Home ›› 10 May 2023 ›› Front
An amount of Tk 2500 crore is likely to be allocated in the next financial year 2023-24, for distribution among 57 lakh students under the integrated stipend scheme.
Initially near about Tk 1400 crore was allocated for the scheme. However, a letter from the Prime Minister’s Education Assistance Trust has been sent to the education and finance ministries instructing to increase the allocation for the stipend scheme.
The Business Post has obtained a copy of the letter. In the letter, Mohammad Asadul Haque, director of the stipend scheme of the PM’s Education Assistance Trust, said, “Distribution of stipends among the poor students of different educational institutions across the country is the main job of the Education Assistance Trust, one of the 10 special initiatives of the prime minister. It will not look good if there is a crisis in the fund. Therefore, instead of Tk 1300 crore, Tk 2500 crore should be allocated.”
Sources concerned said Tk 2500 crore allocation was sought for the next financial year to distribute among 57 lakh students from economically backward families at secondary and higher secondary/equivalent levels across the country.
But on April 27, in a tripartite meeting between the budget wing of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education and relevant ministries, Tk 1398 crore was allocated.
According to the sources from Education Assistance Trust, the allocation is not sufficient for distributing the stipends and tuition fees among 57 lakh students, conducting training programmes, providing salary of scheme manpower, budget allocation for secondary education office and for providing financial incentives to teachers/employees involved in the work. The shortage of fund might create complications in the overall implementation of the scheme.
In order to continue the overall activities of the integrated stipend scheme, the sources said, it has been ordered to take necessary measures to increase the allocation to Tk 2500 crore.
The National Parliament passed the ‘Prime Minister’s Education Assistance Trust Bill’ in 2012, with an aim to ensure the education of poor and talented students who are deprived of education opportunities due to lack of money.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is chairperson of the five-member advisory council of the Education Assistance Trust. The other four members are the finance minister, the planning minister, the education minister and the primary and mass education minister.
The overall activities of the trust are run by a 26-member Board of Trustees with Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni as the president and the primary and mass education minister as the vice-president.
The trust launched admission assistance service since 2014-15 financial year, for admission of poor and meritorious students to educational institutions, providing Tk 5 thousand for each secondary level student, Tk 8 thousand for higher secondary level and Tk 10 thousand for graduate and
equivalent level.
As a one-time financial assistance, medical grant service has been introduced for poor and meritorious students seriously injured in accidents from the financial year 2014-15. Besides, fellowships and scholarships in higher education have been introduced from 2017-18 financial year, providing Tk 10,000 per month for each student of two-year MPhil courses and Tk 15,000 per month for three-year PhD courses.
According to the education ministry, while providing the stipend, the school teachers consider the information entered in the prescribed form at the time of admission, selecting 30% of the students from marginalised groups on the basis of poverty. The student determination process is completed under the overall supervision of the upazila education officer and the stipend is disbursed online through mobile financial services.
