Stressing the importance of ensuring education for all, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday urged the affluent section of society to avail of the rebate facility in income tax through donating to the PM’s Education Assistance Trust so that no one remain out of school.
“It’s now quite surprising that female students are ahead of the male ones at the secondary admission level where the ratio of female and male students is 53:47. To bring gender parity, we need to ensure the enrollment of more male students in addition to finding out which students are dodging their education. We’ll have to make sure no one would remain out of school,” she said.
The Prime Minister was addressing a function after distributing cheques of scholarships among the students of Degree (Pass) and equivalent level from ‘PM’s Education Assistance Trust’ at her office.
She also said steps have been taken to set up one female technical school and college in each divisional headquarters alongside setting up one technical school in every upazila to spread technical and vocational education.
Hasina said, steps have been taken to provide financial assistance from the PM’s Education Assistant Trust for the education of the poor but meritorious students alongside for the students in injured seriously in accident. The preliminary fund for this purpose is being arranged from the interest of the FDR of the Trust.
Noting that the amount of the Fund of the Trust needs to be increased from Tk 1,000 crore when it was formed in 2010, Hasina said steps would be taken to raise the fund in the next budget in consultation with the Finance Minister.
“There’re much affluent people in the country as well as businesspeople who could avail of the rebate facility in their income tax through donating to the fund,” she said.
“An announcement is already there in this regard for providing tax rebate while the business community should be more aware of this fact to feel more encouraged to provide donation to the Trust Fund,” the PM added.
Turning to the non-stop hartals and blockades enforced by the BNP-Jamaat clique for 92 days since January 5 last hampering the academic life of students as well as the SSC exam schedules, Hasina said, “I don’t know what they (BNP-Jamaat) have actually achieved other than causing the loss of lives of some innocent people.”
The Prime Minister said, it is the goal of her government that the country’s students would leave the signs of thei8r successes not only at national level, but also at the global stage.
She also asked the students to move ahead with their firm self-confidence, take their lessons properly and prepare themselves in such a way to build Sonar Bangla.
Hasina also suggested them to be attentive to sports, culture and games alongside education and thus move the country ahead to the global arena with its head high.
She said, the government has already made computer education mandatory at the secondary level while it would be made compulsory at primary level gradually in the future.
The Prime Minister said the grading system has been introduced at the educational institutions in line with the global system.
I fiscal 2012-13, she said, some Tk 72.95 crore scholarships have been provided to some 1,29,810 students at Degree (pass) and equivalent level while the number of scholarship recipients increased in fiscal 2013-14 among 1,74,446 students.
Since 2009-10 fiscal to 2012-13 fiscal, Hasina said, around Tk 2,245.65 crore were provided to some 1,33,70,000 students from class six to Degree (pass) to equivalent level of which the female scholarship recipients are 75 percent.
Chaired by Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, Education Secretary Nazrul Islam Khan spoke on the occasion while PM’s Education Assistance Trust managing director Md Nurul Amin gave the welcome address.
