Special Correspondent :
The government is planning to open Bangladeshi schools in Gulf States to help provide affordable education for children of expatriate community.
An inter-ministerial meeting will be held today (Tuesday) to discuss the issue, with Secretary for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry Dr Namita Halder in chair.
Concerned officials and representatives of Prime Minister’s Office, Foreign, Finance, Planning and Education ministries will attend the meeting to be held at the Probashi Kallyan Bhaban in Dhaka.
“The meeting will discuss every aspect of setting up the schools in some Gulf countries and take decision accordingly,” an official of the Ministry for the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment told The New Nation, asking not to be named.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had earlier pledged to open schools there considering the welfare of Bangladeshi community, which is growing every year with rising manpower export.
“Education is a growing challenge for children of expat families in the Gulf countries due to high schooling fees and language problem. Bangladeshi schools would offer affordable education and promote local values,” the ministry official said.
He said the government would contribute major portion of the expenditure while the rest will come from school fees.
According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), about 11.92 million Bangladeshi workers went abroad from the year 1976- 2018 (up to July). Of them, 90 per cent are now living in Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.
When asked, the official said, “The government has already taken a number of programmes for the welfare of Bangladeshi community abroad. Our Prime Minister personally visited many countries and held meetings with overseas Bangladeshis to know of their problems.”
He further said, the Prime Minister) has assured them of providing maximum facilities considering it is the responsibility of her government.
When contacted, Dr Namita Halder declined to make any comment over the issue saying that she would prefer to talk to the media after the meeting.
