PM Orders Study on Restoring Universal Stipends for Girls

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman spoke at a meeting of the Prime Minister’s Education Assistance Trust at the Cabinet Division in the Secretariat.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has directed the authorities to assess the feasibility of reintroducing universal stipends for female students from Class VI through the undergraduate level.

He gave the directive at a meeting of the Prime Minister’s Education Assistance Trust at the Cabinet Division at the Secretariat on Sunday afternoon.

Prime Minister’s Deputy Press Secretary Shahadat Shadhin said the meeting called for a detailed proposal outlining the estimated cost, number of beneficiaries, implementation mechanism and potential social and educational impact of restoring the universal stipend programme for girls.

The Prime Minister was also briefed on the ongoing activities, objectives and goals of the Education Assistance Trust, including its role in reducing dropout rates by providing financial assistance to students throughout their education.

The meeting also discussed providing stipends to boys based on merit and eligibility to encourage them to continue their studies.

It reviewed the impact of the universal stipend programme for girls introduced during the tenure of former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. According to the meeting, the programme had helped increase girls’ school attendance and retention while contributing to efforts to discourage child marriage.

The meeting also stressed the importance of students’ nutrition and health alongside improving education quality.

Officials discussed different aspects of school-level midday meal programmes, including nutritional standards, management, food preparation and safe distribution.

The Prime Minister stressed that food provided to students must be nutritious, safe and of high quality, with no compromise on standards.

According to Shahadat, two alternative approaches to implementing the midday meal programme were discussed, taking into account costs, management efficiency, local participation and food quality control.

Tarique Rahman directed the authorities to launch pilot projects based on the two approaches in two separate districts to assess their effectiveness, feasibility and potential outcomes.

Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Education and Spokesperson Mahdi Amin, Education Secretary Abdul Khaleque, Prime Minister’s Additional Press Secretary Atikur Rahman Ruman and relevant officials attended the meeting.