicine at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College in Dhaka, which became possible thanks to the scholarship offered by the Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd (DBBL).
“I was happy as I passed the SSC exam with GPA 5, but then frustration gripped me as my family did not have the minimum ability to finance my future education,” she told DBBL's scholarship award ceremony at Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium in the capital yesterday.
She learned of the scholarship programme from a newspaper and took no time to apply for it. And she won it, to her utter disbelief.
With the scholarship money, Farzana completed her higher secondary education from Khulna's MM City College last year and then took admission to the medical college. With her extraordinary results, she applied to DBBL again, and the bank could not refuse her.
For five years, she would not be worrying about financing her education.
“I want to serve people as a doctor. Many go abroad for treatment…I dream of a high standard health system so that they all take healthcare at home,” she said.
Farzana is one of the thousands of talents, who came from insolvent families and are on the way to see their dreams come true with DBBL's support.
Yesterday, 2,153 students, who passed HSC or equivalent exams in 2015 and are studying at the graduate level, were given scholarships. The winners get Tk 6,000 annually for reading materials and clothes, and monthly Tk 2,500 until they graduate.
According to a DBBL statement, since 2001, a total of 38,563 students at higher secondary and graduation levels came under its scholarship programme. Many have already completed studies and are either doing good jobs or businesses, it said.
Roxana Afroz Moni is one of them. She completed her higher secondary education and graduation in economics at Dhaka University with the financial help of DBBL, and has become a lecturer at Debendra Government College in Manikganj through the 33rd BCS exam.
“The DBBL scholarship has changed my life. I am grateful to DBBL,” said Moni.
Speaking on the occasion, Law Minister Anisul Huq said he was moved by DBBL's exceptional initiative for the social cause.
Apart from education, DBBL also supports programmes in health, environment, disaster management and research to complement the government's plan to eliminate poverty.
“The private sector's participation in the process is appreciable,” Huq said.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith said DBBL's scholarship programme was the largest in the private sector and many others were inspired by it.
The government will also increase its budget in education, which is the key to development, he said.
DBBL Chairman Sayem Ahmed hoped that the scholarship winners would help others establish Bangladesh as a developed nation.
Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Benoit-Pierre Laramee said he was pleased to learn that 50 percent of the DBBL scholarships went to female students, which was a sign of inclusive development.
DBBL Managing Director KS Tabrez said the bank was proud to be a partner in promoting talents. “We dream of a knowledge-based society,” he said.
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