Respect for Talent

Photos: Prabir Das

In our country, it is not uncommon for a basic need like education to become difficult to acquire for the poor. However, in spite of all the difficulties, the inherent talent, the endless possibilities and indomitable willpower of these brilliant minds can make it possible to conquer all obstacles. To help them achieve their dream, recently, the BRAC Bank-Prothom Alo Trust has awarded 85 underprivileged talented students for their outstanding achievements in SSC and HSC examination and rewarded them with a scholarship, at the CA Bhaban, 10th floor auditorium.

“My father is physically ill and now has become completely unable to earn and support our family,” says Chinta Khatun, a student of Alinagar Girls High School, Chapai Nawabganj, Rajshahi, who obtained GPA-5.00 in Secondary School Certificate Examination this year. Considering her miserable condition along with her merit, she was awarded a scholarship from the BRAC Bank-Prothom Alo Trust.
“I achieved government scholarship in class Five” she says. “In fact I did not face any problem till class Eight. But as soon as my father got ill, I did not know if I could continue with my studies. It became very difficult for my family to manage our expenses. On rainy days, my Headmaster and one of my friends would support me to carry on my studies with free schooling and study materials. I am very grateful to them for my results and their giving approaches”, she explains.

Chinta aspires to be a doctor in the future to serve underprivileged people like herself and to respect her dreams; BRAC Bank has decided to support her financially.

Like Chinta, there were about 85 students from different villages of Bangladesh who were awarded with scholarships, crests and medals at the reception programme. The most important fact is that the journeys of these underprivileged children are not smooth at all. Besides their school, most of them have to work hard to maintain their family or to manage educational expenses. Some of their parents work as day labourers while some of them earn their livelihood by fishing.

Tuhin Ali, an orphan student, from Lalpur Sree Shundari Pilot High School, Lalpur, Natore, is a van driver. Every day after school, he carries goods of others and hence, with the money, he supports his family and his own school fees as well as study materials.

“He is the most modest student I have ever seen in my teaching experience. In future, he wants to be an engineer,” says Mohammad Akkas Ali, a teacher of Lalpur Sree Shundari Pilot High School, Lalpur, Natore, with whom Tuhin came to receive the award.

For awarding the meritorious students from the remote corners of the country, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid welcomed this initiative of Prothom Alo Trust and BRAC Bank. “I think we have come a long way, but we need to go further, for our better future,” hopes Nahid. “Today, the quality of education has developed compared to the past few years. The curriculum has been changed; the teachers are also given training to give quality education. With the combined efforts of all, we are able to go beyond”, he believes.

To respect the willpower of such indomitably talented underprivileged students, Prothom Alo Trust officially started distributing scholarship among them in 2006. Later, in 2009, when BRAC Bank collaborated with the trust, their working area expanded. Till now, a total of 570 underprivileged students have been awarded with the scholarship, whereas 338 students are getting scholarships regularly to maintain their study expenses. This year they have given scholarships to 55 students who scored GPA-5.00 in SSC and 30 students who got the award previously and maintained consistency in the HSC exam for their higher education.

The guests of the programme, Dr Samanta Lal Sen, founder of the Burn Unit, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Syed Manzoorul Islam, Professor of English at the University of Dhaka, actor Chanchal Chowdhury, singer SI Tutul, all have inspired the students to go ahead and make a better Bangladesh with their indomitable possibilities. They hope, one day these underprivileged students will represent Bangladesh to the international community by utilising their latent talents.