Stipends for 1.37cr pry students restart today

Distribution of stipends for some 1.37 crore primary level students resume today, with the beneficiaries set to get the money of October to November 2019 quarter.

The stipend was halted for over seven months as Primary Education Stipend Project (PESP) did not get extension on the time due to the coronavirus crisis. On May 4, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved the project extension, officials said.

"We have deposited the money to bank on Tuesday and it would be disbursed to the all beneficiaries on Thursday," Yusuf Ali, project director of PESP's third phase, told The Daily Star yesterday.

Project officials send the money to students' mothers through mobile banking services. They disburse the money four times a year -- in April, July, October and January.

Students will get the stipend today for October instalment, Yusuf said.

Yusuf said for October instalment each student fulfilling required criteria got Tk 100 per month, as a single beneficiary of a family. Similarly, two children from the same family received Tk 200 per month, whereas in case of three and four children, the stipend was Tk 250 and Tk 300 per month, respectively.

He said they will disburse instalments of January and April before Eid.

He said after PM's approval, from January instalment, the amount of stipend will increase by 50 percent, and each primary student will receive a yearly amount of Tk 1,000 for buying school supplies.

From January instalment each student will receive Tk 150. Two children from the same family will get Tk 300, and three and four children will receive Tk 400 and Tk 500, respectively.