Free education if economy gets better: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Star file photo
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Sunday that the government would make the country's education completely free if the economy gets better in future.
"Educated youths will be the actual force to free the nation from poverty," the prime minister said while distributing stipends among female students at her Tejgaon office in the capital.
The stipends were distributed from the newly introduced first ever Education Trust Fund created for students of graduate or equivalent level.
"We don't want to hear anymore that any student stopped education because of their guardians’ inability to pay tuition fee or buy books," the prime minister said.
Expressing her great pleasure for having the opportunity of handing over the cheques of stipends to the students Hasina said, "I have long been dreamt for such a mechanism to help the students to pursue their studies".
The government has allocated Tk 1,000 crore for establishment of the trust fund this year to help the student.
From the interest of the fund, the government would distribute Taka 75.15 crore among 1.33 lakh female students.
A student will get a total of Tk 4,900 a year which will include monthly stipend of Tk 200, examination fee Tk 1,000 and Tk 1,500 for buying books, official said.
The prime minister said male students would also get stipend from the trust fund in future.
Planning Minister Air Vice Marshal (retd) AK Khandakar, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, Education Secretary Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury and Managing Director of the fund Iqbal Khan, spoke among others, on the occasion.
The prime minister said during the previous tenure, her government had taken a project to make all districts illiteracy free one after another.
But, the BNP government shelved the project like community health clinics and other ones taken for country's good.
"But now we want to introduce a system which will not allow the next government to annul it," she said.
Hasina further said Bangabandhu made the primary education completely free and female education free-of-cost up to class eight despite immense economic hardship after independence.
"I have learned the importance of education from Bangabandhu and I have got inspiration from him," Hasina said.
Hasina also said her government has allocated Tk 1,000 crore to the trust fund at initial stage.
She urged the benevolent persons and education lovers to donate money to this fund. For the donation, the donors will enjoy tax weaving facility, she said.
Hasina said the government is pledged bound to arrange free education including stipend for female students so that they can continue their higher education.
"I am hopeful that the successful implementations of this initiative would pave a new chapter in the way to overall development through female education and women empowerment," she said.
"Our journey has started. The fund will be bigger and more money would be deposited. With the support of the government and private entrepreneurs, we would be able to constitute bigger fund in future," the prime minister said.
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